Saturday 19 May 2012

Background

There have been moments in my life when I have doubted mostthings, not least who I was and what I could offer. I have observedthat these are usually times when I have not understood or notknown what was expected of me. Often all I have needed to do is toask a question, but instead I have kept going hoping that at somepoint all would become clear.

After the mountain top experience when the disciples witnessedJesus' transfiguration, they are confused and seem to be completelylacking in any understanding of what the future held for Christ.Perhaps they miss the big picture and can't yet see themselveswithout Jesus being with them. They try their best to cover uptheir lack of knowledge but they just seem to get more and moreanxious, and less and less certain of who they are and what theycan do. Bewildered by what was expected of them and feelingincreasingly lacking in confidence about what they knew, they makesuggestions that cause Jesus to get a little exasperated! Timeneeds to pass; tragedy and loss had to be lived through before allcould become clearer.

To Ponder

On this Saturday, at the end of another week, pause and reflectover the past week. You might like to think about moments when youmay have conveyed your frustration at people's impulses orresponses to you.

Do you feel you can now empathise better with howthey were behaving? What can you learn about yourself as a resultof this reflection?

Or you may like to think about a situation thatyou didn't fully comprehend this week. Did you sweep it under thecarpet and hope it would not come back again? Did you become moreand more anxious as your lack of knowledge seemed to become moreobvious? How might you have approached it differently?

Or did you ask a question that helped you tounderstand? How did that feel particularly if you were surroundedby your peers at the time and how do you feel now? How would youbehave if this arose again and how will you remember what you cando should this arise in the future?