Tuesday January 1st 2019 – Seeking Understanding

Morning: Psalm 103; Genesis 17:1-16; Colossians 2:6-12

Evening: Psalm 148; John 16:23-30

Happy New Year!  Today, I am taking more space than usual to explain what you might expect in these daily 100 words during 2019 …

Beginning today, I am calling these reflections ‘Seeking Understanding’.  They attempt and invite understanding.  Mostly, I use non-religious language accessible to all, though the central character is Jesus.

Many people say they do not understand the Way of Jesus – they either believe it blindly or reject it.  These reflections invite us to dedicate time and effort each day to understanding the things we believe and the things we do not.

In so many areas of human endeavour, it takes a lifetime to gain mastery – Art, Mechanics, Carpentry, Parenting, Medicine, Cooking, Law, Science, Politics, Psychology.  Yet sometimes we imagine we will understand the Way of Jesus in a moment.  Or we believe we already understand without effort … which can actually lead to huge mis-understanding.

Perseverance is required. St. Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit.”  If you want to be sure things make sense to you, don’t just believe all you’ve been told, nor dismiss things out of hand … explore more deeply.

I am inviting you to reflect with me on a couple of levels:

1. Digging into things so as to give a more reasonable foundation to whatever faith you have; and, if you are not a person of faith, you may want to understand what leads some people to faith.
2. Once you take the step of faith, you are on a new journey of understanding.  St. Augustine (354-430) said, “Believe in order to understand.”  If you are a person of faith, I hope you will explore daily the new territory that has now opened itself to your imagination.  St. Anselm (1033 – 1109) called this “Faith seeking understanding.”

I am calling this daily reflection ‘Seeking Understanding’ because its goal is to invite both the understanding that precedes faith and the understanding that is enriched by faith.

Onward! …