We’re now coming to the end of Stepwise and preparing for our final session, which naturally is about encouraging us to think about where we go from here. As part of the preparation for this session, we’ve been invited to read John 21:15-19 and reflect on some questions:
In what ways do you identify with Peter?
I find Peter one of the easiest disciples to identify with, partly because he’s mentioned more than the others but also because he’s impetuous and enthusiastic and he often acts before thinking. He’s the one who speaks up and is willing to try things, and he makes mistakes along the way and does things he regrets. I love the fact that even though Peter gets things wrong, Jesus trusts him to lead the early church. I can definitely identify with sometimes acting without thinking things through and getting things wrong!
I wonder if Peter’s hurt over being asked three times whether he loves Jesus is down to his own guilt at denying him three times. I can imagine that Peter must still be carrying that guilt at this point and again that is something that I can relate to – that difficulty of letting go of the things that I didn’t do that I should have done, or of the times of getting things wrong, or being less than I think God would want me to be.
How does that impact on your journey?
For me, it’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter that we’re human and fallible, we still have an important role to play with sharing God’s love for others. It’s also a reminder that the journey may well lead us to places we didn’t expect to go and perhaps places or situations that make us afraid.
Finally, what are these readings saying to you?
As well as this reading from John, we were also asked to reflect on Matthew 28:16-20. For me, these readings are a reminder that it’s okay to be unsure and perhaps anxious about taking the next step, but that Jesus walks alongside us and will equip us for the journey ahead. We just need to step out in faith.
What have I learned?
One of the main things that has come out of Stepwise (and the Lent course that I did) for me is that reminder that we cannot be church in isolation – we need to be church within a community; we need to be able to share God’s love with those in our local community, and to find out what their needs are and to see how we can meet them. The challenges for us as a church are being small in number and working out what things we need to focus on.
Where might I go from here?
My original plan on starting Stepwise was to continue on to Faith-Filled Worship as having become involved in leading services, I felt that I wanted to be better equipped for doing so. I’d still quite like to do this as I still feel this would be a good thing to do, but I’d also like to explore something that might equip me for working more with our local community as part of the church and considering whether there is some kind of community project we can initiate, perhaps in conjunction with the local Churches Together group.
Where have I seen God lately
- In the little baby robin that flew down and paused right next to my foot while I was sitting out in the garden.
- In having people around who were able to listen and be there for me during a very unexpected grief trigger at the weekend.
- In the love and support I have from friends and family.
A Kintsugi Faith 