Desolate Places and Desperate Pleas

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Thursday, March 10)
Read Luke 5:1-16

“But he would withdraw to desolate places to pray” (5:16). This is the second time Luke has told us that Jesus made it his practice to find a private place of solitude for prayer -- in addition to the 40-day period of prayer in the wilderness with which he began his ministry.

We dare not miss this important window into Jesus’ personal spiritual life. We may wonder: if Jesus was the Son of God, why did he need to pray? Didn’t he already know what to do?

Apparently not. The mystery of the Incarnation is beyond human comprehension. In fact, it seems to me that the more we attempt to clarify it, the more we tend to obscure it. We either make Jesus so divine that he was hardly human, or so human that he was scarcely divine. The truth is, he was fully divine and fully human, and these are ideas bigger than our minds can hold.

We do better, I think, to let the scriptures speak for themselves, to embrace the mystery, and to humbly accept its paradox. In this case, Jesus prayed because he wanted to discern the Father’s will. And if this was necessary for him to live the life the Father wanted him to live, how much more important must it be for us to seek the Father in prayer?

Consider the simple testimony of today's reading: How did Jesus know to choose such a rag-tag group of people (four common fishermen! one hated tax collector!) to be his first disciples? Prayer. How did Jesus discern his mission and clarify his message? Prayer. Why did Jesus choose to heal the leper with a touch, take his uncleanness upon himself, and cleanse him by that very act? All these unexpected actions are book-ended by prayer (4:42-43; 5:16).

The challenge is clear. We must become people of prayer. It must become as natural for us as breathing. We must learn to see the world through God’s eyes.

But this is a bit overwhelming, right? Like Peter in the boat, we naturally cry out, “Go away! You’re too good for me, Lord” (5:8). But if we acknowledge our impotence, as the leper did (5:12f), we are ready for Jesus’ touch. Peter was unclean (as was the leper), but Jesus’ called him anyway. “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (5:10).

Laying aside his fears and self-doubt, Peter left everything and followed Jesus (5:11). Let us do the same. And let us begin by spending time with the Father in prayer, just as Jesus did.

Lord, thank you for cleansing me like you did the leper. Thank you for calling my like you did Peter. Help me to follow you despite my fears. Teach me how to pray, just like you taught Peter.”