Genesis 18:20-32, Colossians 2:12-14, Luke 11:1-13
Abraham argues with his friend, the Lord, over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Bill Barry, SJ). They banter back and forth with a game of “what if.” Abraham acknowledges with due deference his friend’s superiority and almightness, but he persists. Beyond simple persistent, he is confident that his friend, the Lord, won’t really mind the presumptive nature of his continued challenges.
The parable about the persistent friend is also meant to encourage us to be tenacious when asking the Lord for what we need. Abraham isn’t troubling the Lord over his own worries, but approaches the Lord with a situation that involves the survival of others. In the parable the knocking friend isn’t rousing his sleeping friend because he himself is hungry, but because he needs help to do right by another. The friendship doesn’t motivate the sleeping man, however, the situation wouldn’t have occurred if they weren’t friends in the first place.
The first reading, and this piece of the gospel remind us that the Lord is our friend and if we are a nudge he’ll roll with it. A picture of Lord as Benefactor, Master, Provider is also painted. We are confident that our needs and confidence in His care and attention will indeed move Him to meet those needs. He knows that we know that He wants to take care of us and our knowledge of this matters to Him. Our need for the Lord as Provider doesn’t negate the friendship but rather deepens it. It gives each of us great pleasure to help a friend in need, to be there for her, to know we’ve made a difference for good. Perhaps the Lord also enjoys helping us out of a jam.
Jesus was the first to define God as Father, (Catechism of the Catholic Church). This may seem obvious, for He is and was the Father’s own Son. His Son-ship brings us into the family. Paul tells us, we are children by adoption, through Christ our Lord. We take for granted the relationship we have with God as Father, which are taught as children. However, we can only have a specific relationship with God as Father through the Son. Abraham shows us that all can be a friend of God’s, but only those who claim Christ as the Lord’s own Son, can claim Son-ship.
Jesus’ revelation to us about the character of our Father culminates with the last parable in the passage. Jesus begins by saying, “Our Father is the best of all possible father’s and will not give you something inferior to what you’ve ask for.” Note, He doesn’t say, “If you ask for a fish, Father will give you a fish.” He says, “If you ask for a fish, Father will give you the Holy Spirit.” Some find fault with the Lord because He doesn’t just give them what they want. What we think we want isn’t necessarily what we need. The Lord Father knows that regardless of any specific circumstances attending our earthly existence, we need the Holy Spirit. To be more precise, because Jesus is telling us that the Father will give us the Holy Spirit we are in truth being offered the Trinity, Three in One. It is the best gift of all and the only one we actually need.
Journal Questions:
- How does God fulfill His role as a father, friend, provider in your life?
- How has the Holy Spirit manifested Himself to you?
- How do the Holy Spirit, Son and Father work together in your life? Does ‘each’ have a distinct role in your life? How do you characterize each?
© 2016 Marilyn MacArthur, all rights reserved
Writing to Pray 