David's Reflections

The Goal of Prayer

When we close the door to our prayer room, we achieve some form of privacy and a level of intimacy with our prayers. Jesus said: “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). So, what is our goal in practicing this form of prayer?

There is a posture in prayer which leads us to the goal of prayer. Our goal is to receive and enter into His Presence. When we pray, we long for the Father to see us in secret and reward us. When we are in His Presence, surrounded by His purity and holiness, then we are blessed and we see God. This is when the blessing makes sense, the one where Jesus says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). We see Him and we are seen by God. 

In the Gospel of Luke, when we come to the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer, Luke mentions a parable of a neighbor who receives his request from his friend because he asked with shameless persistence. Here in Luke 11:1-13, we read of the Lord’s Prayer and various teachings about prayer. In verse 13, Jesus states: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).

The goal in prayer is that everyone who prays can receive and enter into the Presence of the Spirit of God. And when the Spirit is in your deepest thoughts, your inner sanctuary, then you can experience peace, become pure, practice mercy, receive humility, and offer your poverty, pain, and persecution as gifts to your friends around you. So, go ahead and ask the Father the question: “How much do you love me?” Celebrate His presence in your life and through your prayers.

Listen To Jesus

Listening to someone is hard when we are talking. And sometimes, even when our lips are not moving, we still can’t tune in to what others are saying because we are busy thinking of words to say on the next available opportunity we get. Listen! God spoke from the cloud on that mountain saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). We are to listen and align our hearts to Jesus. We need to be silent before our God and listen to His Son. 

On this Transfiguration Sunday (02/19/2023), please read our Lectionary Gospel Reading from Matthew 17: 1-9. We will be ready to listen to God when our hearts and minds are soaked in the “silence of God” or the quiet assurance of His presence. It is only after we have learned to be silent before God that our words will take on deep meaning for others.

“Words can only create communion and thus new life when they embody the silence from which they emerge. As soon as we begin to take hold of each other by our words, and use words to defend ourselves or offend others, the word no longer speaks of silence. But when the word calls forth the healing and restoring stillness of its silence, few words are needed: much can be said without much being spoken.” (Nouwen 1981:57. -- from: Henri Nouwen. 1981. The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. NY: Harper Collins Publisher)

His Face Is Shining

His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. Something wonderful was happening with their Lord, and all Peter could say was: “Let us camp out here.” This was the day when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples’ eyes. Prophets appeared before them. A bright cloud covered them and a voice from heaven said: “Listen to Jesus.” Something precious was unfolding. God reached out from His divine abode to reveal a beautiful encounter, and all Peter could do was talk about building some tents there in the mountain.

Tomorrow is Transfiguration Sunday. Please read our Lectionary Gospel Reading from Matthew 17:1-9. In our present day, we have similar experiences, akin to the mountain-top encounter of this Transfiguration. Most of us are quick to go and tell the world of our spiritual encounter. We start opening our mouths like Peter. Just like the disciples, our sharing is more of a response out of fear, distress, and confusion. Look again how Peter and the rest of the group responded in verses 6, 19, and 23. Henri Nouwen suggested that when we have a spiritual encounter, we need to nurture it in silence. Remembering God’s visit guards the fire from within. It is only from this sanctified quietness that words will start forming and a time for sharing will be revealed.

Nouwen states: “But let us at least raise the question of whether our lavish ways of sharing are not more compulsive than virtuous; that instead of creating community they tend to flatten out our life together. Often we come home from a sharing session with a feeling that something precious has been taken away from us or that holy ground has been trodden upon…. What needs to be guarded is the life of the Spirit within us.” Nouwen continues: “Our first and foremost task is faithfully to care for the inward fire so that when it is really needed it can offer warmth and light to lost travelers” (1981:53-55).

(Henri Nouwen. 1981. The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. NY: Harper Collins Publisher)

Anonymous Generosity: Silent Service

Can we really be anonymous in our giving and service? Jesus said: “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). It looks like it is very clear cut: no public display of generosity. Let me ask the question in a more tangible way. If we are focused on giving in the ways of the kingdom of God, should we then disregard the affirmation of our friends when we are serving them? Maybe, we should go around serving others with a mask or a hood over our head so that they can not see that it is us who are serving them. Or maybe, we should just help others virtually, so that the persons receiving our generous gifts won’t know who we are. We could go on and on. The question is: “Do we need to be silent about our service?” I propose a rephrasing of the question. We should focus on our proximity to the kingdom of God. The question, rather, should be: “How close are we to the kingdom of God?“

In the 21st Century, it is very hard or even impossible to practice serving others in the way Jesus describes it in Matthew 6:3. With today’s high speed data transfer and everyone owning a mobile phone with a camera, any act of service will surely move from the left hand to the right hand—everyone knows quickly what one is doing, good or bad. Anonymity is now a near impossibility.

Thus, we ask question: What does closeness to the kingdom of God mean when we are out serving others and practicing generosity? The answer is stated in the question. We focus on the closeness to the kingdom of God. When we are intimate with the King, then our service is full of mercy and comfort. We give help to others, but we know only the King can satisfy them and the peace of God is the only thing that can comfort them. We offer our gifts to our friends, but we also confess that we are fellow travelers and we are poor just like them, and continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness just like them. We practice generosity and a life of service not that people will see our benevolent acts, but so that God will see us. We do these acts of kindness not to hear our friends appreciation, but to hear the affirmation of our Lord, when he calls us sons and daughters of God. We give, help, serve, and become generous because we are seeking the kingdom of God.

Shine The Light Of Jesus

Have you ever held a lit candle in the middle of a darkened room or walked on an open field with a torch light under a moonless night? This experience with light gives us a moment of introspection. It gives us the opportunity to “inspect our own selves” and leads us to a time of personal evaluation. Jesus said: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The witness of Jesus and the Father encourages everyone to look at themselves and measure up to the standards of the kingdom of God.

Allow me to clarify by way of an explanation. Everyone knows what a lighthouse is and what it does. When seafarers navigate the seas and come to a lighthouse, then they are able to evaluate their location and determine the direction of their vessel. They use various instruments and use the lighthouse as a reference point. The seafarers do not go around talking about the color of the lighthouse, the height of the tower, or some other insignificant things. No. They see the lighthouse and then they evaluate their own location and adjust the navigation of their vessel. The sight of the lighthouse gives them a level of clarity and assurance.

Jesus is our light, our lighthouse, and when we follow him, we “inspect” ourselves and evaluate our lives every of the day. We submit our everyday lives to the witness of Jesus and the Father.

Read our Lectionary Gospel Reading for this week (02/05/2023) in Matthew 5:13-20. Ask yourself the question: Is your light similar to the “righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees?” May you shine the light of Jesus. May this light bring you and your friends, together with your pain, poverty, mourning and persecution, acts of mercy and longing for meekness, straight into the kingdom of God.

A Posture In Prayer

There is a posture in prayer that describes an inner sanctuary in our lives. Matthew 6:6 states: “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” This verse expresses it vividly with a command to find a room and shut the door to this room so that one can guard the intimate communion with the Father in heaven. It is in this inner sanctuary that we can ask our God the question: “How much do you love me?” 

Early in my marriage, I did not understand why my wife would often ask me the question: “How much do you love me?” I enumerated to her the many reasons why I love her. I gave my reasons. I married her. I committed my life to her to establish a family. I offered her a home for our children. I go on and on. And yet, she would keep asking me the question: “How much do you love me?” Later, I finally understood that she did not really want to hear the answers. She just needs to hear me say “I love you” and feel my presence beside her.

Similarly, in our spiritual lives, there is an inner sanctuary where we commune with God in the deepest ways possible. It is in this deep level of intimacy with our Father in heaven that we long to hear Him say “I love you, my child” and we desire to simply feel His presence. We ask the question “How much do you love me?” so that when the Heavenly Father answers, we not only hear His words, but we also feel His Divine Presence in our lives. He sees us. He views us from His holy place and comes close to our hearts. This is the reality of “God With Us” or the truth of God Immanuel. This inner sanctuary posture is the location of our prayers.

There are different rooms in a person’s life. A room for our friends. Room for our private thoughts. One room for all our decisions about work, career, and our job. A room for our lovers and heart affairs. One room for our family. One for financial matters. And one special room for the deepest innermost experiences, a place where we make our most intimate decisions. This final room, the innermost room, is the most important section in any person’s life.

Many people have invited Jesus to their lives. They opened the doors to their family room, to their career and work room, to their recreation and entertainment room, to their social relationships room, and many other rooms representing the different parts of their lives. But they have never opened the door to their innermost room, the private room where secrets are shared and decisions are made in whispers and silent deliberations. Those who have not given up everything will never experience the fullness of the Spirit of God.

Here is a question for everyone: Have you opened the door to your innermost room and invited God to come in to the inner sanctuary of your life?

Service For The King

Let us stay close to the King of the kingdom of God. When we are intimate with the King, then our service is full of mercy and comfort. We give help to others, but we know only the King can satisfy them and the peace of God is the only thing that can comfort them. We offer our gifts to our friends, but we also confess that we are fellow travelers and we are poor just like them, and we continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness just like them. We practice generosity and a life of service not that people will see our benevolent acts, but so that God will see us. We do these acts of kindness not to hear our friends appreciation, but to hear the affirmation of our Lord, longing for that time when He calls us sons and daughters of God. We give, help, serve, and become generous because we are seeking the kingdom of God.