Seventeenth Sunday in OT
C 2022
In the gospel, Jesus was praying by himself. The disciples observing Jesus at prayer then
asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
Jesus is a much better teacher on prayer than I am. I was teaching a group of first graders on
prayer this past week in our summer intensive faith formation sessions this
past week. After I finished my talk on
prayer, one young girl raised her hand, and I was delighted that she wanted to
engage on her prayer life. So, when I
called on her, she simply said: “I need
to go to the bathroom.”
Back to Jesus, of all the things the disciples saw Jesus do,
the one thing they ask about is prayer.
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Now the disciples had noticed that Jesus often prayed. Jesus prays before his baptism; he prays
before the Transfiguration; he prays after the seventy return from their
mission. Jesus prays all the time.
And the disciples see this.
They notice that prayer is an essential part of Jesus’ life, and that if
they want to follow Jesus, if they want to be like Jesus, if they want to
imitate Jesus, then they must pray.
Now, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us how to
pray. Most important, he teaches to whom
we pray – a loving and caring Father into whom we entrust our concerns and our
lives. Father, into your hands, I
commend my spirit.
We begin the Lord’s Prayer by addressing God as Father. All who offer this prayer are children of one
Father, thus brothers and sisters to one another. We the faith community of the Church of the St.
Joseph’s are brothers and sisters to one another. There are to be no strangers among us -- only
friends who perhaps have not yet met.
Before we petition God with our human needs, we say
“hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” We first unite ourselves with the being and
the activity of God. God invites us into
an intimate relationship in which we see ourselves, and then we can feel free
to boldly ask for what we need.
In the first Scripture reading from the Book of Genesis, we
see the intimate relationship that Abraham enjoys with God. In his prayer, he is bargaining with God to
save the people of Sodom. In this
prayer, God promises Abraham, I will spare the city of Sodom if only ten
innocent people can be found.
In our prayer life, can we speak with the kind of trust and
confidence that characterized the prayer of Abraham.
In our prayer life, what would you describe as your greatest
temptation? What keeps from being
focused on the priority of prayer?
It’s not that we are atheists or agnostics. It’s not that we have actively rejected God
and defied God by sinning. Often it
seems we simply are indifferent or too busy about many other things.
The Mass we celebrate is in itself a prayer. Not to pray is to show God our
indifference. What does it mean when we
turn Sunday Mass into something that is only optional? For sure, we would not say that God is
optional in the way we profess our faith in words, but we need to challenge
ourselves and ask if the way we live our life matches the words we say.
As you reflect on your prayer life, what keeps us from
deepening our relationship with God? Do
our deeds reflect that prayer works when we can fit it into our busy schedule,
or do we say that prayer is the first requirement of a disciple of Jesus? The rest of the day then is structured around
our times of prayer.
Trust me as I present this challenge to you, I present this
challenge to myself. I know I need to be
challenged as where I place the priority of prayer in my life. May we all ask ourselves the honest question of
whether our actions confirm that God is the lead priority of our lives.
The disciples have been taught the words of prayer in the
Lord’s Prayer but more is needed. We
need to have the proper inner disposition.
We must open our hearts to our giving and forgiving God. We need to trust that we are in the hands of
God, and that all will be well for those who trust in the immensity of God’s
love for us.
Jesus teaches to pray.
He also teaches us for what we pray:
not just for immediate needs, but, more important, for ultimate
needs: the furthering of God’s kingdom,
the gift of forgiveness, and protection from anything that would take us from
God.
Jesus teaches us not only the words to pray, but what deeds
must match authentic prayer. So, we are
given three important truths about prayer.
The first comes from the parable of the persistent friend. A pesky neighbor disturbs a sleeping friend
and disrupts the household. In this parable, Jesus teaches us the need for
persistence in our prayer life.
Then Jesus invites to be bold in
asking for what we need – no need to be timid about our prayers of
petition. “Ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find.” The Lord invites
to present our needs before Him confident that our prayers will be heard.
Finally Jesus says: “What father among you would hand his son a
snake when he asks for a fish?...How much more will the Father in heaven give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Prayer then, for the disciple, is
not imposing our will on God, but opening ourselves to God’s will for us. For this to happen, within us and within the
community, the Holy Spirit is indeed the gift that is needed.
In this Gospel, Jesus not only
teaches us the words to say in the Lord’s prayer, but Jesus gives us also a
window into the heart of God who can give be trusted to give us His beloved
children always not what we want but always what we need.
Have a Blessed Day.
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