Daily Reflections - June 20,2013

WILL, KINGDOM, NAME

 

Bread, pathways, forgiveness and deliverance — these are things we ask the Lord for in the “Our Father.” Give us bread for today only, not for tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. We need worry only about today. But like the clueless hiker, who misses the forest for the trees, we pray for enlightenment, too. Show me the way, not “show me the money.” This is our second request. But the way is fraught with danger. Life is full of challenges. Other teachings can disturb us, and even “super apostles” can mislead us, or all we look for is money. And so we have a third and a fourth plea to the Father: “Forgive us, and deliver us from the enticements of evil – and money.”

       Does anybody resonate with the abovementioned requests addressed to the Father? I know I do. I need food to survive and continue doing my work (though not much of sugar, salt and fat). I know I need some kind of global positioning system (GPS) in my life. Life could be full of questions,  and I have no clear-cut ready answers for everything. I can’t even find my way back to the parking lot at the Mall of Asia. I know I need money, too, to do my mission, even as I need to be delivered from too much love of food and money.

       But wait, man does not live on bread alone but neither is a well-paved road enough, or the latest GPS, or a well-appointed map! We also know very well that the mere absence of problems is not sufficient. We need something more positive and concrete. We need to do three things: focus on His will, work for the Kingdom, and give glory to His name!

       Bread and all material things are meant to be means, not ends. Maps and pathways are not meant to be destinations, but guides.  Deliverance does not mean we have arrived, but simply reminds us we are still on the way. We need God. Period. His will. His Kingdom. His Name. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What are your fervent requests from our Father? Do they lead you to His will, to build His Kingdom and to glorify His Name?

 

Jesus, thank You for listening to my prayers, but You know what’s best for me.