Keep that youthful wonder

College students love to play Stump the Priest.

Ive learned that in four years of campus ministry. Students are full of questions about the Bible, and moral theology, and liturgy, and Church history, and comparative religions.

Their questions often open up wonderful discussions. Sometimes, those discussions remind me of what I love about my faith. Sometimes, those discussions are real lessons in humility these inquisitive students help me realize just how much I dont know yet. But always, the students inspire me with their curiosity and their sense of wonder.

We can lose that, as we grow older. As our faith becomes more and more integrated into the pattern of our life, we can lose touch with the things that first drew our hearts and minds to God.

What should be wondrous becomes mundane. And those things that are still confusing or challenging . . . well, we just stop pondering all that stuff. At some point, we realize that there will always be mysteries, and we decide were content to let them go unexplored.

But maybe we shouldnt. A sense of wonder is a key part of the religious experience. Wonder at the God who is the source of our being, wonder that God reached out to us fickle humans, wonder at the beauty around us, wonder at the people we encounter. Curiosity feeds our sense of wonder, because curiosity pushes us to ask questions and look for answers. Curiosity pushes us to learn new things, but it also helps us to re-examine familiar doctrines and re-read familiar Scripture passages with fresh eyes.

If college is a distant memory for you, maybe its time to reawaken your curiosity and sense of wonder. Learn something new.

We live at a time when books and talks and podcasts and videos are abundant, so take advantage of them. Or re-read a familiar passage from the Bible, like the Sermon on the Mount or the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As you do, ask yourself how the Scriptures are challenging you now, today.

It wont be long until the college students show up. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing campus come back to life. And Im excited for this years version of Stump the Priest. I have no idea what theyll come up with this time around. But whatever it is, I know it will renew my own curiosity and sense of wonder.