Thoughts for the Day

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

How do you learn? There are at least seven ways we learn, and we are all different. I am useless with numbers but can picture where many things are written on a page and visualise the picture associated with it. So how do we learn? Current thinking is some of the following - I have put this simply:

1. By sight.
2. By ear.
3. Through language (ie reading/writing).
4. Through touch or use of the body.
5. Logically.
6. Socially.
7. Alone.

Our reading reminds us that Jesus is the great teacher. He teaches them in many ways:

• To love your neighbour - by ear, and language, eg Good Samaritan (Luke 10.25-37)
• To welcome God - by sight, ear, and language, eg placing a child before the disciples (Mark 9.36-37)
• To make decisions - solitary, eg spending time with God (Luke 6.12-13)
• To accept all people - through touch, and sight, eg healing of a leper (Matthew 8.1-3)
• That Jesus cannot be Satan - by logical argument, ear, and language, eg Jesus and Beelzebul (Matthew 12.22-30)
• To train the disciples - socially, and use of the body, eg sending the disciples out in pairs. (Luke 9.1-2)

May we truly appreciate all teachers of the Christian faith today, and their use of different styles to help us to learn more about our faith.

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank You for the example You set before us
on how to teach others about the Kingdom of God.
We remember also with gratitude
those who wrote the Gospels
that teach us about Your life on earth.
Help us to remember that there is no one way
to learn about You,,
and that ultimately it is about having faith.
Amen.