Each day read the Gospel passage
for the day and the Psalm passage for the day (you can read them all at once or
do one reading in the morning and one in the evening) and use the reflection
questions to help process the passage.
The 11th day of Lent
Monday February 22, 2016
Gospel Reading
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his
disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his
disciples.”
2He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“ ‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins
against us.
And lead us not into
temptation.’ ”
5Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose
you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me
three loaves of bread; 6a friend of
mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t
bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I
can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because
of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and
give you as much as you need.
9“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For
everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the
door will be opened.
11“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will
give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man
who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15But some of
them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16Others
tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
17Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any
kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against
itself will fall. 18If Satan is
divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you
claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your
followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God
21“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house,
his possessions are safe. 22But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he
takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
23“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does
not gather with me scatters.
24“When an evil spirit comes out of anyone, it goes through
arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to
the house I left.’ 25When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in
order. 26Then it goes and takes seven
other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed
is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the
word of God and obey it.”
The Sign of Jonah
29As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a
wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the
sign of Jonah. 30For as Jonah was a
sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31The Queen of the South will rise at the
judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from
the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now one greater than
Solomon is here. 32The people of Nineveh
The Lamp of the Body
33“None of you lights a lamp and puts it in a place where
it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead you put it on its stand, so that
those who come in may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your body.
When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when
they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. 35See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.
36Therefore, if your whole body is full of
light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp
shines its light on you.”
Woes on the Pharisees and the Experts in the Law
37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him;
so he went in and reclined at the table. 38But the Pharisee was
surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
39Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees
clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did
not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,
and everything will be clean for you.
42“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of
your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and
the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the
former undone.
43“Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most
important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.
44“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which
people walk over without knowing it.”
45One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these
things, you insult us also.”
46Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to
you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you
yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets,
and it was your ancestors who killed them. 48So you
testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets,
and you build their tombs. 49Because
of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some
of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the
blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,
51from the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you,
this generation will be held responsible for it all.
52“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken
away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have
hindered those who were entering.”
53When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to
oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54waiting to
catch him in something he might say.
The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version.
2005. Grand Rapids , MI
Reflection
Questions:
- Jesus begins this chapter (Verses 1-13) teaching about prayer. What lessons can you learn about prayer from Him here? Does that inspire you now?
- The rest of the passage Jesus is opposed in various ways. Make a list of all the ways Jesus responds to challenges.
- In all these conflicts, what is the lesson Jesus wants us to learn?
Psalm Reading
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his
son Absalom.
1Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
3But you, Lord,
are a shield around me,
my glory, the one who lifts my head high.
4I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8From the Lord
comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Reflection
Questions:
- How does the Psalmist say God helps him in times of trouble?
- What is the Psalmist’s expectation of God concerning his own problems?
- How can God be a “Shield around” you? (vs. 3)
- Pray
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