Asking Questions – Learning Something New

As I was reflecting on the readings for this coming Sunday this morning, I read something that caught my eye.  The second reading comes from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians.  From seminary, I always remembered that the only letter that Paul wrote to a community that he had not visited was his letter to the Romans. 

Today, I read in the scripture commentaries that Paul had not visited the Colossians!  So my mind immediately said, “wait a minute, how can that be?”  So, I dug a little deeper but at first I could not find anything to explain this “discrepancy” but what I remembered and what I read today.  Finally, this afternoon I found something.  Paul himself visited the general area where the Colossians lived but did not visit the city of Colossae itself.  One of his disciples did.  It is a small distinction (visiting the area but not the city itself) but that is not the point I want to make here.

How often do we assume we know exactly what we are talking about, only to discover maybe what we thought wasn’t quite right.  How often do we choose not to worry about the little discrepancies?  As adults, I think we learn best when we notice something that doesn’t seem quite right and ask questions.

What questions have you had that you never asked or bothered to try and find an answer to?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff