Morning Prayer
Luke 17: 11 – 19
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Reflection
Jesus again and again was disappointed with how the people of his day behaved. Whether it was the ministers and priests who criticized his healing on the Sabbath or those who heard what he had to say but did not become doers of the word or now those who were blessed by God but did not give God glory afterwards. We are so caught up in our own worlds, in our own concerns, in our own ways of thinking and being that we miss the opportunity that Jesus presents us with. Again and again it is the “unrighteous,” those outside the pale of adherence to God’s law who respond from the heart. This new Israel is bringing in all those who could not fit in the old Israel. Heavenly Father, give us grace to respond from the heart more and more to your word, to become doers of your word, to walk in gratitude and praise. Let us become light to the suffering and those seeking the light that many more of your children might find their way home to you. Amen.
Noon Day Prayers Question
You live and move in the presence of the One who created you in their own image, you have life because the breath of life, Ruach, spirit of God gives you breath. How can you not be immersed in praise and thanksgiving? We are so blind. Let psalms, hymns and songs of praise fill your consciousness and thank your Abba in all circumstances. Come Holy Spirit and fill us with praise and thanksgiving this day! Amen.
Evening Prayer
Luke 17: 20 – 37
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” “Where, Lord?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Reflection
His public response to the Pharisees was that the kingdom of God is in your midst (or within you). Jesus was always calling them to come follow him that they too might be restored as Abba’s children. But when it came to teaching his disciples, he gave them quite a detailed explanation of what to expect with his 2nd coming. First, he will suffer and die and then later return on clouds and with lightning that everyone will see. Finally, he will come suddenly so keep faithful, keep working in the kingdom and the rest will be taken care of for you.
Jesus again and again teaches us that the only thing to fear in this life is how our own actions and heart might separate us from God. There is nothing in this world, nothing created, nothing in the heavens that can separate us from our Abba, can withdraw the Holy Spirit from within us, except our own free choice. Teach us Lord Jesus to walk like you in full trust with Abba, teach us to get up and keep on walking each time we stumble and by your grace keep us close to our Abba in all that we say and do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.