Daily Bulletin – 4/1/19
Sacred Scripture
At that time Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.( John 4:43-54)
Reflection
What is the healing that we wish to ask Jesus for? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we immediately received the healing we desire? How would our lives be different if we always received the healing, the wish, the gift or grace we ask Jesus for? In one way, this would be wonderful! However, would we begin to see Jesus in a different light? Would Jesus become more like a “vending machine” to us? We come, place our prayer/request before Jesus, make an “offering” and then wait for my prayer to be answered, preferably exactly as I want it answered?
We all pray for what we desire! However, in my experience, it often seems that I receive very little of what I have asked for, at least in the way I wanted it to be answered. Does that mean that Jesus did not hear my prayer? Do I only believe in Jesus if He answers my prayers exactly as I specify? Perhaps the more fundamental question is: do we truly love, believe and trust Jesus? Do we trust that Jesus loves us and he is always with us? Do we truly believe that Jesus does gift and grace us? Those are the questions that define our faith.
Yes, we need to ask and pray to Jesus for what we need and desire. However, we also need to have a broad perspective. Instead of impatiently waiting for the answer to my specific prayer, we need to be open and listen deeply. Jesus will answer our prayer. However, our answer may have a different “take” or direction that we may not have anticipated. We need to be open and trust Jesus to bless us and grace us, as we truly need. We need to understand a fundamental truth about prayer. When we seem not to get the answer we want or need, it is often another direction in which Jesus is guiding our life. We may not see it at the moment, but our faith teaches us that His answer is ultimately leading us to His will for us. The issue for all of us is that we must continue to have open, hopeful and trusting hearts. Can you do that?
Prayer of The Day
Father, please help my heart to be open to your will, increasing my faith, knowing that you will guide my life on the path that you choose for me.
Daily Note
Having faith doesn’t mean we will get everything we ask for. Having faith means trusting that God will guide us and do for us what is best for us. God has an amazing plan for each and every person he creates. We may not know what that plan is, and sometimes we may get lost, but God is steady. He loves us and guides us back to the path that leads us to Him.
