As I looked around the church on Sunday, I noticed how many people in the congregation were using canes, walkers and crutches. Those are great testimonies to the treatments of modern medicine, but not such great testimonies to the healing power of Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the man's friends, he healed the paralytic. We looked at this story of healing on Monday (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26). We don't know if the paralyzed man had faith. Maybe he did; maybe he didn't. But we know that his friends did. They carried him to Jesus, tore a hole in the roof, and, using ropes, lowered him in front of Jesus. That took planning, preparation and persistence. This may be the case when we pray with someone. They may not have much faith, but their friend does or we do. The person in need of prayer may be hope-filled but not faith-filled. They may be doubtful or skeptical. They may be incapable of getting to Jesus on their own. We may be the only one praying who has faith. We may need to plan, prepare and persist so that the experience of healing can bring them to faith. What would have happened to the man who was paralyzed if he hadn't gotten a little help from his friends? He could not have gotten to Jesus on his own. His friends helped him get his life back. For reflection: Is there anyone among my friends with a knee, hip or ankle injury? Anyone facing joint surgery with weeks of rehabilitation afterward? Am I the friend who will take them to Jesus? Can I help them get their life back? Let us pray. Jesus, you instantly healed the man who was paralyzed because his friends brought him to you. I bring to you today _____. I don't want him/her to suffer any longer. I don't care what the doctors say about the length of their recovery. I care about their health and their relationship to you.
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Wouldn't it be wonderful to have Jesus himself explain the Scriptures to us? All those little things (and big things) we've wondered about would be explained. He could tell us exactly how Moses and the Hebrew people crossed the Red Sea. What got into King Saul to make him want to kill David? Why did He choose to be born at that particular time? Jesus explained many of those things to some of his disciples after he rose from the dead. When Jesus was walking with two of his followers on the road to Emmaus, Luke (24:27) tells us that "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." What a privilege! For reflection: What Scripture would I most like to have explained by God? Let us pray. Jesus, I ask you to give me new insight into that Scripture today. Just as you explained things to your disciples on the road to Emmaus, help me with that passage today. The teachings of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5 are certainly counter-cultural. They were counter-cultural then; they are counter-cultural now. That's because we have never really put his teachings into practice. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44) has never been easy. It may even be the hardest. In October 2006 a man killed a number of girls in an Amish school in Pennsylvania. Then he killed himself. Some of those families buried their daughter one day and attended the funeral of the killer the next. A year later they were still helping to support the man's widow and his three children. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." This radical forgiveness stopped the community from being torn apart. The Amish live a counter-cultural life and they chose to follow the counter-cultural command of Jesus. Like the Rwandan people we spoke of on Friday, they took the road less traveled. They chose love rather than hatred and forgiveness rather than revenge. For reflection: "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, 'Father, forgiven them, for they do not know what they are doing'" (Luke 23:32-34). Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. "You are the light of the world," Jesus said (Matthew 5:14). As we continue with our reflection on this verse, what is another reason we don't let our light shine? What is another reason we don't speak to people about Jesus? Aside from the fear of rejection(which we looked at Wednesday), a second common fear is that we don't know enough to answer questions. We are afraid that someone will ask us a question about Jesus or Christianity or Scripture, and we won't be able to give an answer. Does this happen? Just as with being rejected, of course it does. We don't know everything and the right answer doesn't always pop into our heads at just the right moment. However, our not knowing an answer gives us an opportunity to continue the conversation later. We can reply, "That's a good question. Let me think about that/look into that and get back to you." (Actually, my teachers in school would say, "That's a good question. Research the answer and get back to the class on that.") No doubt some people would remind me of Luke 21:12-15 wherein Jesus promises to give us the words to defend ourselves. In that passage he is speaking about a time of intense persecution where we are called upon to uphold the gospel in defense of our life. That is not describing the ordinary situation where we are speaking to a neighbor or friend. It is describing an extraordinary situation where our life is on the line. Jesus will supply all the words we need at that time. For reflection: Has my light been dimmed by fear? If I am afraid I don't know the answers, am I studying the Bible on a regular basis? Let us pray. Jesus, I want my light to shine. I want my life to reflect your glory. I want people to know that my life is different because of you. I give you my fear of rejection and my fear of not knowing enough. Is there someone to whom I can speak about you today? I'm volunteering. Send me. We have been speaking of Joseph and his brothers for a while and the terrible thing they did to him. We noted how Joseph forgave them, and their father forgave them. But did they forgive themselves and change their ways? Well, they still weren't above a little deceit. When their father died they were afraid that Joseph would rescind his forgiveness and start taking revenge on them. So they told Joseph that their father Jacob, on his deathbed, asked for Joseph to forgive them. Joseph wept when he heard this from them for he had truly forgiven them and thought that was behind them all. Why had they been unsure of his forgiveness? I think it was because they still had not forgiven themselves. Their own lack of forgiveness reared its ugly head as suspicion of Joseph. Then they slipped back into their habit of lying to get what they wanted. For reflection: It can be hard to break out of habitual ways of relating to one other. If forgiving others and forgiving ourselves becomes our habit, then other habits like lying will disappear. Let us pray. "His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers" (Luke 1:50-55). "O Flower of Jesse's Stem" is the next title in the O Antiphons. Surely it is one of the more obscure titles of the Messiah. Who was Jesse? Jesse was the father of King David. It was prophesied by Isaiah that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David. "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit" (Isaiah 11:1) and "In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious" (11:10). It was also foretold by Micah that the Messiah would hail from Bethlehem. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). Because of these prophecies concerning the Messiah, Matthew gives us the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1) and Luke provides the story of how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem, the City of David (Luke 2). Thus they help to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus, of the tribe of Jesse, of the town of Bethlehem, is the full flowering of the Messianic promises made through the ages. For Reflection: Christians were persecuted around the world this year. Some had their churches bombed. Some were not allowed to worship openly. Some were not allowed to visit Bethlehem for Christmas. Let us pray. O Wisdom, O Lord, O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid. Isaiah provides us with many images of the Kingdom of God. He pictures the Lord on a mountain laying out a feast of "rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines". Here the Lord will "destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations" (Isaiah 25:6-8). To me this is the veil of unbelief, the web of deceit that Satan, the father of lies and accuser of the brethren, weaves to keep people from entering the presence of the Lord. By his death, Jesus destroyed the veil that separated the people from the Holy of Holies so that all people could enter in (Luke 23:45; Hebrews 10:19-22). The presence of the Lord is not reserved for the "worthy few" because all have been made worthy by the blood of Jesus. For reflection: How can I make more time to enjoy the feast, to drink the wine of his presence? Let us pray. Today I enter into your presence, Lord. I drink you in. God loves us. It's so simple to say and so hard to really believe. And because God loves us he sent his son Jesus to be with us. Everything Jesus did was good and done on our behalf. He told of the good news of the kingdom to any who would listen. He ate with sinners; spoke with the unclean. Healed sick people and raised dead people. He cast out demons and calmed storms. He fed people with food and with word. He gave hope and comfort. He proclaimed a year of favor from the Lord and he lived it out. Returning again to Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2, the last part is "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor". He was proclaiming the inauguration of the Kingdom of God on earth through his own presence. He was declaring a time of jubilee when all debts are cancelled, all slaves are freed, and all property returned to the original owners. It was a time of the equalization of people. Those who had fallen down the socioeconomic ladder were raised back up. For reflection: In the Kingdom of God on earth there would not be such disparities between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. What am I doing to bring about this aspect of the Kingdom of God on earth? Let us pray. Jesus, you have a grand vision for the kingdom. It is hard even to imagine how to achieve equality among peoples in one country, much less around the world. What can I do? Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. What does the Kingdom of God on earth look like? Continuing with "proclaiming . . . recovery of sight to the blind" (Luke 4:18), what if recovery of sight meant physical healing instead of spiritual healing (or both spiritual and physical healing)? Jesus certainly made it a point to heal people while he was on earth and his mission was to proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth. So the healing of people with physical problems is evidence of the kingdom. I doubt that all people in healing professions would proclaim that they are helping to bring about the Kingdom, but they are because all wisdom and knowledge comes from God. All ability to help and to comfort is from God. Inspiration for cures comes from God too. Aside from people in the healing professions, people who pray for the healing of friends and loved ones are helping to bring about the Kingdom because in the Kingdom there is no sickness (physical, emotional or spiritual). There is no more death, no more crying. No one weeps in the Kingdom. For reflection: For whom do I need to pray today? If I see someone in the next few days, will I be open to God's prompting to pray with them in person? If I am in the healing professions, do I thank God every day for the privilege of helping to proclaim "sight to the blind". Do I know someone who is caring for a loved one at home? How can I offer a hand? Let us pray. Heavenly Father, there is so much work to do in the area of healing to bring about your Kingdom. We need more knowledge of how the human body works. We need more inspiration for cures. How can I help? What else might the Kingdom of God on earth look like? The next line from Isaiah, read by Jesus in the temple, is "recovery of sight for the blind" (Luke 4:18). This restoration of sight can be spiritual or physical. Either way it is a good thing and helps to bring about the Kingdom. Spiritual sight would mean that people would know God. If all people on earth knew God the world would be a different place. It would be a world of love and mercy, peace and justice. For if we know Christ and have the Spirit of God, then "we have the mind of Christ" as St. Paul says (1 Corinthians 2:16). Being like-minded in Christ is a recurring them for Paul. "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ . . if any fellowship with the Spirit . . . (have) the same love, (be) one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:1-5). For reflection: Do I know God? Do I have the Holy Spirit? To what extent am I spiritually blind? Do I really see other people and their needs? Let us pray. Jesus, I want to be like-minded with you. I want to see people the way you see them. I want to see people's actions and circumstances the way you see them. I want to help bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. Your kingdom come, your will be done. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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