Curiosity Shutdown

John 7: 37-52

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division among the People

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

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“Be curious, not judgmental.” Ted Lasso, quoting poet Walt Whitman, uses this quote to share how people judged him, rather than being curious about who he really was. None of them asked questions, instead they made assumptions.

They were suffering from a curiosity shutdown.

Executive leadership coach, Christy Geiger, writes in Forbes, “Two of the biggest factors in curiosity shutdowns are thinking we know everything already and… the need to be the expert.”¹

A curiosity shutdown takes place in today’s scripture. Once people hear that Jesus comes from Galilee, he is immediately dismissed. They say, “search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” But if they’d asked, they’d know that while Jesus spends time in Galilee, it’s not where he’s from. His lineage and birthplace are exactly what the scriptures foretold, but no one takes the time to ask.

Except… Nicodemus. Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees himself, sets himself apart from the group by his curiosity. He wants to hear more of what Jesus has to say and figure out if this new prophet might be the messiah.

The Pharisees appear to even be smug about their “knowledge” of Jesus. They fit him into a box, and because of their curiosity shutdown, they don’t examine any other evidence. After all, they’re the experts, right?

What about us? Have we forgotten how to be curious about Jesus and his role in our lives?

Whether we like it or not, we too are guilty of putting Jesus into a box. Our boxes may not look like the Pharisee’s, or even each other’s, but it is human nature to dissect and categorize for better understanding. The invitation is to examine what we take for granted in the hope of a deeper understanding.

In this season of Lent, as we strip away artifice and seek the heart of our faith, may we pause and take extra time with our judgments. May we approach Holy Week with curiosity, asking who Jesus really was, is and will be, both in history and in our lives.

¹  “Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It And How To Get It Back”

prayer

For the hungry and the overfed
May we have enough.

For the mourners and the mockers
May we laugh together.

For the victims and the oppressors
May we share power wisely.

For the peacemakers and the warmongers
May clear truth lead us to harmony.

For the silenced and the propagandists
May we speak our own words in truth.

For the unemployed and the overworked
May our impress on the earth be kindly and creative.

For the troubled and the sleek
May we live together as wounded healers.

For the homeless and the cosseted
May our homes be simple, warm and welcoming.

For the vibrant and the dying
May we all die to live.
Amen.

—A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 162