|  | Daily Bible Reflections Archive
 |
Theo Tigno•
1/7/2005 12:33 pm
Reply To Post
|
Friday, January 7th 2005 |
Luke 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
One thing about the leper today: he knew that he needed to be healed.
When we get to that point in our lives when we recognize that there is something in our lives that needs healing, we can learn a lot from the leper today.
1. He recognized Jesus and fell prostrate
The leper today had direct contact with Christ. In our world today, we can have that same real contact with Christ in the sacraments. He knew that he was not clean, and so he sought The Lord to heal him, just as we do in the sacrament of reconciliation. He had a real and direct contact with Jesus, and we can the same "real" contact with Christ in His True Body and His True Blood in the Eucharist.
In our lives today, we are blessed with the sacraments. Do we have the same reverence for the sacraments that the leper has for Christ in today's reading? Do we fully surrender ourselves to the grace and the healing power found in the sacraments? We must hold the sacraments in great esteem, just as the leper in today's reading prostrates himself before Jesus Christ.
2. He pleaded with Jesus, recognizing Who Jesus is in his prayer
In our prayer lives, do we truly abandon our will, trusting fully in Our Lord? Beyond our prayer lives, it is extremely hard to abandon ourselves to Christ's will. This is where satan lurks and finds ways for us to turn from Our Lord. The leper in today's reading beautifully illustrates how we should approach Our Lord. Why not plead with Our Lord to trust in Him and abandon our will to His? We must recognize Christ's love for us in our lives, and know that He will not forsake us. We must all learn how to abandon our will, and continue to empty our desires to allow His grace to penetrate us.
3. He remained obedient
Obedience. What is harder for us than obedience? In the Gospel readings, we normally hear of someone who was healed by Christ running out and telling everyone. Luke does not tell us that he went out and told everyone. Instead, all we know about is that Jesus gave the leper a command.
The way we can grow in obedience to Our Lord is through the scriptures. Unless we know God's Word, how can we be obedient? The more we learn about God, the more we can truly be obedient to Him. Obedience is something we all struggle with. Obedience is also the we can live out the commandments Christ gives us: Love The Lord with all our being, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." I hope this prayer stays with us until the day we will sing "Glory to the Lamb" in heaven. Take care and God Bless.
|
|
| |
