The daily scriptures from the Liturgy of the Church give me plenty of material for reflection. But when I am open and expectant the people of the events of every day also speak to me with the power of the scriptures with vivid reminders of the presence and action of Jesus alive and active in the routines of our daily lives.

It’s years since i have used jumper leads but twice yesterday I came across people who needed my car battery to start their cars, probably due to using car headlights during the stormy darker-than-usual day and forgetting to turn them off.

In both cases the cars were completely non-responsive to the turn of the key. The effects of ex-Cyclone Gita didn’t help and within seconds we were cold and wet, but thanks to the jumper cables the first car was alive again.

Without my battery and the jumper leads the car would still be dead.

A car seems like a pretty independent machine, but the reality is different. If the battery is dead, it won’t start. If I don’t put fuel in it, it won’t move. If I fill up with petrol instead of diesel the car complains. If I don’t check the oil and tyres the car will not run smoothly.

For an independent machine, my car is pretty dependent.

Most of us can seem pretty self-sufficient but, like the car, the reality is very different. While we do have moments of feeling strong, we are more often weak, vulnerable and needy. The reality is that the breath we receive every moment is not our own creation.

A human being is by definition one of God’s dependants.

I’m thinking of the first word of the Lord’s prayer which we reflected yesterday remembering that we are never alone. We pray OUR Father. This is the prayer of healthy human inter-dependance. We need each other, and at times we have the opportunity to offer a jumper lead to someone else who is struggling.

However we probably won’t think to offer this help from the heart unless we live with gratitude for those who have offered us the jumper cable at times in our past.

Perhaps today as so many people around Aotearoa New Zealand suffer the effects of the violent weather with homes flooded and livelihoods threatened we might find more opportunity than usual to offer a hand of support, and a moment of prayer.