Morning Prayer
Luke 8: 22 – 25
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
Reflection
Who indeed is this man? That is the question of the hour. Take a few moments to ask yourself this question and as you answer it, keep coming back to the question again from another angle. A good question is better than a good answer as it gives fruit for a long time. For example, the first son of the Lord of Creation I suppose if he knows who Abba is and who He is, has authority to quell a storm. Then again who can sleep peacefully in a boat being so badly tossed on the open water that its going to sink? What kind of man is that? What kind of unshakeable trust? And so on… Enjoy being led by the Spirit deeper into this story of Jesus. Allow yourself a few minutes…
Noon Day Prayers Question
Jesus was not some sort of magician, nor a super-hero. Everything he did was part of God’s will. It is knowing what God’s will is for you moment by moment, day by day, that makes you available for God’s power to manifest in and through you. If you could see like Jesus was able to see, that is with Abba’s eyes, imagine what God might do through you! If you could move easily as the Spirit led, imagine what you might get led to do. Is this the life for you?
Evening Prayer
Luke 8: 26 – 39
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand
and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
Reflection
Our imagination is much more engaged with what we perceive as reality than we know. We are constantly actively constructing our reality, choosing what we filter out and what we focus on. And in doing this, we only access part of what is available to us because of the limits of how we have been trained to see, how our culture sees, etc. As we try out other ways of being in this world, our imagination can also be used to open new doors for us to an internal, more grounded reality. When we follow this path, what happens is real – real in the sense that if, for example, we choose to have a conversation with Jesus, what happens next is serious business.
So now I invite you to use this account of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac to see Jesus in a new way and perhaps even who you could become.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes and see yourself with the disciples when they get to shore. You have just had Jesus still the storm and now look at the scene that confronts you. Read the story again so that you can watch it play out. Stay for a while and talk to Jesus, to one of his disciples or to one of the people of Gerasene. You might want to write down your experience. Surrender this experience to Abba as you trust him to continue to guide and transform you by his Spirit.