Friday after Exaudi Sunday
Posted on May 17, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 11:5-13 (NKJV)
11:5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Devotion
This passage in the Gospel is a commentary on the prayer Jesus just told His disciples to pray. The Lord’s Prayer is petitionary, that is, it is asking for God to grant certain things. In it we ask for daily bread and to be forgiven our sins. Jesus encourages us not to be timid. He says, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you.” It is no wonder that the Lord’s Prayer became an important part of the Divine Liturgy right from the beginning. Jesus commands us to pray this way.
Jesus then makes the comparison to human behavior; an argument from the lesser to the greater. Earthly fathers will give good things to their children. God our Father is infinitely more generous. Jesus also paints the picture of a man coming to his neighbor at midnight, begging for help to show hospitality to a traveler. All of Jesus’ hearers would have thought this absurd. Of course the neighbor would have got out of bed for love’s sake, or at least honor’s sake. Out of mere obligation, the neighbor would have gotten out of bed. He would have to, at least, protect his reputation. How much more would our holy and benevolent God do, who loves us as dear children?
Collect: Almighty, everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee, and to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
