'Enough is Enough!'

 Refelction on Luke 11.1-13

There is a curious and puzzling story in the opening chapters of Genesis about Cain and Abel and bringing an offering before God.

With no obvious reason given God accepts Abel’s offering but rejects that of Cain.  Cain is bitter and angry, and the story takes a very dark turn when Cain murders his brother.

One take on this grim story is that Cain had a choice and could have mastered his anger towards his brother. Although God looked with favour on Abel’s offering there is nothing to suggest that God had nothing to offer Cain.

This sets in motion a theme of operating either out of scarcity or out of abundance that runs throughout the Scriptures.

Remember the Israelites during the Exodus and Yahweh providing manna from heaven, giving them their daily bread.

And Luke is presenting Jesus as a Moses type figure leading a new Exodus releasing people from the slavery of sin and death. His own blood will be the all sufficient sacrifice painted on the doors of our hearts.

And repeatedly in his teaching Jesus invites us to live in the place of abundance and not scarcity.

Invites us to grasp that as fathers we would not offer a snake instead of fish, or a scorpion instead of an egg.

 If 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!”

Thus, we pray, ‘give us today our daily bread.’

And that is the key and the challenge.

Are we able to live in the place of abundance and not scarcity.

Not to follow the path of Cain in thinking there is not enough for everyone.

To begin to store up ‘daily bread’ not just for today but for the day after that and even the months and years after that.

The very simple fact is that there is enough food, enough daily bread across the world that no one should be dying of starvation.

The real issue that Jesus challenges us on is a fair distribution.

Storing up and not having faith enough to believe that God will provide for my needs leads to others not having their daily bread.

It is a tough call, because most of our Western economy is based around a model of scarcity, of there not being enough.

When a rich person was asked how much money they needed the response was, ‘always a pound more than I already have.’

But this ‘storing up of treasures’ on earth leads to stress, violence and war, just as much as it did when Cain rose up and killed his brother.

Dare we pray for God’s will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Can we possibly begin to live, however falteringly, with a mind set of abundance and not scarcity.

Are we really able to trust that God will provide for all our needs to met?

Could we even go a step further and work towards everyone receiving their daily bread.

Not only to pray the Lord’s Prayer but to give ourselves totally to work towards its realisation.

To seek for God’s Kingdom to come upon earth with a mindset of abundance that needs to be shared fairly.   

Let us pray…

O Saviour Christ, in whose ways of love lays the secret of all life, and hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us, and its vigour renew us. Pour out upon us a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit; make us bold and courageous in sharing faith in both word and deed for your Kingdom’s sake. Amen