Jesus: A Man of Prayer in Luke's Gospel

The Gospel of Luke Presents Jesus as a Man of Prayer

The theme of prayer

No other gospel has emphasized the theme of prayer as much as the gospel of Luke. Luke 5:15-16 says, "The report about Him [Jesus] 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."

The gospel of Luke presents its readers with the Person of Jesus not only as a man of prayer, but as One who teaches the importance of prayer by His own example. Though the Lord was very active in His itinerant preaching, teaching and healing many people, He would still take time away from His companions and the people to pray to His Father in deserted places.

What is prayer according to Jesus Christ?

In Luke 11, Jesus teaches a very important form of prayer: the Our Father. He continues to teach that prayer is to be persistent and persevering in its spirit if it is to be heard.

In Luke 11:5-8, he tells the story of a man whose home was already locked up for the night. A friend suddenly made a visit to his house, and implored the man to open up and help him. Though it was already night and his home was all locked up, by his friend's persistence, he had to comply to the need of his friend.

The prayer of every Christian must ask, search, and knock at the door of God's Heart (11:9-10). Persistence in this prayer will give the Holy Spirit, who strengthens in times of difficulty (Luke 11:13). One must never give up on a life of prayer, for one will surely receive from God the good that is needed through one's perseverance and persistence.

Ask and you will receive

After that parable on persistence in prayer, another teaching is the importance of faith in prayer. This can be seen in Luke 11:9-13. Luke writes: "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." To pray with faith is to believe in God who only wills what is best for us. If man who is sinful knows how to give good things to his children, how much more will God the Father give His Holy Spirit to all who ask of Him?

Summary of eight references to Jesus as a man of prayer in Luke

• Luke 3:21 - "After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,..."
• Luke 5:16 - "...but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray."
• Luke 6:12 - "In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God."
• Luke 9:18 - "Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him..."
• Luke 11:1 - "He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished..."
• Luke 22:32 - "...but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers."
• Luke 23:34 - "[Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."]
• Luke 23:46 - "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit'"

Prayer in the context of exhortation and warning

Luke's gospel also contains exhortations and warnings that calls all believers to make their prayer humble. One exhortation is in Luke 18:13 - involving the prayer of the Pharisee and the Publican. True prayer is being humble and asking the Lord for mercy.

Another reference is Luke 21:36. This verse shows how Jesus exhorts his disciples to be vigilant at all times and to pray that they will have the strength to escape the tribulations that are coming at the time of judgment.

A third warning is found in Luke 22:40, the scene of the Agony in the Garden. Here Jesus stated explicitly, "Pray that you may not undergo the test." The emphasis of this exhortation to prayer is to be forewarned of a time of testing and the danger of entering into temptation.

On the theme of prayer in the Book of Acts

Biblical scholars' studies present the gospel of Luke as a two-volume work and called the book, Luke-Acts, which includes the book of the Acts of the Apostles. One proof that the book of Acts is a continuation of the gospel of Luke is the similar theme of prayer and praying found and mentioned many times in the Acts of the Apostles. In fact, the words prayer/praying is referred to twenty-five times in the book.

Prayer is an essential element in the Christian life

The symbol of prayer and sacrifice in the gospel of Luke is an ox. An ox is an animal of sacrifice that is used by the Jews in the Old Testament. Prayer and sacrifice go together.

But even if prayer is an important theme in the gospel of Luke, those passages in Luke have parallels in the gospel of Mark and Matthew, because Mark, Matthew, and Luke are synoptic gospels - meaning they have common passages. One can examine and review these gospel parallels through the footnotes of any Bible translation.

What does Jesus as a man of prayer mean for the faithful?

If Jesus was a man of prayer, then all Christians are called to be men and women of prayer (and action). Prayer is not only for supplication, thanksgiving, adoration or contrition. It is also a vital element in the process of discernment - a process wherein one seeks the will of God among various alternatives and options in order to choose the best and to act on it. Prayer prepares the mind, heart, and soul to be more receptive to know God's will and to apply it in one's work and life. Often, the basis for prayer in this process are the gospels. (St. Ignatius of Loyola has discovered the rules that are important for making a decision through a good discernment process.)

Jesus is our model par excellence for understanding how this process of prayer and discernment works. Jesus prayed especially during times when he needed to make important decisions. He prayed and discerned well before choosing His apostles. He also prayed many times for the Father's guidance during his ministry. And most especially, He prayed, with blood as His sweat, when He was to undergo His Passion.

All Christians, who are called to follow Jesus, are called to pray as Jesus did. Prayer can help resist temptation; praying with perseverance and persistence will encourage anyone not to give up; praying with humility and begging God's mercy and forgiveness will help one's work and life be right in the eyes of God and others; praying for the strength to overcome hardships and hurdle obstacles is also important in work and life; but most of all praying daily to learn God's will is the most practical form of prayer, because it leads one to the right decisions and actions - decisions and actions that are based on one's love for Christ, His gospel, and the Church. [Disclaimer]

Easter Sunday (C)

(Edited) Sunday Reflections for Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

Easter Sunday (C), March 31, 2013

Liturgical readings
Acts 10:34, 37-43
Psalm 118
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9

"He saw and believed."

The gospel passage from John 20:1-19 presents a sign of the Lord's Resurrection. This passage in the Jerusalem Bible is subtitled "The empty tomb". How did the Jerusalem Bible translation present the resurrection event? The gospel narrative begins with Mary of Magdala going to the burial site. After Mary Magdalene reached the tomb she discovered it empty. Surprise by what she saw, and probably filled with mixed emotions, she went in haste to report to Simon Peter and to John exactly what she saw. Both Simon Peter and John went to the burial site running. John arrived first, being younger and faster, but he did not go inside the tomb. When Simon Peter arrived, he went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground. John entered the tomb also; when he saw with his own eyes, he believed.

There are many interpretations of this Resurrection event in the gospel of John. One interpretation is given by Scripture scholar MacRae. He made a study of this gospel passage. Since verse 9 of John's gospel says that "they had not yet understood the teaching of Scripture, that the Lord must rise from the dead", then the disciple whom the Lord loved, did not really know that Jesus had indeed risen. What he had faith in, was the word of the Lord - that He would indeed return to the Father, as He had promised after He entered into His Passion and Death. (cf. John 16:26-28). So MacRae's understanding of John's "he saw and he believed" was that John remembered the words that Jesus spoke about His death and rising again. It would take risen appearances of the Lord for all apostles to verify that indeed Jesus has risen.

Faith is a gift from God. The beloved disciple saw with the eyes of faith, because he believed in the words of the Lord before the events of the Passion and Death on the Cross took place. All the faithful too are called to believe in the words of Jesus. All are called to believe and have faith in the Word Himself - Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who became man like us except for sin, that we may learn the Way to salvation. We receive this faith at our baptism, and are entasked to nourish it daily with prayer, the Sacraments, and works of charity - according to the circumstances of each one's state of life.

Scripture quotes

• "They killed Him..."hanging Him on a tree", only to have God raise Him up on the third day." (Acts 10)
• "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." (Psalm 118)
• "You have been raised up in company with Christ...set your heart on what pertains to higher realms."(Colossians 3)

Jesus, the Divine Physician

Introduction

Jesus, as a Healer, is a strong and well-known image in all the four gospels. His image as a Teacher is also evident in the gospels, but more so in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus as a Teacher, or New Moses, can be found in scripture passages like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. And there is another popular image of Christ: that of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. This Good Shepherd image can be found in the gospel of John 10:1-42.

Among all these images of Jesus, the image of Jesus as a Healer, a Divine Physician, can be found in more passages and verses of the gospels than the other images. There are more stories in the four gospels that describe the Lord as an itinerant Healer in many miracles He performed. He did not only heal the sick, but healed sinners and drove off demons as well. One example of this moral healing, or conversion, can be found in the gospel story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. It is also found in the story of the woman who had seven devils (often attributed to Mary Magdalene by tradition, but the scripture text does not explicit state it).

Jesus heals through the Sacraments of the Church

The ministry and mission of Jesus to build God's kingdom, as seen in the gospels, is continued by the Universal Church in her ministry of the Sacraments. Sickness and sin are everyday realities that the faithful face at one time or another - personally, or as a community. A sick person goes to the doctor because the doctor specializes in a particular field of medicine related to his infirmity. But the sick person also is responsible for his body in a spiritual sense - for it is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Healing from both perspectives in this sense can be wholistic - both in the physical and spiritual sense.

There is a passage in Sirach 38:1-14 that teaches how doctors ought to be respected and given their due, because they were called by God for the purpose of healing the sick. This passage in the Old Testament clearly exemplifies the integration of both the physical and the spiritual. The doctor can initiate the healing process for the sick and then to complete the healing process, the sick only needs an act of faith to believe in the healing action of Christ in the Sacraments. Just add to this the loving attention of family and friends, and the healing process becomes complete. The person becomes whole; he has attained balance again.

Confession

One specific example of the spiritual side in the journey towards healing is through a General Confession of one's sins. This practice is for those who have been away from the Sacrament of Confession for a long time. St. Ignatius of Loyola advises this in his book, "The Spiritual Exercises". St. Francis de Sales also advises this in his book, "Introduction to the Devout Life".

To make a general confession one can consider this question well: "What serious sins would I need to confess if I were already in the throes of death?" After this General Confession, one can continue to receive the Sacrament more regularly to strengthen the soul against the daily onslaughts and temptations of evil that lead to physical as well as to "moral" illness.

The Sunday Eucharist

The Sunday Eucharist is also a natural source of spiritual healing that has physical benefits also for body, mind, spirit, and relationships. The spirit of contrition already begins in the early part of the Mass with the praying of the Confiteor. Then as the Readings proceed, and are read before the assembly, it is easy to obtain theh spiritual benefits necessary to increase one's faith and hope in God from the both the readings and the priest's homily. As the Mass continues from the liturgy of the Word and then progresses to the liturgy of the Eucharist, the whole Eucharistic assembly eventually reaches the communion rite where the priest says - "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...happy are those who are called to His Supper," all the faithful respond with, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed." This direction of receiving the Lord in communion is a healing action that can be received every Sunday. It grants the graces from God that are needed to help anyone heal completely from any lack of faith or from any minor physical illness.

Physical and moral healing

Confession and the Eucharist are the Sacraments that can be received regularly. The healing power of Christ, the Divine Physician, is present in these two Sacraments.

Aside from these Sacraments, Christ's healing presence is found whenever one visits the Blessed Sacrament. A visit to the adoration chapel for about 30 minutes can help set things right for anyone who is "tired, tempted, and troubled" in the daily grind of work. This "tired, tempted, and troubled" state is often what happens when too much activity or too much work is being done.

The souls of very active people are often like glass jars of water and soil that are shaken together with violent motion. So that glass jars can return to their original clarity, these glass jars should be made still in one spot. Only then, in that stillness, can the soil eventually settle at the bottom of the jar, and the water will be clear again. The longer the glass jar is still, the clearer the water will be.

So it is with our selves. There is a need to balance too much activity by lessening it and alloting more time for silence and stillness. 

Summary

There is complete healing process when both the physical and the spiritual aspects of one's self are in correct balance. When one follows the medical advice of a doctor and add more time to read and pray the gospels, (especially the passages that portray very well Jesus as a Healer and Divine Physician,) wholistic healing is attained. A sense of well-being follows from the belief that God has instituted the doctor for you (Sirach 38:1-14). Add this with a strong faith in Jesus, and healing in both one's body and one's soul becomes a reality. Wholistic healing can be derived from doing what the physician prescribes and from believing that God wants you to be healed.