The Revd Writes…

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” John F Kennedy

It can sometimes be quite challenging to think – not least in these days when it seems a revolution is taking place in the political realms of world order. Any pace of rapid change often leaves one feeling disoriented and, it would seem, particularly so at the current time. What was a given, seems no longer so. How and where amidst international relations the dust will settle remains to be seen. Amidst the ongoing agony and trauma of war, we wonder what the longer-term outcome will be for those at the sharp edge of suffering in both Ukraine and Gaza. It is sometimes difficult to think.

It was difficult too for Jesus to think. He entered into the desert and was tormented – pulled in different directions, this way and that. I recently asked children in schools to tell me why they thought that the desert might be a good place to think. Little hands went up to tell me that the desert was empty – there was no one there. Solitude, being alone – having no one around you – was the common consensus. I’m of the view that being alone to think can be good, but it doesn’t have to be. And as Christian people, of course, we believe that we are never alone. We walk with God and God walks with us. Truth is, Jesus wasn’t alone in the desert. God, who is Father and Spirit as well as Son, was present, helping the thinking of a conflicted mind, the latter represented by the Devil who, by the way, was big on opinion.

“Where do you go when you want to think?” I asked the children. ‘Outside’ mostly seemed to be the response. “On the field!” I couldn’t help but sense that what they were telling me was, ‘anywhere but the classroom!’ One child did explain that being inside was too distracting. Credit for that. You need to go outside to get away from the fragmentation of everything going on around you, away from the TV, computer, etc. Too many influencers with too many opinions can cloud the thinking.

The mystery of Easter pushes against ‘opinion’. If you think about it, it disturbs the same old, same old, boom and bust of quite a lot of human behaviour. Bring on courage, sacrifice and a little bit of divine mercy. Now you are thinking…

Happy Easter

God Bless

Mark