Category Archives: Luke

The miracle

"...looking upon Mount Tabor from the summit of the Hill of Moreh or Little Hermon. That village in the middle of the view is Nain, where, on one of his journeys, Jesus raised to life the only son of a widow." By OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

“…looking upon Mount Tabor from the summit of the Hill of Moreh or Little Hermon. That village in the middle of the view is Nain, where, on one of his journeys, Jesus raised to life the only son of a widow.”
By OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Awareness of the Lord’s presence. Faith in the Lord’s care and concern for me and all of the human family. Trust in the relationship I am building with the Lord through prayer and meditation and study of Scripture. Compassion for all those who bear the burden of suffering.

This is the miracle the widow of Nain shares with me.

When the Lord saw [the mother], he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Luke 7:13-15

Blessed and satisfied

A print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of Revd. Philip De Vere at St. George’s Court, Kidderminster, England. By Philip De Vere (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations in the possession of Revd. Philip De Vere
at St. George’s Court, Kidderminster, England.
By Philip De Vere (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Lord, when I want to withhold my possessions, money, energy, time, or creativity from those in need, help me to remember you bless and multiply every loving action I take. With you in charge, there is always enough to go around—and plenty left over.

Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, [Jesus] said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. Luke 9:16-17

Emptied

Rembrandt (1606-1669) The Three Crosses drypoint and burin on paper, 1653 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Three Crosses (third state)
drypoint and burin on paper (III/IV), 1653
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

Today I pray for the grace to be emptied of arrogance, fear, and self-seeking, and to be filled with humility, love, and generosity to those in need.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself. Phillipians 2:6-7a

Today’s choice

Düsseldorf, Germany. Catholic church St. Lambertus, main portal with bronze door created by Ewald Mataré. Detail: Return of the prodigal son. Photo by Beckstet, 2010

Düsseldorf, Germany. Catholic church St. Lambertus, main portal with bronze door created by Ewald Mataré. Detail: Return of the prodigal son.
Photo by Beckstet, 2010

I may identify with either the prodigal son or his resentful older brother, but in this parable Jesus is calling me to be like the compassionate father.

How ready am I to forgive? To let go of resentment? To welcome the lost? To be a peacemaker? To show compassion to those who are poor, ill, or different from me in culture, ways of thinking, acting, being?

Today I will choose compassion over indifference and acceptance over judgment.

While [the younger son] was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. Luke 15:20b

Never too late to bloom

James Tissot (1836-1902) Le vigneron et le figuier opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894 Brooklyn Museum

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Le vigneron et le figuier
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

Rooting ourselves in prayer, meditation on God’s Word, and conscious awareness of God’s presence in each moment and in all of creation, we allow God, the Master Gardener, to cultivate our hearts and minds to bear the fruits of peace, joy, forgiveness, compassion, justice, acceptance, and love.

[Jesus told them this parable:] “[The gardener] said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:8-9

 

 

Bedazzled

Икона, Преображение Господне, 15 в. Новгород Icon, Transfiguration of the Lord, 15th c., Novgorod

Икона, Преображение Господне, 15 в. Новгород
Icon, Transfiguration of the Lord, 15th c., Novgorod

Prayer transforms, bedazzles, transfigures, inspires, transfixes, awes. May I climb the mountain of prayer today in the company of Jesus and listen to what he has to say.

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. Luke 9:28b-29

In the desert

William Hole (1846-1917) Temptation of Jesus in the desert Watercolor, ca.1900-1908

William Hole (1846-1917)
Temptation of Jesus in the desert
Watercolor, ca.1900-1908

The desert of inner exploration is a lonely place. It tends to be dry and tiring, and it seems endless. At times I come upon an oasis where I am refreshed and renewed to continue the journey. At times I am accosted by demons of self-hatred, greed, and despair. At times I am befriended by a ministering angel who reminds me I am not alone in my loneliness, that God is always with me.

Let me give thanks for the opportunity to be in this empty place where only God’s love can fill me. Let me trust that the Holy Spirit has led me here.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1-2

 

In the boat

01_netsToday I will put my attention boat a little distance from the shore of everyday tasks, obligations, and responsibilities, and invite Jesus to sit down with me. I will ask him to teach me his way and I will listen to his word.

Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, [Jesus] asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. Luke 5:3

Glad tidings

James Tissot (1836-1902) Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894 Brooklyn Museum

James Tissot (1836-1902)
Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum

We, too, have been anointed by God’s Spirit to bring glad tidings to the poor. We bring food to those who are hungry. We bring compassion to those who are grieving. We bring encouragement to those who have low self-esteem. We bring comfort to those who are ill.

Wherever we go, we bring the gift of ourselves, the glad tidings of our loving presence, our hope in the Lord, our willingness to be guided by the Lord as trusted servants.

[Jesus] stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor. Luke 4:16b-18a

One of us

Jesus MAFA. John baptizes Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48290 [retrieved January 10, 2016].

Jesus MAFA. John baptizes Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.  [retrieved January 10, 2016].

 Jesus enters into our reality to experience life the same way we do. He is a part of the human family, not apart from the human family.

And, by his example, Jesus encourages us to develop the experience of prayer, of communion with God, of entwinement with God.

When we practice conscious awareness of God’s presence for a few moments… a few minutes… a few hours… suddenly our whole life will be illumined by the discovery that God is pleased with us too.

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”…  Luke 3:21-22.