July 25th - Reflection

Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 17
Luke 11:1-13 (NRSV)
Jesus teaches prayer

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be 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."

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 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!"

Reflection
I remember, as a small child, seeing a white zip up Bible on the coffee table. I can recall peeking into the room where the coffee table was to see my Mom reading from this Bible and praying. I noticed how she was consistent with this day after day. As that memory set into my mind, it formed a curiosity and a discipline that my Mom taught me without her actually realizing that she was teaching me a lesson. She taught this lesson by demonstration and action. I'm convinced this is in some ways the same as Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Jesus taught by demonstration and action and the disciples became curious.

Sometime around that same age, I'm not sure about the age or the sequence of events; I had a dream that Jesus showed up at my door with Elijah and someone else. When I answered the door Jesus wanted to know if Billy could come out and play. These two events seem to be linked in some way. For one, they have given me a life-long curiosity into the meaning, and a life-long example to demonstrate the power of prayer in action.

When you hear the knock at the door, be prepared to answer, be prepared to pray, be prepared to reflect on the written and spoken Word, be prepared to witness the Word made flesh and be prepared to be changed into something new. Finally be prepared to be a demonstration of God's activity in your life for those who surround you each day.

Prayer
Lord, take my life, my curiosity, my searching and make it a demonstration that you would desire for the world to see. --- Amen