Come to me.
An invitation. A simple invitation. In the NIV, the invitation is “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened.” I don’t know about you, but I think that pretty much covers everyone I know. We are created with an innate desire for God. This desire wants to meet God in a very real and meaningful way for God has created us for relationship with Him. Jesus provides the invitation, “Come to me.”
My thoughts are "Why? What’s he going to do? Where are we going? What will it require? What’s in it for me?"
I love this invitation because not only is it an invitation to relationship, but it is also an invitation to a gift. Who doesn’t like a good present? This one is the best. Jesus asks us to come to him, so he may bestow on us the gift of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is foretold in the Old Testament as a kingdom established by the Messiah.
In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2:44
Daniel also foretells a Kingdom of God that is yet to come...
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed… 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.' Daniel 7:13-14, 27
In the Gospels we are blessed when we learn the Kingdom of God is already here as Jesus states in Luke.
20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21
Do you ever ask yourself, “In who? In Me?”
Jesus tells us exactly to whom the Kingdom of God is promised in his Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 3
This concept of poor in spirit can be little confusing, especially for those that realize we have the Holy Spirit within us. How can we be poor in spirit if we have God’s Holy Spirit? We need to remember that God gives us His Holy Spirit. We can be so full of ourselves we miss our true poverty of spirit. Poverty of spirit is the root of virtue – it is a state of the heart and how you view yourself in light of God. The word poor in Matthew 5:3 in Greek is “ptochos” which literally means having nothing, reduced to begging, like a beggar, totally broke. Jesus is referring to spiritual poverty. To be spiritually poor you grasp that you have nothing and need constant help. This is in stark contrast to the self-contained, self-sufficient super woman spirit for which our society longs, and is the image for which we so often find ourselves aiming.
This rest of this week’s daily readings will look at the Gospels and some of the poor in spirit that accepted Jesus’ invitation to come to him. Today consider the following verses from Psalm 34 for your lectio divina reading remembering that “fear of the Lord” is respect for His holiness and power.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
-Psalm 34:4-9
Silence – take a moment to quiet yourself and ask the Lord to speak to you.
Read – listen for the word spoken to you. Pay attention to the word or phrase that strikes you. Allow a moment or two of silence as you repeat this word or phrase to yourself
Reflect – read again. Where am I in this scene? What is addressed specifically to me? Allow several moments to explore your thoughts, perceptions, and impressions
Respond – read again. What is my response to God based on what I’ve read and encountered?
Rest – read again. Rest quietly in God’s embrace like a weaned child.
Resolve – carry this word with you to live in the context of your daily life.
I know today’s work has been long. I pray it’s been worth it. Take a few moments, jot down any ideas, feelings or the impressions you have after trying lectio divina on your own.
Dearest Lord…
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