Keep Knocking

 

~~~ Malachi 3:13-20b ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 11:5-13 ~~~

 

The fragrance of baking bread is almost intoxicating,
You cannot confuse it with any other smell.
Bread is a staple food in every culture.
It is used almost as another utensil...
we use it for sandwiches, to sop up gravy,
or to just enjoy it warm slathered with melting butter.

Baking in general but especially bread symbolizes hospitality.
Making bread requires few ingredients, but it does require patience.

At what hour of the night would you not
 be willing to open your door for your neighbor?

I remember a few years ago our son was driving home with a friend.
We did not know exactly what time he would arrive.
He finally showed up at the door in the wee hours of the morning.
We were so excited to see him even though it was way past our bedtime.
This was a joyful time this was our son coming home,
whom we had not seen in a couple years.

Today we are being invited to share this same
 sense of hospitality with our neighbor.

...if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

Perhaps the smell of the bread brought the neighbor to this door.
The first knock may have been easy to ignore.
Maybe the person would just go away.
But if the knocking persists we can no longer pretend we do not hear it.
 

 But for you who fear my name, there will arise
the sun of justice with its healing rays.

We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves;
what better way than through hospitality.
When was the last time you truly felt welcomed?
When was the last time you opened your heart to another,
welcoming them to journey with you?

 

 

Jesus tells us today through these very familiar words...
he is always with us....
He welcomes us with open arms of compassion, mercy, and love.
If we never seek him we cannot experience finding him.
Jesus is present yet he wants us to seek more of him;
so that when we do find him he can be generous to us.

 ...everyone who asks, receives;

and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

  

He is standing on the other side of the door waiting for us to seek him...
waiting for us to find him...
waiting for us to knock on the door.
Jesus is dying to open the door for you.
He is waiting to hear your knock on the door.
He is ready to shower you with his eternal hospitality.

Ask, Seek, Knock...Knock, Seek, Ask

Receive, Find, Open...Open, Find, Receive. 

 

Blessings in being persistent...
especially with God.
He is the Bread of Life.

What Brings You Joy?

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 18:23-28 ~~~ Psalm 47 ~~~ John 16:23b-28 ~~~

 

"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete..."

Jesus reveals his oneness with God the Father.

Your prayers to the Father can be made in the name of the Son, Jesus.

When you make prayers to the Father they can also be made through the Jesus.

The Father will respond because the Father and the Son are one.

 

Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God the Father,

but now that he is leaving them things will change.

He is encouraging them to pray to himself as well.

 

Answered prayers contribute to our complete joy.

What is your initial thought when you reflect on the word joy?

St. Paul says 'consider it all joy'.

How is that possible within the world we live in today?

Do we need to look for joy?

Do we need to create our own circumstances for joy?

Is your joy the same as my joy?

Do we make up our own definition of joy?

 

What brings you joy?

Is it loved ones...nature...prayer...God?

 

 

 

'...the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me...'

 

This is one of the most wonderful statements made by Jesus.

If you were thinking that the Father was strict and sometimes even cruel;

per some accounts in the Old Testament.

 

Most parents have affection for those who love and care for their children.

Jesus is validating this truth as well as the closeness between

the Father and the Son.

 

This great love between the Father and the Son is what made our salvation a reality.

Without this unfathomable love we would be a very different people.

Jesus also expressed great joy in being reunited with the Father.

 

"...Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

 

The love between the Father and the Son

has given us a picture of complete joy.

 

The Easter Blessing of complete joy

given to us in answered prayers.

Ask...Seek...Knock

The Year of Faith begins today

Dear Lord, increase my faith so that my doubts will be

transformed through your love and grace.

 

~~~ Galatians 3:1-5 ~~~ Response from Luke 1 ~~~ Luke 11:5-13 ~~~

 

Jesus speaks directly to each of us with his profound words today.

I can imagine him standing before me as I struggle to formulate

my feeble words of prayer.

 

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened..."

 

Why, Lord, am I always asking something of you?

Why, can I not just be content and satisfied with what you have

thus far bestowed on me?

What am I looking for?

You are with me. I live and move and have my life in you.

Where is this restlessness leading my heart?

The doors are many; which one should I knock upon?

Which one is the door meant for me?

Are all the doors entryways into the same room?

I am standing at the door...

Sometimes afraid and reluctant to knock.

What if you actually do open the door, then what?

Will I have the conviction to walk through?

Will I have the strength to cross over the threshold?

 

I know you have answered my prayers so many times during my life.

How many times have I received without noticing?

How long will you be patient with me, Lord?

 

I believe your words spoken to us today.

I believe you do answer each and everyone of my prayers,

even if I may not be able to grasp your answer.

 

"...If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?"

 

Certainly all that I have comes as gift to me, freely given.

There is no way I could earn your blessings.

 

 

There are times when I have experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Those times have been wonderful and touched my soul deeply.

I am committed to remain true to the faith that has sustained me

thus far on my journey. 

 

"...Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you
do so from works of the law
or from faith in what you heard?"

 

Reading the scriptures and reflecting on their message daily

keeps me ever mindful of the wonders and blessings

given to us by our loving God.

 

If you do have faith you can move mountains and open doors

because you are never walking alone.

 

May God continue to answer your prayers and mine

even when we want to say,

'Really God?'