WEEK
OF PRAYER #6 God’ s call
to me
The common thread in all these
readings is the encounter between God and us and our current disposition
Day One - the call of Bartimaeus
Jericho is at a crossroads - it is a crossroads in Jesus journey that
will lead him up to Jerusalem. It is a last meeting place before the half-day’s
journey to Jerusalem on foot.
Beggars, like Bartimaeus, always go to where there is a heightened human
interaction, and especially, we feel, at places of worship
There is a unique – a once in a
lifetime – opportunity too for Bartimaeus - and so he is at a crossroads in his
life. Jesus is passing by, it is now or never.
Bartimaeus’ heightened sense of
hearing makes him keenly aware – it
is in hearing that ultimately he uses his other faculties – his sense of speech
in crying out to Jesus in prayer, then - oblivious to the crowd, listening for
Jesus’ response, then, jumping up - using his arms to throw aside the cloak,
using his legs to walk to Jesus. While he is blind, he sees Jesus with the eyes
of faith – ‘Son of David’.
He shouts: above the crowd, to be heard, he is persistent, and because
he pleads for pity, he is the model of prayer for us, to persevere above
discouragement and peer pressure to be people who pray ‘without ceasing’.
The crowd also change their attitude once they hear Jesus’ invitation
extended to Bartimaeus – and become a congregation, a community – encouraging
him – and then he too becomes a follower – one of them and joins them as a
fellow disciple on the journey.
The words of Jesus: What do you want me to do for you? How do
they apply to you and me today?
Where are we blind – through pride –
or too proud to change? What have we overlooked? Why do we refuse to change for the better? Why is it so hard for us to
get rid of long ingrained bad habits? Why are we so quick to see the faults in
others and so slow – with our ‘blind spots’ to see the work we have to do in
order to become the best version of ourselves?
What do you want me to do for you?
Bartimaeus throws off his cloak.
What does this cloak symbolise? Comfort, security,
all his worldly possessions, a hindrance? Whatever it may be – some
things likewise prevent me from total surrender to God’s will for me.
Let me see again. So this was man who lost his sight and wants it
restored. Why does Jesus ask the question when it is so obvious what the man
needs? The man must verbalise his needs – as must we in prayer.
Let me see again. May we see again with renewed minds and hearts and persistent prayer
asking the Lord what needs to be done, what changes must be made in our lives.
May we enter his kingdom whole and entire, lacking nothing.
‘Immediately’ his sight returns. In Mark there is a sense of urgency as
the word ‘immediately’ is used 40 times. Let us change now. Let us be unimpeded
followers.
Day Two
NOW
No
Other Way but this
No
Other Who but you
No
Other When but now
No
Other Where but here
Jeremiah
I
was stuck by the word NOW -its urgency, immediacy, perhaps it was a literary
device, a description of something that happened – we use the word NOW to
denote a present description – narrating something without interruption – a
here and now moment – 'now, well, let me tell you what happened', 'we have cleared
the decks', 'there is nothing that remains to be done' – 'the present moment' , 'listen to this.'
There is a newness and a
nearness to God speaking and acting when we hear the word now in the Scriptures
– now it is the Lord who speaks, now is the time the Lord is acting – we must
listen attentively
'The
Word of the Lord came to me' is a phrase we se repeatedly in the Bible - to a congregation, to each person, to every place
– and now to me!
Do
I accept, absorb, assimilate, act?
Appointed
– do not be afraid
Others,
the unknown, unpopularity, being misunderstood, persecution, rejection,
isolation, being ridiculed, being ostracised?
Jeremiah
is being given a specific mission – God knows him from the womb – the dignity
and value of the unborn – that lovely bumper sticker
At
this point of the retreat we may be unsure of what this retreat bringing about
in us – it is about being open and ready
It
is about holding back form making a definitive decision just yet - but it is
about BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS EMERGING FOR YOU IN PRAYER
That this retreat us about me - each
listener must be open to discerning what God is doing and saying
Day Three and Day Four
Jeremiah
29:11-14
‘’For I know the plans I have for you
says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call
on me and come to pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you says the Lord and
will restore all your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and from all
the places where I have driven you says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place form
which I sent you into exile.’’
What
strikes me about this passage is the intimacy and nearness of the Lord, the
effort required of us, tenacity and perseverance, the ‘all’ required of us.
A future and a hope – even when all seem bleak indeed with the
culture of death and so many people seem indifferent and oblivious to where
society is heading and where their own salvation may be in jeopardy
My plans for you
We
look back and see God’s plan and how it has unfolded – He always knew! And yet
it is still unfolding
Our
attitude at this point must be that of an openness
to what God has to say know with a sense of totality – willing and open to
the possibility that what God has to say – if you like the climax of the retreat
– what is to be found, what the answer is – may well be this week (or any given
week). Maybe things are beginning to become a little bit clearer at his early
stage!
The
satisfaction that the Lord will allow
Himself to be found by us as if waiting for us to be found like hide and
seek.
Day Five
Luke
5:1-11
Jesus
calls the first disciples
Depart from me for I am a sinful man O
Lord
The
Lord keeps calling me – it was not a one off and I am still a sinner – I have
committed many sons even since that first calling. I have been foolish, reckless,
foolhardy, proud, brash, and am guilty of repeated falls of the same kind – yet
I am still called. It is the midst of my realisation of my sinfulness that I am
called again to be a fisher of men and a feeder of sheep. It is the knowledge
and admission – humiliating as it is – that the Lord is at were happy with this
– I can work with this – I can work with you on these terms – because now you
know its not about you! You can see how well / badly you got on in your own!
Now you come back to me honest humble and in my eyes ready! It is a very
strange business indeed!
Day Six
John
1: 35-39
What
do you seek?
Where
do you live?
Come
and see
They stayed with them that day as it
was about the tenth hour
The
time John fell in love with Jesus
Pre-marriage
couples
How
long have you known each other – when did the courtship begin? Usually the
woman knows more detail! Oh, it was on such and such a date – we were at such a
place – he was wearing…, I was wearing… a friend introduced us, had an inkling
we would be compatible, – incredible
detail – or an act of kindness, a joke shared, a walking to the door in the
rain, a kind remark, a shared interest, sincerity, a smile…falling in love
When
did you know your vocation was to marry this person? What helped you decide?
Vocation to priesthood and religious
life? Day, time hour place, a sudden realisation, a growing realisation? I remember the date and the hour a yes, a dawning, a free decision – it was completely up to me.
I was never freer, it was clear too that it was my decision, I was aware of the
seriousness. It was mysteriously personal and intimate and important, and all
these things and I felt I was on a threshold – and I said yes. The freedom and
the relief and the joy and the certainty of knowing – above all the peace. I just knew.
We
are all called to discipleship in virtue of our baptism!
What
do you seek – come and see
The
remainder of the retreat includes these sentiments, to come and see, to seek
and to find, to see where the Lord is, to follow Him where He leads us.
These six preliminary weeks of prayer are
at an end.
We
have passed through the landmark of the Principle and Foundation
We
have unearthed some common threads, some features of our prayer life, we have
noted the graces, noted the significant things , listened and learned from each
other – and now we are ready to enter the FIRST WEEK.