The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Thursday, October 8, 2015

Meditation: Luke 11:5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend; and you go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine who has been travelling has just arrived at my house, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 Now the one inside may answer, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already shut, my children are with me in bed — I can’t get up to give you anything!’ 8 But I tell you, even if he won’t get up because the man is his friend, yet because of the man’s hutzpah he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “Moreover, I myself say to you: keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who goes on asking receives; and he who goes on seeking finds; and to him who continues knocking, the door will be opened.

11 “Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake? 12 or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? 13 So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!”

27th Week in Ordinary Time
How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? (Luke 11:13)
Were you ever taught the saying “Don’t wear out your welcome”? One way or another, we all learn boundaries in relationships—how to act with tact and to avoid making presumptions about others. Lessons like these teach us to be considerate and help us build lasting relationships.
So Jesus’ story in today’s Gospel reading can make us cringe a bit. This guy wakes up a friend to get some food for an unexpected guest, and he won’t stop knocking until he gets it. What is his friend going to think of him the next time they see each other? Even more to the point, what should I take away from this story? Does Jesus want me to be pushy and aggressive as well?
But don’t stop reading there! Jesus is not telling us how to treat our friends. He is telling us how to treat his Father in heaven. Children don’t learn the same kinds of boundaries with their parents as they do with their friends and acquaintances. That’s because parents love to provide good things for their children. It’s also much harder to impose on a parent than on a friend. So God won’t be offended by your persistence, even if it seems like nagging to you!
Do you believe that God loves you this much? That he wants you to go to him the way a child goes to his father for help? If you’re finding it hard to grasp this truth, take note of what Jesus says. The Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask not just because the Spirit is the greatest gift he can give us, but also because it’s the Spirit who can help us experience the Father’s love more and more deeply.
So push yourself to cross boundaries with God today. Pester him, hound him, open up your heart to him. Watch for those internal checks that tell you, “Don’t go too far with God; you may make him angry.” Whenever thoughts like these surface, tell yourself, “No, this is my Father I’m dealing with. I know he’ll take good care of me.”
“Father, help me to trust more fully in the love that you have for me.” Amen!
Malachi 3:13 “You have spoken strongly against me,” says Adonai.

“Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’

14 By saying, ‘There is no point in serving God.

What good is it to obey his orders

or to walk about as mourners

before Adonai-Tzva’ot?

15 We consider the arrogant happy;

also evildoers prosper;

they put God to the test;

nevertheless, they escape.’”

16 Then those who feared Adonai spoke together;

and Adonai listened and heard.

A record book was written in his presence

for those who feared Adonai

and had respect for his name.

17 “They will be mine,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot,

“on the day when I compose my own special treasure.

I will spare them as a man spares

his own son who serves him.

18 Then once again you will see the difference

between the righteous and the wicked,

between the person who serves God

and one that doesn’t serve him.

19 (4:1) For the day is coming, burning like a furnace,

when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble;

the day that is coming will set them ablaze,”

says Adonai-Tzva’ot,

“and leave them neither root nor branch.

20 (4:2) But to you who fear my name,

the sun of righteousness will rise

with healing in its wings;

and you will break out leaping,

like calves released from the stall.

Psalm 1:1 How blessed are those

who reject the advice of the wicked,

don’t stand on the way of sinners

or sit where scoffers sit!

2 Their delight

is in Adonai’s Torah;

on his Torah they meditate

day and night.

3 They are like trees planted by streams —

they bear their fruit in season,

their leaves never wither,

everything they do succeeds.

4 Not so the wicked,

who are like chaff driven by the wind.

6 For Adonai watches over

the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked

is doomed.

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