Reaching for Heaven

The challenge? Eat for a whole week on $30. Read more about the challenge many Atlanta bloggers are participating in over the week. Frugal'n'Fab gives it a slightly different spin, reminding us that so much of the world eats for far less than that (try $1/day). In fact, she may begin a weekly Wednesday challenge, but you'll have to read her blog for that!

The question to you is this: could you live on $30 a week for food? How about $1/day? Would you even be willing to try? Stay tuned for our own Genesis Ministries challenge in the month of November. If you have suggestions for the exact details of what our challenge should be, leave 'em here!

It's a tough day for mercy for some, I imagine. This morning, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize was announced and I truly believe the news shocked the majority of the world. There are those who will revel in the excitement of this announcement, and others who will spew venom. It is the latter half that this morning's prayer seems aptly fitting for.

It is no accident that the Holy Spirit led me to this passage this morning - I myself was astounded by the news. As I sat with these words of Christ, the question that kept popping in my head (after the "Whaaat?" from the headline), was "how far does my mercy extend?" coupled with the reminder that it is not for us to judge the heart of another. Actions...sure. But we won't go into the specifics here - I want to focus on the heart of the prayer.

How far does mercy extend? Are we able to set aside our own judgments to let God work through us? Are we too quick to jump to conclusions and spew forth our opinions, whatever they may be? In this passage from Luke, Jesus reminds us that it is easy to love and forgive those who love us, those whom we love. The greater task of our Christian walk is to extend that same charity and mercy to those we do not have affection for, for those who may offend us at every turn.

In the end, the only actions we can truly control are our own. As much as we can influence others and pray that they may act wisely, we cannot act for them. Let our actions always reflect God's endless mercy and forgiveness. We can be skeptics and critics, but let it be of actions and not the core of a person, and let our criticism always be bathed in charity. Let us remember always that God is the one and only judge, and we are best left sometimes to hold our tongue and extend our hearts.

“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...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?” Luke 11:9-10,13

Ask and you will receive... I think this may be one of the most hopeful and yet disheartening verses of Scripture for many people. Hopeful, because Christ makes us a great promise. Disheartening because we stop reading after two lines and misunderstand him. So many times I've been asked 'why, if we pray and are faithful, do our prayers go unanswered? God promised to answer, that we would receive what we asked for honestly in prayer!'

If we read the full passage here, however, we see that what Jesus promises us, what it is that we should be asking for, is the Holy Spirit. Ask for the Spirit and you will receive. Seek the Spirit and you will find it. Knock at the Spirit's door, and he will answer. Ahhh...that's right, God is not a genie. We don't simply make our wishes and demands known in order to have him grant them. God most certainly answers all our prayers...it's just that he answers them according to His will, not ours, so sometimes the answer is "no"...or at least, "not yet."

The great lesson of this passage for me today is that what we should be asking for with more desire is the Holy Spirit - that is the great gift that God has for us...his own Spirit that lives with us and in us. Through the Holy Spirit, we grow closer to the will of God so that our deepest desires mirror his more closely. After all, what God desires for us is what in the end is most fulfilling. So...what are we waiting for? Ask, seek and find!

Come, Holy Spirit!

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:1

Of course, if you continue reading this passage, it leads us to Luke's version of what has become known as the staple Christian prayer of the Our Father. Many saints over the years have provided their prayerful guidance in the use of that prayer. Jesus leaves us with great direction in teaching us, through his disciples and the apostles, that prayer. But, what do we do when rote prayer becomes all we can offer? Is that enough?

The beauty of the "rote prayers" of Catholicism is that they are there when that IS all we can offer. It is no mistake that Jesus gave us words to pray, knowing that there would be times when we would be lost, feeling weary and without direction. It is no coincidence that the Church continues in the footsteps of Christ, through the saints and apostles of prayer, to give us other prayers to help us begin our conversation with God when we are at a loss.

Yet, it is not the Our Father or those prayers I wish to focus on today. While they are meaningful and good prayers, it is the question of the disciples in the passage above that peaks my interest. When we are down and out and feeling disconnected, how do we move past that block to prayer? Does pulling out an "oldie but goodie" standard prayer move us? Or do we use it as a crutch to fulfill a perceived obligation to pray?

The question the disciples ask may be the first clue as to the real mode of jumping over any hurdles to prayer - ask God. One theologian, (Richard Rohr, I believe), said something to the effect of 'the more we talk, the less it is prayer.' I think sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking in order to pray, we've got to find the right words. Yet, time and time again in Scripture we are reminded that we are able to connect to the Father and Son by the gift of the Spirit. It is the Spirit moving in us that inspires us into communion with God. When we are struggling, it is the Spirit we invite in to change our hearts, to silence us if we need, or to empower us with words if it be the will of God.

Sometimes, our need to be vocal in prayer is its own hindrance to deeper prayer. Next time you are having trouble praying, simply open yourself and ask the Spirit to pray in and through you, teaching you to pray and converse more closely with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May it lead you leaps and bounds beyond whatever prayer obstacle you faced!

Kind, full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love...how many people do we know who fit that bill? I'd like to think that many of us come so very close, and yet, in that moment of carelessness, the snide remark, the angry retort, the closed heart creeps in. Is it that we are not "good Christians"? I don't think so. I think in the end, it is that we are of human flesh and blood and those human weaknesses are exploited at times.

I wonder, too, if part of the problem is that we are so conditioned to decide who is "in" and who is "out" from an early age, that our attitudes toward people are more apt to let us slide in Christian charity to those who are "less worthy" of our compassion, kindness, gentleness and love. But we are not to be of this world, though we most certainly live in it. We are to pattern ourselves after Christ, who recognized the goodness of all creation as the work of his Father.

I remember on one retreat, as we were talking about forgiveness, someone shared this little pearl of wisdom - even Jesus on the cross called upon his Father's name and power, not his own, to forgive those who were torturing him and killing him. Perhaps, when we are unable to see the good in someone or something that is causing us distress, we can offer them back to the Lord, asking his blessing on them when we are ourselves are not up to offering our own.

And let us always pray that the Lord, creator of all, might break into our own human frailty at moments we need to see his goodness in what surrounds us.

Come, Lord Jesus, enter our hearts...

O search me, God and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal. Psalm 139:23-24

Have you ever seen those bumperstickers out there that say "God (or Jesus) is my co-pilot"? I always laugh at first and then am reminded rather quickly that they are just a little bit off on their enthusiasm. God is not our "co-pilot" - God is the pilot. We're not just passengers along for the ride, but neither are we in equal position with God.

If we read any story in Scripture, we are constantly reminded that great trouble begins when we think we can take the lead and see if God will follow. The same still rings true today. Though it is a lesson often learned not with any little effort, there is great release in getting to the point in our relationship with God that we can turn the reins over to Him and learn to take direction. It is entirely freeing to realize we do not always need to know it all or be able to do it all. A burden is taken off our shoulders when we live with the knowledge that God will prepare our way, even in ways we would never imagine. We have to work in cooperation with God, of course, but even when we screw up, as we inevitably will, God will make it right again if we allow him room to move.

So today, take a moment to pray about who is in charge of your life...is God your co-pilot or the pilot?