Breaking the Word – Page 2225 – Rev. Dr. Victor Antonyraj SDB

06.10.11 FATHER OR (AND) FRIEND

Posted under Reflections on October 6th, 2011 by

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, 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. "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. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 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?" (Lk 11:5-13)

Father is already in bed and sleeping with his children. Probably if the father woke up or got up from the bed then he would disturb everyone in the family. It would be difficult for the father to make the children to go to sleep again. If he played the role of a father then he would prefer to carryon sleeping and be disturbed.

As a friend he has to look into the need of the friend standing in the street knocking at the door. He had another friend of his who had come uninformed and need to be cared for. No one should go hungry to bed and hospitality demands that friend should be given food. Friend of a friend is also a friend. He gets up to assist the friend.

Friendship wins over the fatherhood! However it is the persistence that makes the heart of the friend to melt. Father on earth is different from the father in heaven. Father in heaven will be both father and a friend. Like a friend he will not mind being disturbed or he will come out to assist when the friend is in dire need and persistent in demanding.

05.10.11 PRAYER

Posted under Reflections on October 5th, 2011 by

He 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." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." (Lk 11:1-4)

The disciples saw Jesus praying. The disciples would have seen many Pharisees praying and many other people praying. They did not ask them to teach ‘how to pray’. They asked Jesus because they found him different and the found him relating to God in a different way. He was also praying many times to this God who he called the father. So they asked to teach. Also any leader taught his disciples to pray.

Jesus did not teach his disciples to pray like the other leaders. Jesus wanted his disciples to relate to God. He wanted them to spend time with god and not just recite few formulae. Prayer according to Jesus was not taught but modelled. He was an example of prayer not a teacher of prayer.

Prayer for Jesus was praising God (holy be thy name) and awaiting for God (thy kingdom come) and requesting for assistance for salvation (give us our daily bread) and requesting for forgiveness (forgive us our sins) and redemption (not subject to the final test, the test of denying god).