Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
(Colossians 1: 1-8; Luke 4:38-44)
People speak of the “power of prayer” as if it can tumble
mountains. But prayer has never seemed
to be explosive energy as much as an integrative force. It brings
order and peace to the person by acknowledging God as Father whose love overcomes
all evil. Jesus seems aware of this benefit
of prayer in today’s gospel.
In Mark’s gospel Jesus is pictured as praying by himself
only twice – once on the side of a mountain and then in Gethsemane. In Luke’s gospel, which we will read almost
daily from now until December, Jesus is continually going off to pray. In the passage read today he gets up early to
pray alone in a quiet place. It is as if
he daily renews his relationship with the Father by prayer.
Praying in the early morning behooves all of us. At five or six in the morning we will not likely
be distracted or interrupted. We can use
this time to order our day by asking the Spirit to guide us in fulfilling our various
responsibilities. And no matter whatever
happens to us that day we know that we already done what is crucial – showing our
love for God.
