Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119)
Luke 11:1-4 No matter how absent or imperfect our own fathers were, each of us has developed a view of ‘good’ fatherhood from those around us. Fathers are (supposed to be) protectors, comforters, teachers, fully trustworthy, bigger than their children in mind, soul and strength, providers of all necessities like shelter and food, and all-wise, all-knowing. These are the attributes that God holds out to us, as our Father. Jesus spent a lot of time soaking in the Fatherhood of God. When his disciples asked him to teach them to pray as he did, Jesus pointed them first and foremost to spending time with God, as one of his many children. “When you pray, say this... ‘Our Father...’ From this one phrase, from this relationship, stem all seven petitions Jesus recommended his followers explore and make their own in the nearer presence of God through times of prayer. Whether I sit, walk, stand, kneel down or lie down, I am always free to pray, to talk to my Father, to our Father and behold his provision and his guidance for the present moment. Will I take time to get to know our Father? Holy Spirit of Jesus, teach me about our Father. You will show me that path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever. (Psalm 16:11 ) By our actions we tell Him of our love. Elizabeth of the Trinity www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei
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Jonah 3:1-10 & Luke 10:38-42 Both Martha of Bethany and Jonah had willingly entered into service agreements with God, Martha to serve dinner to Jesus, and Jonah to serve a notice of prophecy to the people of Nineveh. Unfortunately, both Martha and Jonah withheld undisclosed goals and objectives –Martha to serve the best possible meal to her friend and Master, and Jonah to be a ‘successful’ prophet, a harbinger of doom and destruction. When the terms of their underlying purposes were frustrated by the Lord’s own works of mercy, each lashed out in anger. Martha, upset over all the work she had to do, said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” Jonah on the other hand grimly prepared for the ultimate display of displeasure, his own death by suicide. God’s response to both? “You are worried and troubled over so many things, but just one is needed,” and “What right do you have to be angry?” Mary of Bethany, Martha’s sister, chose the right kind of service: sitting at the feet of Jesus, and listening to his teachings on the boundless mercy of God. Will I like Martha and Jonah serve my own agenda with a heaping helping of anger, or like Mary of Bethany, will I serve God with a listening and a merciful heart? Holy Spirit of Jesus, teach me to serve from a heart full of mercy. I wait eagerly for the Lord’s help, and in his word I trust. (Psalm 130:5) It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men [and women] as angels. St. Augustine of Hippo www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Jonah 1:1- 2:10 & Luke 10:25-37 Like Jonah, I am naturally driven by a dual desire for power and fame. Jonah had received a distinct call from God to go to the city of Nineveh and proclaim its imminent destruction. The problem was, he knew that God was calling these people to repentance, and that if successful, Jonah’s prophecy would result in massive reconciliation with God –and no fireworks! This was uncomfortable for a man who prided himself in honesty and hoped to garner accolades for himself as a great prophet. Like the Priest and the Levite who passed by the robbed man in the ditch in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan, Jonah responded to God’s call by ruminating on ‘what’s in it for me’ and exited, stage left. Fortunately for Jonah, God in his mercy arranged a storm and a whale of a ride to shore that deposited the reluctant prophet on the doorstep of Nineveh; he was able to complete his assignment of mercy and have his story of highly successful (in God’s eyes) prophecy recorded for posterity in scripture. When called to serve will I waste time ruminating on minutae or, like the Good Samaritan, serve in the moment, out of a heart full of mercy? Holy Spirit, teach me to serve from a merciful heart. But I will sing praises to you; I will offer you a sacrifice and do what I have promised. Salvation comes from the Lord! (Jonah 2:9) Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself. Henri Nouwen www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 10:17-24 Holy Spirit, help me realize how your grace abounds in this day and age... With all the talk about global warming, strikes and social upheaval, and churches and religious order closing, it is easy to believe that in this day and age we are left on our own. With mass self-destruction just around the corner, it is easy to think as a ‘civilization’ that it is we who have created the world and we who are destroying it and that as much as we have destroyed it, it is in our power to save it. This massive pessimism on the one hand, and arrogance on the other, can blind [me] to the generous grace of God that is gloriously manifest in the ordinary miracles of life: the beauty and abundance of the natural world as seasons come and go; the wonder of compassion and divine mercy manifest in kind and honest conversations; or the simple joys of prayer and praise to be found at church or in quiet moments of contemplation. These are the subtle signs of the Grace of God that continues to be poured forth from a generous, immortal and all-wise God who, despite human pessimism and arrogance, continues to love and reach out to us human beings created as we are in his image. Will I take time to ‘trace the grace’ of God in the world today? Holy Spirit, help me realize how your grace abounds in this day and age. The law of the Lord is perfect; it gives new strength. (Psalm 19:7) “See that I am God. See that I am in everything. See that I do everything. See that I have never stopped ordering my works, nor ever shall, eternally. See that I lead everything on to the conclusion I ordained for it before time began, by the same power, wisdom and love with which I made it. How can anything be amiss?” Julian of Norwich www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei Luke 17:5-10 In the context (Luke 17) of three other key teachings –on sin, forgiveness, faith and gratitude - Jesus reminds his disciples to gracefully take on their identity as ‘ordinary’ servants. Although we might manage this organization, teach that course, advocate for that point of justice, or even run for political office, when it comes down to it, we are all ‘ordinary’ servants. In the ways of society where fame, fortune, and success are touted, accolades are given and allowances are made for those of higher or prominent positions. But in the ways of God, Jesus teaches that we are not to strive for preferential treatment, applause or even thanks for our efforts. Rather we are to strive for, expect, and be content with, simple and even hidden service to others. When I, like Jesus, fully embrace servant-hood, I will avoid tying millstones of sinful ways into other’s lives. Rather, forgiveness, faith, and gratitude will be able to flow from the well-springs of God’s mercy through my life to others. Am I willing to be an ordinary servant? Holy Spirit, teach me the graces of servant hood. The law of the Lord is perfect; it gives new strength. (Psalm 19:7) Jesus didn't say, 'Blessed are those who care for the poor.' He said, 'Blessed are we where we are poor, where we are broken.' It is there that God loves us deeply and pulls us into deeper communion with himself. Henri Nouwen www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca & Gospel Mystery of the Day on Facebook Soli ad gloriam Dei |
AuthorBeverly Illauq lives in Kemptville, Ontario, where she greets each morning by seeking the Gospel Mystery of the Day - the Word of the Lord for direct and practical application to the specific challenges & joys of the day. Archives
March 2024
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