Sharing

When I trained as a Primary teacher way back in the sixties, one of the things we were taught was how we should respond if asked a question to which we didn't know the answer. (If?!) Under no circumstances, we were told, should we pretend we knew or make up an answer because at some point we'd be sure to be proved wrong, and that would do our reputations no good. Instead, we were to say, "That's a good question, let's look up the answer together."

Fine, but it didn't need a child of Mensa-level intelligence to realise that particular response was usually code for "I don't know." An alternative - "I need to double-check that" - was a slightly face-saving way out with the same result, namely, you shared the process of discovery.

The truth, of course, is that none of we mere humans know everything, yet somehow we want some people to be all-knowing. Parents and teachers when we are small. Leaders in many spheres of life when we are bigger.

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. We are living in a time of not-knowing: though knowledge of the Covid-9 virus is increasing, much is still mystery and as for knowing what works against it, what we can do to mitigate its effects . . . well. But we are also living in a time when some people share their opinions as if they knew it all when they don't, and this confuses us still further. Also, none of it is good for the health of those in leadership.

Moses, carrying the burden of leadership of the People of Israel, was exhausted, a fact his visiting father-in-law, Jethro, noticed and wisely advised that he chose Elders to share in his burden. (Exodus 18: 13-27) He did as advised, and no doubt slept more soundly.

St. Paul struggled too. The Christians in Corinth were squabbling between themselves so much, listening to this one and that one (sound familiar?), that he had to feed them a liquid-diet Gospel rather than the 'meaty' Gospel that they should have been able to take in. (1 Corinthians 3: 1-3)
and that was a loss to them as a community and to the people they could have helped.

And so we look to Jesus who, having proved to his disciples who he was and how much they could trust in him came to the point when they could take more truth. (John 15:7-17)
"I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father." (Verse 15)

No matter how old or wise we may be, there is no one on earth who knows it all, not only about the new virus, but also about life and about faith itself and the more we have the humility to assess what we are hearing and to share in the learning process, the better for us and, ultimately, for the world. This sounds hard, but remember, Jesus trusts us - he calls us friends, too! He's given us the Holy Spirit to help us, to help us always.

I love this picture. They're studying a Roman inscription which, in spite of considerable combined knowledge, proved indecipherable - we don't always get an answer to our questions! What we needed, of course was a bona fide Roman to explain it.