May I receive a double portion of your Spirit

Welcome to my blog.

God speaks to us each day through the readings from the Holy Bible. These are chosen under the inspiration of God’s Spirit and provided for us by the Church founded and lead by the Spirit of Jesus.

You will find them here. If we take time daily to read, understand and in silence to pray from our heart, Jesus, through his Spirit, will nourish us and our life will be transformed.

Let us ask ourselves: what is God saying to me today through these readings?

May the Spirit of God be with you.

Wednesday 17 June 2020

May I receive a double portion of your Spirit

Ps 26: 7, 9

O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; be my help.

Do not abandon or forsake me, O God, my Saviour!

____________________

Prayer

Father, strength of those who hope in you,

graciously hear our prayers,

and, since without you, we can do nothing,

grant us always the help of your grace.

May we always follow your commands

and so please you by our resolve and our deeds.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Christ Jesus our Lord.

____________________

First reading

2 Kings 2:1, 6-14 ·

A flaming chariot came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven.

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here; the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you,” Elisha replied. And so the two went on together. Fifty of the guild prophets followed and when the two stopped at the Jordan, they stood facing them at a distance. Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, which divided, and both crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.” “You have asked something that is not easy,” Elijah replied. “Still, if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not.” As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. When Elisha saw it happen he cried out, “My father! my father! Israel’s chariots and drivers!” But when he could no longer see him, Elisha gripped his own garment and tore it in two.

Then he picked up Elijah’s mantle that had fallen from him, and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. Wielding the mantle that had fallen from Elijah, Elisha struck the water in his turn and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the water it divided and he crossed over. . THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Until one or two centuries before Christ, the Jews did not know of the future life with God. This life was all we had. Elijah had lived such a life devoted to the service of God, that they could not imagine how he could just die and pass into dust. So God took him to heaven and eventually will send him back again. They expected him to come just before the Messiah. Elijah is an image of Jesus, Son of God and the Messiah.

When Elijah goes to God, he does not leave the people without a shepherd and prophet. Elisha is to take over his mission. When asked what he can do for Elisha before he goes, Elisha asks Elijah for a double portion of his spirit. This is difficult, Elijah says.

Jesus is the prophet. He is the Messiah, the one promised and longed for.

He came, fulfilled his mission of saving the world from Satan and sin. Now like Elijah he returns to his Father. Like Elisha, his disciples are sad and fearful. ‘How to manage when you are gone?’ Unlike Elijah he promises to give them all his Spirit. His Spirit will give them the ability to do the works that he had done and even greater works (John 14:12). You will receive power (Acts 1:8)

Jesus goes triumphantly to his Father at his Ascension. At Pentecost he sends his Spirit on the disciples and the conquest of the world for God begins. Peter, the weak, became Peter the strong, the failure, the champion. He received the Spirit of God. Have you?

Unlike Elijah, who said it was difficult, Jesus says “How much more will your heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to those who ask him”. (Luke 11:13)

Have you asked for a double share of the Spirit of God? He transforms our lives and our families and indeed the world. As he used Peter, so he can use you – if you agree. Do you?

Psalm

Psalm 31:20, 21, 24

Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

How great is the goodness, O Lord,

which you have in store for those who fear you,

And which, toward those who take refuge in you,

you show in the sight of the children of men.

Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

You hide them in the shelter of your presence

from the plottings of men;

You screen them within your abode

from the strife of tongues.

Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

Love the Lord, all you his faithful ones!

The Lord keeps those who are constant,

but more than requites those who act proudly.

Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.

John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word,

and my Father will love him

and we will come to him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Jesus in his manhood is in every way our model. He is the perfect human being. Think, speak, act and love like him and you will be what every human being should be. You will be a light to the world. You will be joy for all who know you. He is, too, the perfect man of faith (Hebrews 12:2 “Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus the leader and perfecter of faith”.

In his life of faith, Jesus lived for his Father. His Father was everything for him. He had no other thought or desire than to do his Father’s will and in showing his total love give joy to him. “My food is to do the will of hm or sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). And so, while the chief priests, the pharisees and all the leaders of Judaism, despised him, jeered and mocked him, in his heart and in his body, he offered to his Father on the Cross, the life he had lived. Rejected by men, he was welcomed by God. That is what mattered to him. He always looked for God’s approval, not human approval. Whose approval do you look for?

What is your relationship with God the Father and his human image, Jesus? (“Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9). This is what counts. Nothing else really matters. We are to live for them. We are to please them.

The three pillars of life in the Jewish religion, taken over by Jesus, were prayer, fasting and almsgiving (sharing what we have, spiritually and physically, with others who lack them). However, he brings them to perfection. We are to perform them only to please God. We are not do them to gain the acclaim of human beings. They shouldn’t know what we do. Only God should know.

However, Jesus was not living in an age of unbelief, where people mocked religious people. On the contrary religious people were highly honoured. Many of us live among the mockers of religion. Jesus may now tell us when you pray do not go into your room, but let unbelievers see that you believe in me. Be my witnesses. Then seeing your good works, some may glorify your Father. In whatever we do, the glory of our Father is our aim.

Ps 26: 4

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, only this do I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Prayer

Father, from the beginning you entrusted

your Word to your Church. Grant that we may

always listen to your Church and so be one

in our understanding of the Scriptures.

We make our prayer through your Son,

Christ Jesus our Lord.