Meditations from Zion

Luke 9:45
“But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”

I often accuse my son of putting his head in the sand. He has responsibilities and chores and tasks that should be accomplished, but he procrastinates. Whatever is happening in the moment trumps these more mundane concerns. But, as the mother, these are important matters. They are small but they add up, everything from taking out the trash, feeding the animals, or washing his clothes to getting his driver’s license and paying his bills. He still doesn’t seem to “get it.”

The disciples, apparently, weren’t doing much better. Jesus told them he was going to be betrayed and they didn’t understand. I cannot help but wonder why. This was not the first time Jesus had mentioned it.

Granted, some things were purposefully hidden from the disciples as well as the crowds, but they could have pursued this train of thought. They chose not to and basically, I think they “didn’t want to know.” This is the essence of putting our heads in the sand. We don’t want to know or hear the truth.

Am I really that much different from them … or my kids? It’s just different sand.

As parents, we are often saying to our teens, “don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.” Somehow, we fear that the knowing will bring painful responsibility or will place huge demands upon us. If we “know,” then we may have to act, we may have to choose, we may have to confront ourselves and those around us. We may have to do something we don’t want to do.

Why do we assume that the truth of a situation will always be a bad thing? It’s equally possible that by procrastinating or ignoring a situation, we are missing the good stuff too.

I want to be present today. I’m taking my own head out of the sand and taking a good look around. It’s time. It’s time to start asking questions, to clarify, to understand. It’s time to see what’s really happening.

As Julian of Norwich said, “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”