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Gospel: Luke 4: 38-44
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Tying yesterday and today’s Gospel passages together, we discover a full day in the life of Jesus.
The Lord began his day in the synagogue, where he cast out an unclean spirit from a man, revealing Christ’s power over evil.
“After lunch,” Jesus enters Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill.
Then he continues his ministry into the evening. As we hear in today’s Gospel, “At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.”
I’d imagine by night, the Lord was exhausted.
But early the next morning – before dawn – Jesus is up and out, finding a quiet place to pray.
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This is what sustained him.
It’s what is meant to sustains us on our pilgrimage through life.
Prayer gives us the energy, the insight, and the compassion we need to accomplish the tasks God has in store for us each day.
The Lord reminds us today that the best time to pray is, “very early before dawn.” I’ve done it myself, praying an hour a day before dawn for the last fifteen years. It’s changed me in ways I never would have imagined.
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Give the Lord the first few minutes of each day and see what happens.
You may be surprised by how much you become like Jesus, eager – and ready – to do your Father’s will.
I wonder what that might look like for you today.
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Image credits: (1) Complex (2) Men’s Health (3) Our Daily Bread