The Gospel for MONDAY, June 6, 2005
Luke 18:31-43
Then taking the Twelve aside he said to them, ‘Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of man is to come true. For he will be handed over to the gentiles and will be mocked, maltreated and spat on, and when they have scourged him they will put him to death; and on the third day he will rise again.’ But they could make nothing of this; what he said was quite obscure to them, they did not understand what he was telling them. Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging. When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied, ‘let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’ And instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
Three Things I Pray
Today's Forward Movement meditation (6th June 2005) has:
Richard of Chichester is said to have penned this prayer: "Day by day. Dear Lord three things of thee I pray: To see thee more clearly, to follow thee more nearly, to love thee more dearly."
A Reflection
We are bombarded constantly by those who assure us that they have the clear path to the divine. They generally accompany that insight with further assurance that their is the "only way."
But this man who could not see waited until he could sense the presence of Jesus, and then -- and only then -- asked for help. He didn't ask anyone to please relay a message to Jesus. He didn't send an e-mail, he didn't leave a voicemail; he didn't send a postcard. He waited until Jesus was near, despite the offensive behavior of everyone arround him, scolding him, trying to quiet him down.
The gospel reading from yesterday's church service featured Jesus sitting with "tax collectors and sinners," and despite the religious elite's attempts to move Him back into a more conventional (and respectable) attitude about those with whom he chose to spend his time, Jesus persevered.
So, too, in this reading, Jesus was not hindered by the crowd's displeasure with a single human's cry for help. He has called us all to Himself, and importantly, it's all of us but one at a time! He wants only to share with us the love He has in inestimable measure, directly from the Father. More often than not, it is we ourselves who hold Jesus away, and try to keep Him and the Father from interfering in the lives which we have so carefully schemed to live.
What will it take to break down that prideful barrier?
A Collect
Jesus, when you come near to us as we pray, share with us what you would have us to do in your Name. Amen.
4:51:03 PM 
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