Be curious. Ask questions. Sunday’s gospel reveals one simple reason why asking questions is easier said than done: “[the disciples] did not understand what [Jesus] was saying and were afraid to ask him.” Fear stops us from asking questions. But why?

Sometimes were afraid of asking a “stupid question.” Sometimes we’re afraid of asking for fear of being given a job to do. And sometimes, as is the case of the disciples in this week’s passage, we’re afraid that by asking we might speak something into existence, as if our silence and lack of curiosity will keep the thing we’d rather not think about from really happening.

Instead of asking questions, the disciples’ get sidelined by their own squabbles about greatness. It’s as if they’ve placed their fingers in their ears and started saying, “I’m not listening” to Jesus! Into the midst of these squabbles and in their fear of asking questions, Jesus shifts their focus and centers a child in their midst.

Maybe Jesus is attempting to highlight the humility that Jesus would like to see his disciples embody by centering a child. But here’s another thought, children have not yet learned how dangerous asking questions can be . . . so many children have not yet learned to squelch their curiosity and their questions. What if Jesus centers a child in the midst of the disciples’ fear of asking questions to show that nothing we wonder about is off-limits to God? What if Jesus centers a child as a reminder that we don’t need to be held back by social norms and we don’t need to be afraid of what we might learn?

Psalm 54 declares: God is our helper! Everytime we dare to ask a question and remain open to truly hearing the answer — even if it’s one that does not fit into our way of understanding the world, even if it’s one that does not make any sense, even if it’s one that means things have to change — that openness is a sign of God’s helping presence. Everytime we dare to remain curious, that’s evidence of God our helper at work in us!