Have you ever been involved in developing a project, i.e. starting a new program, writing an evaluation report, etc. only to find that you don’t have enough information and even worse, that you don’t have enough time? Invariably, with these scenarios, there can be a lot of anxiety that can ensue. Can you complete what you wanted to achieve, or do you have to defer to a later time?
Right now, a lot of indicators affecting our world suggest that we are not ready for primetime.
A brand-new virus and disease are spreading around the world with various populations and causing panic behavior.
The earth’s environment is still suffering from rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere with rising seas levels threatening communities.
Financial markets are dropping due to fear of some of the above fore-mentioned phenomena.
The situation is reminiscent of the little boy who asked the adult the following question:
“Mister, do you know how to drive? “
Indeed, that is a big concern. Can you operate and control an automobile? Can you manage an organization? Do you have the capacity to provide leadership that will inspire people to accomplish goals, especially in times which are anything but certain?
When you find that you can’t accomplish or complete tasks or programs in a timely manner, it can feel disappointing and upsetting. You may wonder if you have the capacity to get things done.
I’m wondering right now if perhaps we need a little more humility in dealing with these challenges. May we don’t know all that we need to know? Perhaps, instead of wishing that something dreadful would go away, we might instead reach out to as many experts as possible to help fill our knowledge base in order to deal with these significant challenges.
Our country’s history has demonstrated time and again, that when people work together, and set their egos aside, and really try to listen and understand different perspectives that amazing things can be accomplished.
This season of Lent is a time of reflection, make that introspection. Lent asks us to reflect upon the meaning of Jesus’ life and ministry. Lent also asks us to reflect upon the meaning of our own lives.
Right now, the world is not ready for primetime. We have a lot of red flags, a lot of signs saying “under construction ‘[ and detours.
We can feel like that there is a lot of darkness trying to swallow us up.
Religious myths point to the possibility of darkness being overcome by light, by death being transformed by new life.
Yes, we may not now be ready for primetime and yet the journey of our lives in the divine, however known, speaks to the promise of making ourselves and our world in something new.
We need that desperately now, for you and I and our world.
May it be so.