Day 62, Luke 18
Good Day Everyone! Blessed be the Name of the Lord! Today is the day to prepare for the Holiest Week of the Year!
Take a look at your prayer plan — time to beef it up — move things around if you like — truly begin focusing on the PASSION OF CHRIST if you haven’t already — now is the time!!!
Passion – or Palm Sunday is tomorrow! Get ready to be attentive at the Holy Mass!
Today is all about prayer and a continuation about our faith being ready to receive!
I see three eye opening points in this chapter:
- Persistence in Prayer
- Humility in Prayer
- Hidden Word
1- Persistence in Prayer
We see two great example of prayer being persistent!
First we see the Parable of the Persistant Widow! Here Jesus is showing us that if the Dishonest Judge would respond to this woman just because she was persistent –
How much more will He be quick to answer our prayers!
Now let’s define persistent prayer — it is not whiny– complaining – worried – prayer!!
It is consistent persistant prayer — disciplined day in and day out prayer — without ceasing you are trusting and seeking God’s answer to all the intentions He has placed in your heart!
It is grace to even have a request to go to God about!
The same way we see the Blind Man here asking Jesus to Have Pity on Him!
What is interesting here is that with the widow — Jesus shows that God is quick to answer when we are persistent –
But He ends by asking “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
He is saying… God will do all these great things and answer your prayers… but are you growing in faith? Or is your faith just to ask and get things from God — so that you life works out the way you want it?
God is the giver — it is a relationship — our response is supposed to be faith! If we ask ask ask and our faith is not growing… then we must look at this and humbly come before God — repent and seek the grace to grow in love and knowledge of Jesus Christ!
We must ask for more faith!
Just like this example of the Blind Beggar — I like that he is called the Beggar — that is how we are to be about spiritual gifts — beggars –
“Jesus Son of David, have pity on me!”
People tell him to be silent! And he just keeps on calling out… all the more!
Don’t you just love this guy!!!
That is how we have to be — when we are in God’s will calling out and people get uncomfortable or think you’re being foolish – sometimes you’ve just got to keep crying out!
Even if you are rebuked — Here we see Jesus stops and asks him.. what do you want me to do for you?
“Lord, Please let me see”
Now there is a prayer worth repeating!!!
We will come back to the significance of this prayer later… but for now…
realize that Jesus says to the Blind Beggar —
“Have sight, your faith has saved you”
We must be like beggars knowing that our only hope for food and sight and hearing and to walk a life of faith in this darkness is going to come from the LORD!
Humility is the answer!
2- Humility in Prayer
The second part of this chapter teaches us– through yet another parable — the gift of humility!
Jesus gives two examples of prayer — the Pharisee and the Tax Collector!
He shows us that the one with the Holy Position — who should be praying with humility – dependence on God and not seeing himself and better than anyone –
was praying with his own perceived righteousness — praying thanking God that he was not like all the sinners and lowly ones in the world! UGH! What a prayer!
Then the tax collector — who no one liked — who were in general not righteous according to the law –
prays — from a distance — wouldn’t even raise his eyes to heaven… but beat his breast and prayed,
“O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
There is another good prayer for us today!
Jesus says that the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee!! YIKES!
Then we see those precious words of Jesus — that say it all —
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”
These are words worth memorizing!!!
If we are being humbled a lot — you can count on the fact that we have been exalting ourselves!
Not hard to do in this “ME” generation we are living in! That is why we must be reading Jesus’ WORD everyday!!
3- Hidden Word
This last part I wanted to focus on happens when Jesus is Predicting the Passion for the Third time!
Crazy that Jesus goes into the whole thing — speaking in the third person — and they don’t understand! I mean this is the third time — I thought third time is a charm?
What don’t they get? He talks about being handed over, about being scourged, about being beaten even spit upon!!! And then killed -
Then on the third day He will rise!!!
There it is — pretty clear to me!
But it says here that they NOTHING OF THIS!
WHY?
Because the WORD REMAINED HIDDEN from them… and they failed to comprehend what He said!
So you see first of all that it is a total gift — of understanding!
If we don’t understand things of faith we need to ask and seek God’s face persistently until He answers us –
We need to be humble so that our soil in our hearts will be able to receive the WORD of GOD!
This is a constant discipline that if we want it bad enough we will do — some wills say it is too hard! Some will want to give up!
I am sure we all feel that way some days! Some hours!
But we must press on! We also see here again the Renunciation of Riches! Jesus brings this up right after talking about humility and really makes the point today that Riches can really choke a person and permit them from following Christ with their whole heart -
- and from entering into the kingdom of God!
It doesn’t mean it is not possible — just a whole lot harder!
God gives grace sufficient for each one to enter into His Glory!
Remember that God wants people in heaven more than we do! Ourselves included!
This is a fabulous chapter — it goes from persistence to humility — to renunciation of riches — to the word being hidden — showing us why we might not be able to understand or see –
and then a healing of the eyes — Jesus wants to clear the way so that we can see!
It takes us taking action!! We must surrender to His will and let go of the things we are holding onto!
Riches that we hold on to for security — we have to let go — let go of the holding on to them!!
With one week to go before Easter — Now is the perfect time to take inventory!
What things do you own or that you are holding on to that keep you cluttered in your mind – and heart!
Now is the time to clear out!! What do you really need to live and what can go!
Take some time this weekend to go through this!
Jesus Passion will take place this week — just the way He predicted it in this chapter –
Will it be hidden from your understanding too?
Please share!
