Our Father

In chapter 11 of Dr. Luke's gospel is the Our Father and the Messiah's spiritual direction concerning prayer. Here are a few questions concerning this:

1. How often do you ask Jesus to teach you to pray?
2. Who sends the Holy Spirit?
3. To whom does Jesus send his spirit at the moment of death?
4. Where in the gospel is there an example of a prayer answered by God the Father?
5. It is nice to recite the Our Father, but is your life a recitation of other parts of Jesus' life?
6. What is the finger of God? WHat does it do?

Now, a cup of coffee and some mental elbowgrease plus the grace of the Holy Spirit, and we can acquire more of God's wisdom concerning these matters.

The Good Samaritan

One of the most important parables, the Good Samaritan teaches us the works of mercy. Let's think over these questions, among the many we could possibly could ask:

1. St. Paul in Galatians 5 says that our actions are not so important, "For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything..." So why does the gospel here mention strength, i.e., the ability of our bodies to exert our will by doing?
2. A man's strength depends on his heart, so why does Luke add the words strength and soul to the manner by which we are to love God? Isn't loving from the heart sufficient?
3. What was important about the city of Jericho?
4. What business does a priest ordinarily have in Jericho? What business does a Levite ordinarily have in Jericho?
5. This mysterious neighbor, the Samaritan, who does he represent?
6. The scribe is a man dedicated to the Torah, and in the parable, the priest and the Levite are dedicated to the Torah. Does the scribe agree or disagree with Jesus?
7. Does this parable of Jesus expand the scribe's understanding of the Torah and of what God's will is?
8. Martha bosses Mary around the way a general bosses a foot soldier around, so is the active life superior to the contemplative life?

A second mission

An artist's view of Magnificat, deluxified

Moses selected seventy elders in Israel during a time of nagging and strife concerning manna but NO other food. Now Jesus selects seventy and sent them out with authority. Here are some questions to help us dig through the beginning of Luke 10 and the mission of the seventy?

1. What was similar in the two stories, Moses and his seventy elders compared to Jesus and his group of seventy?
2. Did Jesus follow his own directions? I.e., did he travel light, like the seventy?
3. What was the ultimate objective for the seventy? How would it all look if they had accomplished their mission?
4. How does the scholar's question relate to the mission that the seventy had just accomplished?
5. Review the Magnificat. How does Jesus' prayer of exultation in vv. 21, 22 compare to Mary's exclamation known as the Magnificat?

This is plenty to think about as we seek the Lord's heart through studying his scripture.

LET'S GO!