JESUS ASTONISHED

PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 16 September 2013

JESUS ASTONISHED

Pause. Is there a moment in the day when, with our families, we can gather and be still in the presence of our God?

Reading. “When Jesus heard these words of the centurion he was astonished and said, ‘I tell you not even in Israel have I found faith like this.’” (Luke 7:1-10)

Reflection. Sometimes we can pull the curtain aside for a moment and look out and glimpse the great and universal plan of God. Jesus understood his mission as primarily to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.” But he kept meeting Syro-Phoenician women, Greeks and, here, Romans, who responded to him and showed signs of faith that astonished him. And he was filled with consolation to think of the day when people would come from the east and the west, the north and the south, to the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. This is all biblical language but it points to the world we live in today. The traffic roars by as I write but hidden in all this rush and roar is the great plan in which we are all drawn towards God and astonishing things are happening all round us if we have eyes to see.  

Prayer. Lord, teach me to rejoice that you are at work in this world of ours. At times it looks pointless and futile and full of vanity. But in truth you are there with your shepherd’s staff leading us on to green pastures and life to the full. Amen