Today was one of the full day sessions of the Ignatian  course, and the focus was on 'The Call of the King' - thinking about the Christ who calls us to follow.

The morning was a time of reflection on the first ten chapters of the gospel of Mark, and the photo is the  doodle thingy that emerged from so-doing. 

I was drawn to a question that ran along the lines of 'what do you learn about Jesus - and God - from what he does and how he does it' rather than what he says.

I seemed to detect three threads (I'm sure with more time I'd have found more)...

• a compassionate, kind Jesus who engages with broken people at a one-to-one level
• an irritable Jesus who gets annoyed with his followers when they don't 'get' it
• a very demanding Jesus who insists on being No. 1 in the lives, hearts and minds of his followers - Kingdom before kin, Cross before comfort.

I then wondered how these weave together to give a 'thicker' description of Jesus, or a richer understanding of who he was/is.

Some of the scribbles on my doodle relate not to this exploration, but arise from the reflection I've undertaken ahead of overview sermon on Mark tomorrow.

Much to mull over from the day, but for now it's feet up with knitting and kitties!

Yesterday was my first day back at the Care Home, and I have to admit that trudging up the hill in the rain was a bit of a chore.  I arrived, got the updated residents list and started to check off who I would drop in to see - sadly at three of my regulars, and among my faovurites, if such things are permitted, had died over the holiday period.

As I sat making my new list, one of the 'Activity Coordinators' approached me with a huge gift-wrapped parcel - a thank you for my work over the past year.  Getting home, I opened it to reveal the biggest box of biscuits you ever did see! I was very touched, and somewhat humbled, because sometimes I do wonder whether I contribute anything to the well-being of those I see.

On average, I see about 20 people when I visit, and a quick check through the records I began to keep a year ago, have spent time with more than 50 people in that time.  Some only once, as they are passing through; some I see several times; a few I've been called in to see as they neared the end of their lives.  it's the nature of Care Homes that turnover of residents is quite rapid; it's also a great privilege to allowed to wander around, to chat to people and, when they so wish, to pray with and for them.