God's Context
I am the type of person who tends to be frustrated when something is asked of me, but little to no directions are given. In cases where I am expected to problem solve, I’m frustrated when the context is not given. How can we expect ourselves or others to succeed without sufficient guidance or support? In these circumstances, I feel a bit like the bakers on the Greatest British Baking show in their second challenge in which they are given a recipe with no context but they are given step by step directions. In watching the show, we realize that the directions can be interpreted in different ways and, as such, the results vary.
Today's Gospel is a snippet from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where we are reminded to “obey and teach the commandments”. In all honesty, at times I find the commandments, rules, and guidance from God perhaps lacking the context I need, or I find myself confused about how to follow God’s “rules.” Similar to the bakers, I find myself trying and failing, or at least stumbling, in various aspects of life. For example, I don’t know how to navigate “loving thy neighbor as thyself” during a time in my life when so many around me are going through different things, have different expectations, and different capacities. Adjusting to the various life situations of each person is a big challenge and task such that I don’t always know what “loving” the other looks like.
My intention during Lent this year was to do spiritual writing each day. I’ll admit that I’m very much failing at it thus far having only written a handful of times. I’m frustrated about this because it is always helpful in revealing things like context I’m missing or recognizing God’s invitations and affirmations. All of which help clarify “God’s directions” for me amid the confusing situations in life. Luckily, while the British Bakers are left on their own, we are not.
Today I was reminded of Fr. David’s summary of the Bible. He suggests that the entirety of the Bible is God telling us “I am here. Trust me. I love you.” With this context I can more easily acknowledge him saying “let me help you problem solve, let me help you love.”
What areas of your life need more context, guidance, and support from God? Are you open to asking for and acknowledging the help?
Joan Ervin