Morning Prayer
Luke 9: 57 and Luke 10: 23
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Reflection
The rigours of following Jesus, the rewards of being sent out by Jesus… Following Jesus is clearly not for everyone. Many are called but few are chosen. Here Jesus calls one who has matters to attend to first. Another enthusiast will follow him but Jesus tests his commitment by saying how challenging it is walking with him and then says one who reconsiders after saying yes is not fit for service in the kingdom. No, this being chosen for God’s work is not for everyone.
On the other hand, after sufficient training, it was time for them to go out and exercise power in Jesus’ name, not as some big personas but as humble servants of God who yet know the power they have been given. Boy were they pleased when they performed the same healings and deliverances they saw Jesus perform! Their commitment was being rewarded where it counts, in seeing lives transformed! Lead on Jesus! Give us a full measure of your Spirit and open our eyes and hearts that we might see lives transformed!
Noon Day Prayers Question
Imagine you have been filled with the Spirit as Jesus and his disciples were, as was Paul and countless millions of others since then. What is your heart’s desire? What would you love to see God doing through you? To whom is your heart going out? Offer your desires to God, saying “If it be your will, I am your servant. Do with and through me as you see fit.”
Evening Prayer
Luke 10: 25 – 37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Reflection
A quote from Micah comes to mind: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
To be just, kind and merciful with our neighbours and to walk humbly with our Abba, the Divine, is surely the path of any authentically spiritual person. This is surely core to religious traditions, whether observed or not.
Mercy is so hard and inconvenient sometimes. Justice can more easily be bent to what is convenient for us, or for our strong feelings. Walking humbly with our God gives us the resources and backbone to be just and merciful with our neighbours.
Give us grace heavenly father to love practically, to be merciful and forgiving again and again, and to always turn back to you in all humility for your ways will always be above ours and your thoughts above ours. So we humbly trust you to guide and transform us from glory to glory in your service. Amen.