For Kirwan Uniting Church Keep in Touch pew sheet 15 September 2019

Do you ever go into a room, it might be your kitchen or a bedroom, and then think to yourself, “Why have I come into this room?” I do, and it used to worry me. I asked my GP, is this an early sign of dementia? He assured me that everyone does it, him included, it’s because we have so much on our minds at once that we lose track of one particular strand of what we’re doing, or supposed to be doing. “Nothing to worry about”. Another manifestation of this mental multi-tasking overload, for me at least, is when I’m driving on a familiar route. But if my destination isn’t the usual one for that route, when I come to a t-junction, or traffic light, or roundabout, and I have to decide which way to go, I have think hard “Where am I going?” before I make the direction decision.

In John 14 (“In my Father’s house are many mansions .. “), Jesus tells his disciples that they know the way to the place which he has prepared for them. But Thomas, ever-honest, replies “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” That’s me on Fulham Road when I’m not going to my usual destination that side of town, the gym! I’ve forgotten where I’m going, so which way do I go round this roundabout?
It’s not only in the geo-spatial realm that I forget the way and even the destination. It happens in my spiritual and emotional life, too. Jesus’ answer to Thomas is just as relevant. “I am the way and the truth and the life”. In whatever circumstance I find myself, I should set my satnav to Jesus. How did he respond in a similar situation? How did he deal with people? What lengths did he go to, to make a way for me? What has he promised me? He’s my destination as well as my way.