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.
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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. Another aspect of the Kingdom of God on earth, brought up by the typhoon, is that there will be no more destructive storms. We can deduce this because we have the example of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). After Jesus simply speaks to the storm, "Quiet! Be still!", the wind dies and the waters are calm. Then he chastises the disciples for not having enough faith. They had not recognized that his miracle-working power extended to storms even though they had already seen him heal many people and cast out demons. As Jesus healed people, he taught them that "the Kingdom of God is near" so they should "repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15). This was a new kingdom, not like any other kingdom they had ever seen. Did they have the faith to believe it and to tell others about it and demonstrate how it was different? For reflection: Do I believe that the Kingdom of God on earth is near? That it is different? Do I have the faith to calm storms? If I banded together with other people, would I have the faith to stop typhoons? Let us pray. Jesus, I've never even prayed to stop a storm before. I've always just prayed for the people to endure and recover. Help me have the faith to believe and to act when there is a threat. Let us pray today for the people of The Philippines who are suffering from the typhoon. Father, we ask for a miraculous recovery for the people of The Philippines. That the food and water arriving will be more than sufficient, that the debris be cleared away more quickly than anyone thinks possible, that housing and workplaces be restored in the blink of an eye. We loose the storehouses of food, building materials, medicine and philanthropy around the world. We also ask for healing for their loss of families, friends and loved ones. We ask for loving families to be found for all children left orphaned and new hope for the elderly who lost everything dear to them. Pour out your provision of hope and healing, Father, for those who are spiritually destitute, for those who don't know you. May this time of physical renewal also be a time of spiritual renewal. 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. What do we mean by the kingdom of God for which we pray in the Lord's Prayer? When we say "your kingdom come" what are we imagining? What does it look like? There are many clues in Scripture as to what the kingdom looks like. One of these is in Luke 4:18-19, where Jesus reads from the writings of Isaiah the prophet (61:1-2). Let's look at what one of the proclamations might mean in the kingdom of God on earth - freedom for the prisoners/captives. I don't believe that Jesus simply meant to set prisoners free in order to let them cause havoc or commit crimes. He meant that hearts would be changed to such a degree that there would be no need for prisons. Consider what this would mean around the world just for political prisoners. It means a world where there is political peace and justice for everyone with no need to demonstrate or protest. All people would be treated fairly by the government. There would be no war, no genocide, no torture, no political prisoners. No need for armies or training for war. For reflection: In sports, they teach athletes to envision being faster, envision winning. As Christians, can we envision the earth ruled with peace, justice and fairness? Envision it today. Envision a world with no war, no armies, no genocide, no torture, no political prisoners. Let us pray. Jesus, in order to bring about your kingdom on earth, I need your vision for it. I need the vision of no more war, no injustice. I want to proclaim freedom for prisoners around the world. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Reflecting on the Lord's Prayer this week (Luke 11:2-4), it is difficult for many of us to imagine what it means to pray "your kingdom come" because we don't have a concept of what God's kingdom on earth might mean. We often think of God's kingdom on earth as "already, but not yet", present in some form but not complete. In fact, on many days when the reality around us gets us down, we think there is no presence of God's kingdom on earth at all. But St. Paul tells us that what we need is faith because "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the proof of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). On those days when we don't see the kingdom of God around us, faith tells us it is there. It is there because Jesus has been here to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth and because our prayers - "your kingdom come" - continue to bring it about. In fact, "Faith draws the future into the present, so that it is no longer simply a “not yet”. The fact that this future exists changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the present into those of the future" (Spe Salvi 7). By prayer, faith acts to bring the future about. For reflection: What future reality is my faith bringing about? Let us pray. Jesus, we join with you in prayer, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come." Let's do something a little different today. We've been looking at Luke 11 and things Jesus said about prayer. This is also the point at which Luke inserts Jesus' teaching the disciples what we call "the Lord's Prayer". Since the words in Scripture are somewhat different from the version we have learned, let us meditate today on the words as Luke recorded them. Father, Hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial. Asking for needs versus wants can seem like a disappointment in prayer if our basic needs for food, shelter and safety are met. But Jesus considers something else as a basic necessity: Holy Spirit. He tells us this in Luke 11:11-13, "Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" The fish and the egg represent a basic necessity - food. And a child needs to have food given to her. We wouldn't expect a child to earn food. Further Jesus speaks of his Father as giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives does not have to be earned and is as much a necessity as food. For reflection: How much Holy Spirit do I have in my life? How much do I need? Let us pray. Father, giver of all good gifts, I ask today for more of the presence of your Holy Spirit in my life. I have a great need for the strengthening, the power and the love of the Holy Spirit. |
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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