Monday, February 6, 2023

 

Monday, February 6, 2023


Psalm 86

Genesis 24:1-21

Luke 4:1-15


The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.


There is an episode of The Simpsons where Homer betrays his pagan theology of prayer. Celebrating that his life is “absolutely perfect, just the way it is”, he asks God to freeze everything as it is and he won’t ask for anything more. His prayer follows: “If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign.” This is considered a pagan approach to prayer, because it is assuming that God works His miracles as if we were in a marketplace of giving and receiving, similar to, for example, our global economy.


At first blush, Abraham’s servant seems to be reading from a similar prayer book: he asks God for a sign in order to know who is to be married to his future employer.


There is nothing inherently wrong with asking God for a sign. In fact, it is totally reasonable: prayer is inherently a two-way communication, and just as we look to speak to God articulately, either in our words or the inclination of our spirit, we can ask God to do the same for us.


Abraham’s servant didn’t become unreasonable with his request, however. He decided on something that was unlikely but not impossible when he asked God for a woman who would volunteer to water the camels. It was also a shrewd play on the servant’s part: he wanted what was best for his master, while also acknowledging that success for Abraham meant success for him – but most importantly, a generous heart on the part of Isaac’s future wife was what the servant was looking for the most. It was by happy circumstance that Rebekah was not only beautiful on the inside, but also “very fair to look upon” with the eyes.


The joke for Homer Simpson was that God did have a sign for him. Homer’s wife, Marge, is trying to tell Homer something, but Homer “can’t talk: praying”. The message God had for Homer was that his “absolutely perfect” life was about to be turned upside down with Marge’s news that she was pregnant with their daughter Maggie. Abraham’s servant made an honest prayer. Homer, by contrast, was trying to manipulate the universe: “In gratitude, I present to you this offering of cookies and milk. If you want me to eat them for you, give me no sign” he then prays, concluding with “thy will be done” and proceeding to consume his “offering”.


Let’s be bold with our prayer: Jesus went to hell and back so that we could be in the closest possible relationship with God. We can show gratitude by taking full advantage of this gift He has given us. Let us remember also to be honest. This is God we’re talking about, after all. He loves us very much, has drawn us very close, and knows us perfectly. When He gives us something special, He wants us to know that it was He who gave it to us. He’s ready to give us much more besides, too: all we need to do is ask.




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