"It is hard to find words to describe the extraordinary life of Jesus of Nazareth. Thousands of books have been written about him, yet John's Gospel concludes that there is not enough room on the planet to contain all the books that could be written about him.
"One clumsy way to describe him is simply as a genius with a brilliant mind and a rare, luminous intelligence. We need to read his story in the four Gospels every day if we want to understand his creative life, his astonishing teachings, his miraculous works, his steadfast resistance to injustice, his courageous suffering and death, and his way out of the world's violent madness. More, if we curtail the endless questions we ask God and listen to the questions Jesus asks us, we might begin to enter his mind, learn how he thinks, find out what matters most to him, and discover through his life the answers to life itself.
"Regular contemplation of his unusual questions can lead us closer to his transforming spirit and can transform us, free us and heal us. The questions may seem strange, dated, or even irrelevant at first, but returning to them, they come alive, melt our hearts, open our spirits, and enlighten our minds. They do not harangue; rather, they invite. They do not challenge; rather, they summon. They do not condemn; rather, they welcome us to the truth. If we sit with his questions, and don't rush to assert our own answers, we will receive the gift of wisdom.
"In this age of despair, death, and destruction, we are terribly lost and confused. We do not know what to do. We ask our questions, then look to the media, the government, the military, the religious establishment, and the rich and famous for answers, but we find little relief, little hope, little truth. More and more, we realize our need for wisdom. If we are to survive individually and as a race, we need wisdom, the wisdom of God.
"The questions of Jesus can open our minds to receive God's wisdom. As we ponder the mind of Christ, even put on the mind of Christ, as St. Paul urges, we begin to live wisely. We think of God, ponder the truth, see Christ in one another, and find new ways to heal our personal brokenness and our broken world. The Holy Wisdom of Christ teaches us God's way of nonviolence, compassion, justice, and peace. His wisdom and truth are the last hope for us all.
" 'A person is known better by his questions than his answers,' Thomas Merton once wrote. The questions of Jesus can lead us on the journey to wisdom. They do not require immediate answers but, rather, attentive listening. If we listen to his questions, we may enter the spirit behind them and feel the love and presence within the questions themselves, our own inner rumblings, confusion, and questions may subside. We may find ourselves drawn into his healing, loving presence. We will begin to breath again his Resurrection gift of peace. We will live in his spirit of truth, which he promised to send us, and discover the living word of God.
"The disciples were constantly questioning Jesus, but really, they thought they knew all the answers. In reality, Jesus is the one who asks the right questions and the only one with authentic, truthful answers.
"The night before he was killed, he told his disciples that they would weep, mourn, and grieve, but soon they would see him again and be filled with a joy that no one would ever take away. 'On that day,' Jesus told his friends,' you will not ask me any more questions.' (John 16:22-23)
"That day is here. We need not question Jesus any more. All we have to do is listen to his questions, live with his questions, and let them lead us to the house of wisdom where we find ourselves welcomed, at home, at last in the presense of the Great Answer.”
