The Jesus Prayer Lectionary 497

497.doc

Scripture: Lectionary 497: I Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63. Psalm 119:53.61.134.150.155.158. Luke 18:35-43:

Luke’s Journey Narrative is coming to an end as Jesus is leaving the area near the oldest city known in those times, Jericho. We have followed Jesus with his disciples on this journey and have learned the meaning and cost of discipleship. Jesus has been teaching the lessons we need to know ever sense he began the journey which Luke narrates as far back as 9:51. Luke has so focused on the end of the journey in Jerusalem that all topographical reference to any other place than Jerusalem is suppressed. We recall the opening line of the journey with Jesus that Luke gave us, “When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Journey Narrative 9:51-19:46). Fr. Lagrange, O.P. the great Dominican exegete and founder of the Ecole Biblique and its continuing periodical “Etudes Biblique” says, “ In vain do we try to discover where he is; we know only that he is still in the land of Israel because there is no indication that he has left it. Apart from references to Jerusalem there is no indication of place; the scene is always just “somewhere.”

An extraordinary healing takes place near Jericho. A blind man cries out and prays,”Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” He pays no attention to the crowd but keeps praying in his outcry, “Son of David, have pity upon me.” We are familiar with his prayer and call it the “Jesus Prayer.” It has become a traditional part of Christian prayer through the Byzantine Church and now is mainstream for us. We learn much from its simplicity, its total trust in the person of Jesus, and its absolute surrender to the will of God. Jesus stops and asks him what he wants and he continues his prayer, “Lord, that I may see.” This is our prayer as learners on the way with Jesus; it is the prayer of a disciple. We see in the narrative that Luke gives us a threefold progress in the expression of the man’s prayer and we do well to imitate this prayer of faith that comes from the depths of the blind person’s heart. It is simple, pure, and profound. There is no bargaining tone within his prayer; nor any pretense that his prayer is the only way to pray. This comes from his faith and his absolute surrender to whatever Jesus wants. The second step is the direct address to Jesus and the third is certainly consonant with Luke’s prayer motif seen in the light of the Resurrection of Jesus. We have Jesus listening to the prayer of the blind man, and the Evangelist Luke praying this formula. It has to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and Luke knows that full well. The reverence and trust is so evident in this short episode on the way up to Jerusalem. We hear at the end of it that the man followed Jesus—the exact words used for disciples who are followers and learners of Jesus on the way up to Jerusalem.

Luke, the Evangelist of Prayer, helps us to be one in prayer with this blind man. We are led to pray as he did with simplicity, clarity, and profound trust and belief in the person of Jesus. Here are the three expressions used in the man’s prayer:

Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.

Son of David, have pity on me.

Lord, I want to see. Amen.