Reflection 39 - Be Importunate for Christ

Be Importunate For Christ

Have you ever got irritated by anybody who often disturbs you in a way that you did not like????

Almost all of us have experienced that moment atleast once in our life time. I was just flashed with the thoughts of a beautiful parable that appeared only once among Gospels.

The Parable of an Importunate Friend at Midnight

(I give my personal views here, other may vary)

Being taken up by the thoughts I started reflecting upon the parable. There are different versions of naming this Viz., A Friend at Midnight, A Persistent Friend, etc.

But I was sure that I should choose the word Importunate which fits the parable. 👇

In life being persistent in achieving our goals is a very important and a virtuous behaviour we could exhibit. Nevertheless the heightened expression of this virtue is to be persistent for the genuine need of the needy. The Importunate friend's parable explicably presents three elements.

# Time of the plea : Midnight

# Normal Friend's family Vs Knocking one's familiar friend

# Hesitation of the Friend inside and Importunate knocking of the Friend outside

Let us analyse the above elements. Let us take the reluctant friend as Friend inside and the pleading friend as Friend outside. 

The firm's outside reaches the friend inside during midnight. Obviously midnight is the time for us to be in seventh heaven. The friend outside knowing all these comes the friend inside at midnight. But at this place we should also think of the situation of the friend outside. He should have also been asleep at that time. But the friend outside sacrifices his sleep for a friend who has arrived at midnight. 

I remembered the words of Jesus here 👇

after all the friend outside sacrificed his sleep. That's about the time of the event. We could see the dichotomy of expressions with regard to time. 

Then, Family in Abundance Vs Friend in Need

The friend inside wakes up to say that his family is sleeping and not to give food at the first time. If the friend inside has given food for the first time, the Friend outside would have not been so Importunate. The saddest part of the parable is the friend inside is a neighbor of the one outside. But still he never looks on to his outside friend's hunger. On the contrary the poor and hungry friend outside has the heart to give bread to a friend visited him though he himself starves. 

I now remember Jesus says👇

But the friend outside did all the above and lived Jesus' words. For it is said "Do not pass by a man in need, you may be the hand of God to him" (Prov. 3:27) The friend outside found himself higher in god's sight by helping a friend but the friend inside loses the opportunity to be higher. St. Paul would beautifully put this attitude in one verse 👇

Thirdly Hesitation Vs Importunate Knocking

When a person will be Importunate?

Mostly when he/she is in a dire need. 

Here the friend outside exhibits a selfless attitude because he never asks the friend inside for his sustenance, not for his family, but for a friend who has arrived, which means the friend may be a nomad, might not be known yet he addresses as friend, even if he is known may not be so close because he was far away. Amidst all these possibilities the friend outside exhibits a due welcome for him. The continuous plea of the friend outside arrives out of the continuous hesitation of the friend inside.

What brings us home???

Finally the message is when we are Persistent in being virtuous you are all the more demanded to be Importunate. Being Importunate for Christ is the greater message we could get from this parable. If anything worthy for let us be virtuous in being Importunate. 

Let's Pray:

Lord, Thank you for your persistent love and persevering mercy. Heal me so that I may be Importunate in loving you. Amen.

👇👇👇👇