Have you ever had to come back for a really great vacation and start back into work? You spent time away relaxing and taking in a totally different environment, and then you have to step back into the humdrum of life. You shift from parasail to diaper-sale, sun block to Desitin, mountain stream to washing machine. It can be hard to make the mental shift back to the everyday.
Jesus and His three closest disciples have been up on the mountain top, literally. They have had an encounter with the Living God. They have heard His voice and lived. And now they have walked back down the mountain into the middle of an argument. Peace, harmony, and tranquility go right out the window. No time to readjust to normal life, they are thrown into the middle of the mix.
I don’t know about you, but I hate walking into the middle of an argument. I almost always feel lost. I don’t know what has been said about what. You have to try to get the participants to slow down enough to let you get caught up. You have to try not to take sides too soon, or you may find yourself stuck on the short end of the facts.
As you enter, the people try to get you to line up with them. They will try to pull you to their side. Remember, there are always at least three sides, one of which will be the truth. And chances are, neither party has all the truth.
So you enter and the tug of war begins. Jesus doesn’t even get the chance to even catch His breath before He is swamped with adoring fans. I could have been easy for Jesus to sit down and just start meeting people’s needs, ignoring the argument. I am sure there were many in the crowd that day that could have used a touch from Jesus. It would have been easy for Him not to get involved. But that isn’t Jesus. He gets involved with the messes in life, even our messes.
I wonder what the people saw in Jesus that day that overwhelmed them with wonder? Had His face changed after His encounter? Did more of His divine glow seep through? How easily the crowd was distracted. They were listening in on the argument and the man’s dilemma with his son, and in a moment they are running to greet Jesus. Jesus doesn’t get distracted. He heads straight for the middle of the argument.
Next time you land in the middle again, take a few moments to get your bearing, and then jump right into the middle. Don’t be afraid of the controversy. Ask for wisdom. Keep calm. Don’t take sides.
The Arnold Journey 