Gospel Reflection...Called to be annoyed

I wanted to take the time to share with you all a Gospel reflection that I've been praying with... 

Gospel Passage: Lk. 18:1-8 (Annoying Widow and the Judge)

The first time I read this passage I was struck by how annoying the woman was. I would have been so annoyed and bothered by this woman if I was the judge. Reflecting on this, it led me to ask: Why did the annoying widow pick this judge? Why did she bother only him? He seemed as though he didn’t care about anything (“He did not fear God…did not respect any human being”).  Why did the widow pick this judge? This judge seems like a horrible guy, and yet she never leaves Him alone, she bothers Him until he listens to her.

When I did Lectio (reading and thinking about the Gospel) the night before, I felt the Lord drawing my heart in a particular way to the words “Bothering me". So I started off praying with the widow who bothered the judge to no end until he did what she asked...I tried placing myself in the shoes of the widow. 

As I sat with the widow, I found myself asking, “Lord, remind me to bother you.” 

….I stopped. 

I found the words I had just prayed so strange. 

"Remind me to bother you??" 

I felt so silly asking the Jesus’ permission to be annoying.

So I sat. Not knowing what else to do.

In my stupefied silence I felt Jesus whispering to me, “Soooo…. Can I bother you?”

At once I responded, “Jesus, that’s ridiculous, how are you going to bother me? You aren’t a bother… You aren’t annoying… How are you going to annoy me?”

Hearing Him whisper once again, I heard Him say; “I’m in every one of your sisters. I’m in every grumpy customer. I’m that baby screaming in Mass when you’re trying to pray. I’m in that repetitive noise someone is making beside you. I’m in that problem you can’t figure out. I’m there. Let me annoy you into prayer. And there I’ll be with you. Not just in the beautiful sunrise, or the quiet moments in the chapel, or the happy laughter of your sisters… but in everything. Good and bad. Better or worse. All the time.”  

So I sat with Jesus. Dumbfounded that He would want to annoy me into prayer. That He would desire such closeness, that He would teach me to pray in every moment; To teach me to acknowledge something as annoying, tell Him about it, and pray for that person that is disrupting my day or pray for a grace to overcome an obstacle in the day. 

So I asked the Lord for the grace to find everything annoying…and learn to love it. To befriend frustration and find joy in being bothered. So that, through the annoyances, I might come to a deeper union with Christ everyday and learn to bring Him into every aspect of my life: the good, the bad and the ugly.