Teenagers - June 4

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144; Ezek. 11:14-25; Heb. 7:1-17; Luke 10:17-24

 ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’

As the parent of a teenager, I have reached the moment where my child knows infinitely more than I could ever learn in a lifetime, at least according to him.  I believe Mark Twain once said, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”   I’m in the ignorant chapter.  You get the drift.

It’s funny, isn’t it, how age can make us simultaneously feel smarter and more clueless. Part of aging is we learn just enough to realize how little we actually know. And perhaps that’s what Jesus is getting at here. Not that wisdom or intelligence are bad, but that true understanding begins with humility. God’s wisdom begins with wonder and with the kind of openness you find in a child who still asks “why?” twenty times in a row without shame instead of lambasting you with certainty at the dinner table.

Infants don’t know much, but they know how to trust. They know how to receive. They know how to be fully dependent. And maybe that’s the posture Jesus is praising—the willingness to see that grace isn’t something you figure out like a puzzle or earn like a degree. It’s something you notice when you stop needing to be the smartest one in the room.

So, here’s to holy curiosity and to the gift of not having all the answers. And to the childlike faith that keeps us open to wonder—especially when it shows up in unexpected places, like the wisdom of teenagers (Jack sometimes does surprise me) or the grace of God disguised as mystery.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection: What is something that you are just learning now?  What is something that is a mystery to you? How does humility shape your life and faith?