Messages

I prayed as I walked this morning. Three Our Fathers. One Glory Be. After reaching the place where I perform my morning exercise, a dog interrupted me just a few movements into the routine. It's a dog I have often seen, and it will not leave until it has been greeted cheerily and stroked on the head. As I continued with my exercise, the dog, rather than leaving, simply retreated a few steps and started to bark.

The dog had apparently realised that, in seeking attention from a stranger, it had become separated from its owner. It was his task to find the dog, rather than for the dog to find him. Continuing to exercise, I questioned what this encounter meant. The dog had approached so quietly that it had seemed to appear suddenly, startling me. As I flinched, the dog had also flinched a little, relaxing when I said hello and stroked it on the head.

Today's gospel was about Christ's ability to heal, and being true to His promise. Was the purpose of the encounter with the dog to heal something in me? My initial response to the dog had been one of shock and maybe a little fear. This response had quickly faded with the recognition that this dog was not one that meant to harm me, and my response turned to friendly compassion.

After the dog had gone, I practised karate. I have been learning and practising two styles of karate in the morning - one because I attend a weekly class which teaches it, and one because I regard it as particularly good for self-protection. Over the weekend, I had resolved to practise only the style which I am formally training in a class.

I moved on from karate, without practising the older, more self-protection-oriented karate. As I did this, a strong gust of cold wind came seemingly from nowhere. I had not experienced such a sudden gust on my walk to the training spot, nor would I experience it on the way home.

Several months ago, a neighbour had decided that I was responsible for everything that had gone wrong in his life. He had followed me to my door and initiated a quarrel which escalated to him throwing a punch at me. During the confrontation, my initial anger had gradually been replace with a quiet confidence. His punch had easily been stopped, and this was followed with a calm assertion that further attempts to hurt me would lead to him being injured. Unfortunately, this did not dissuade him, as his pride led him to dismiss his fear.

On the one hand, this morning's message was that I have been too defensive, too suspicious of others. There are multiple reasons for this in past and more recent experience. On the other hand, there was a message about not letting go of training which may be needed to keep me safe. I will have to reflect on what this all means.