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Sunday Gospel Reflection 20070729

To love God is to love your neighbor. This love of neighbor cannot exist without justice.
Justice—society's recognition and protection of people's dignity and rights-is a necessary part of the Church's mission [and] an essential expression of Christian love. Hunger, refugees, prison reform, racism, sexism, and so many other issues can never be considered merely politics—they must also be at the heart of religion.

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How to Pray
July 29, 2007


Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Gospel
Lk 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”



The request of the disciples to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) can be understood as a quest for the proper disposition for Christian prayer. The reply that Jesus gives them can be summarized in one sentence: the right disposition for Christian prayer is the disposition of a child before its father.
All of us carry a longing to know God and enter into a relationship with him. Those who live a deep relationship with God attract us by the peace and serenity of their lives. They know they are loved, and they can handle the difficulties of life with joy and serenity. The disciples see how deeply and spontaneously Christ talks with the Father, and they realize they are far from that; so they ask Christ to teach them to pray. We too learn from Christ how to enter into a relationship of love with the Father. He teaches us to put our trust totally in the Father’s love.
They saw him praying and waited until he was finished. There must have been something very special about his prayer. That’s why they asked him, “Teach us how to pray. Teach us to pray as you are doing it…as John taught his followers.” We just heard his response in the gospel reading. But I believe there is more to his answer than just saying the “Our Father.”
THE LORD’S PRAYER
The Our Father…The Lord’s Prayer is so automatic…it is ingrained in us as a Christian people. I am always amazed when I visit residents/patients in nursing homes or in hospitals who experience dementia or Alzheimer’s and they ask to pray the Our Father. Many can not remember the simplest task or the names of loved ones but so many will race to recite the Lord’s Prayer with a look of wonder on their faces when they finish.
How often do we say this prayer? How often do we say the words without listening to what we are invited to experience? In some ways the Our Father has become a mantra that rolls off our tongues without the slightest recognition of what is expressed.
Many consider the Our Father to be the perfect prayer model. Not just because our Lord taught it himself, but because it provides all the elements of what a good prayer life should entail. First, it recognizes God as Our Father and gives him the glory and praise that He is due. Secondly, it provides for petitions in which we ask God for his blessings. Thirdly, it provides us with the opportunity to recognize our own sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. Finally, it forces us to realize that God knows better than we what is best for us and therefore submit to his will and not ours. That is why Jesus said, "When you pray, say..."
Jesus teaches us to pray in a very real way…in a very direct way…in a very simple way;
Our Father hallowed is your name…it is sacred…blessed…holy – we acknowledge with humility Your presence as we begin to pray.
Your kingdom come…your will be done on earth and in heaven. “Your will be done” …do we actually presume to know his will? Yet, Thomas Merton expresses this so well in his Thoughts in Solitude;
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor, do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so, but I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.”
Genuine prayer then seeks to make God’s will our will…always for us to be ready and willing to make whatever changes and transformations that are necessary in our lives.
Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us
Lead us not into the final test…temptation
As we pray…the persistence of our prayer, seeks the grace to do the work God calls us to do…forgiveness…charity…justice…reconciliation and to become the people God invites us to become.
This prayer comes alive in our hearts in so many ways. A friend mentioned how his grandmother always started the Lord’s Prayer when he was a boy growing up in Alabama. She would say:
Father, hallowed is your name…not mine
Your kingdom always…not mine
Your will be done…not mine
He said she would say these three simple phrases before beginning the actual prayer. He asked why she started it in this manner and she replied that her mother couldn’t read and this was how her mother learned to pray. It was for his grandmother a reminder to humbly place herself before God… as she began her day…as she went about her chores…and as she ended her day.
Jesus’ response to his disciples and to us is to understand that genuine prayer is not always a formula or a ritual but an awareness of God’s presence in our lives.
FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is such a difficult thing. Many of us, I suspect, love to hold and cherish our hurts. Deep inside we find justification for not liking someone because of a hurt that they inflicted on us, whether they know it or not. In fact, there may actually be times when we hold a grudge over something that another didn't do or didn't say. In fact, it may be simply a matter of chemistry -- we simply don't want to be around another person.

There is something in our human nature that makes it easier to hold a grudge than to forgive. We may go through the motions of forgiving, but still harbor the memory of the hurt. If that's the case, have we really forgiven?

Our Gospel today suggests a different type of forgiveness, or, rather, a different price for not forgiving. The Lord's Prayer that is found in Luke's gospel contains something that should be a major incentive to forgive. How many times have we said this prayer without really listening to the words? Have we really heard what we tell God to do when we say: "forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us" or, as we are more used to saying it: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

What does this mean? It means that we are telling God to limit His own forgiveness so that it matches our own ability to forgive. If we can't or won't forgive then we are telling God not to forgive us! There won't be any negotiations. Our sins will remain unforgiven if we cannot forgive others.

God wants to forgive us. He wants to do that so badly that he actually died on the cross for us. The Prophet Isaiah reveals how we are to forgive when he tells us what God does. God, speaking through Isaiah, says: "It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more." (Is 43:25) If God, who knows everything, can forget a sin, should we not be able to forgive and forget?

I realize that this is hard for us to do.

The Gospel suggests a way to accomplish this when Jesus reminds his followers: "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

God will help us to forgive. I'm always reluctant to suggest asking for certain things from God in prayer because I remember the warning: "Be careful what you pray for, you might get it!" In this case, if we pray for God to help us forgive we may have many more things in our life to grant forgiveness for! Still, it is the only way to develop a habit of forgiveness.

Note that this is to be a habit! We don't forgive every once in a while, but constantly! Just as we are to pray constantly so, too, are we to forgive. Forgive those who cut you off in traffic, who take the parking place you waited 10 minutes for, or the person who took the last piece of pie! Forgive those who ignore you, forgive those who pay attention to you! Forgive and forget. Don't build up a treasure chest of hurts.

When Jesus came into this world St. Paul tells us he "emptied himself." That self-emptying is called "kenosis" and it should apply to us too. We can empty ourselves of our hurts, our prejudices, our grudges and embrace the emptiness that leaves behind. Yet, since nature abhors a vacuum we must fill that space with something. Let that something be love, not a self-serving love, but an agape love. A love that seeks the best for the other with no strings attached.

Love! Love because it is the only way to forgive. Love because it is, in the end, the only way to really live.

And, please, my brothers and sisters, forgive me if I have hurt you, ignored you, or not been available to you.
PERSISTANCE
Jesus invites us to persevere in imploring the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings holiness to our lives if we are docile to his inspirations. Christ reminds us that the Father wants to bless us with this holiness. But we must expand our capacity to receive this gift by increasing our desire for it. We must be persistent in asking for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Children trust their parents to always do what is in the children’s best interest. “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?” (Verses 11-12). God’s children should likewise come to God with a spirit of trust and expectancy, knowing that God will always do for them whatever is in their best interest. Children, like the friend at midnight, refuse to take no for an answer. Say no to them and tomorrow they are sure to come back with the very same request. Jesus teaches us, as God’s children, to show the same spirit of perseverance in prayer. He makes this point with the Parable of the Friend at Midnight who refuses to take no for an answer.
But…they saw him praying and waited until he was finished. What was different about his praying this time that caught their attention? And Jesus does more than just teach them…he raises their awareness of prayer by immediately relating a parable that furthers their commitment to pray.
It is in the persistence of the man knocking at his neighbor’s door that finally persuades the owner to relent and open his home and give-in to the request. Culturally it would have been unthinkable…shameful to ignore the request. It is through the persistence of prayer that God will answer.
The lesson of the parable is reinforced when he says, “Ask and it will be given…knock and the door will be opened…if you then who are sinners know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? ”
We are invited to examine our own prayer life…Do I pray? How do I pray? What do I pray for? To respond to these questions is to know that Jesus is in our midst and he gives us more than a prayer text. He teaches us the attitude necessary for genuine prayer. Give this some consideration…in our prayers, do we ask God to do what we want; or is our prayer meant to discover what God wants of us.
Persistence. If there was one word that best describes the characteristic of a good prayer life, it would be persistence. Our Lord himself very clearly illustrates this truism in today's gospel.

God does indeed listen to our prayers. However, it's only logical that He waits to see how committed we are to what we are praying for. Is this really something we want from God, or is it just some passing fancy that would be nice, but is really not all that important? God is waiting for us to be persistent in our requests. Only then, do we demonstrate our sincerity of praying. When something is important enough that we continually ask, we should expect to receive. When something is important enough that we continually seek, we should expect to find it. When something is important enough that we continually knock on God's door, we should expect Him to open the door for us to know how to obtain it.

The bottom line is God loves us. He knows what we want before we ask Him. He wants what is best for us. God does listen! But, how committed are we? Are we persistent with God? Persistence is a gift that not only helps God to determine our sincerity, but also provides us with the time for reflection as too whether or not what we feel is important, truly is. Pray that we are able to decipher what is truly good in our lives and then exercise the virtue that God is wanting us to show… persistence.

PRAYER WHILE ON VACATION
“I’ll pray for you… Keep me in you prayers.” So often those phrases are tossed out during a casual goodbye or especially when trouble is on the loose or some worry hovers in the air. What does it mean? It is perhaps forgotten as soon as the next person or crisis pops into consciousness, vanishing like so many other good intentions?
Many of us have grown up with an approach to prayer that was just asking God for things, offering a variety of novenas and prayers, pleading and bartering. We may become embarrassed treating God just like the emergency ward doctor coping with our casualties. We are more aware today of trying to have many other elements of prayer – praise, gratitude, and silent-adoration.
How about this time of year with prayer? Naturally this time of year we see where many are absent around us. From a personal experience it can be a time where prayer sometimes takes a holiday too, if I allow it. It’s the time of year for the seaside. Perhaps maybe a trip to the mountains or even that exotic country advertised on the television. How may one use a bit of vacation time in prayer? When we are at the beach we anoint our selves with the ultraviolet ray protection; we’ve brought the paper back novel. Maybe even the spiritual book. The walkman/disc player is brought for that bit of extra noise we think calms us down. If this is what the usual plan is, can I suggest that you drop them all… even the spiritual book.
If you are going to the seaside, simply take a look at the water. What do you see? Long before laptops, those waves were created to come in, one after another, in a pattern, a pace that predates us, and our ancestors as well. The ocean could care less how much we even have in our accounts or what brought us there to look at it. It asks no questions about our triumphs or travails. It seems to know that all our efforts to master it during a storm or hurricane would be useless. I think it would be safe to say it remembers one Master who did calm it amid a storm.
Why not pick up a few pebbles and pray? A few years ago I read an article by a woman who had devised her own visual aid to help her with her prayer life. She called it “praying with pebbles”. Her method went like this: after filling a bowl of water, she dropped a pebble in as she prayed for each person and situation she thought needed God’s special attention. A simple method easily done as we walk the vast beach beside the ocean. Throwing a pebble in the vast ocean, remembering the Creator is there who created it and the thrower. Yes, there are many moods in the sea as there is in us, however, just as the sea can be calmed so too can we be calmed by the sea.
Why not mediate just on one line of the Our Father? It calls us always to a continual conversion. Asking us in several ways to have the courage to be open to God’s will for us in our lives. God who is infinitely wise is always, desiring to help and support us. It is good for us, sometimes humbling, to have to ask even if it is while we are on holiday. Daily we are encouraged to place ourselves in the care of God. ‘Give us this day our daily bread’. The asking may be like the themes in our Gospel for today: ‘I can’t manage all this by myself. I want your help. I need you. I welcome your strength in my weakness, your support in my faltering steps, your joy in my sorrow.’
Opening our neediness, persistence and perseverance to God even on vacation makes us aware that God is always there. God is waiting for us – not we for Him. If you haven’t already; take prayer with you on holiday this summer. Prayer here keeps us and God in perspective and at the same time brings us very close to one another.


So you see…they saw him praying and waited until he was finished. And what was different about his prayer time was that Jesus emptied himself of all distractions…frustrations and concerns of his day; he focused only on his Father’s presence.
Jesus literally invites us to be men and women of prayer – to embrace the spirit and attitude of prayer that actively seeks out and gratefully celebrates God’s presence in all things.

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St. Peter Chrysologus


(406-450?)



A man who vigorously pursues a goal may produce results far beyond his expectations and his intentions. Thus it was with Peter of the Golden Words, as he was called, who as a young man became bishop of Ravenna, the capital of the empire in the West.
At the time there were abuses and vestiges of paganism evident in his diocese, and these he was determined to battle and overcome. His principal weapon was the short sermon, and many of them have come down to us. They do not contain great originality of thought. They are, however, full of moral applications, sound in doctrine and historically significant in that they reveal Christian life in fifth-century Ravenna. So authentic were the contents of his sermons that, some 13 centuries later, he was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII. He who had earnestly sought to teach and motivate his own flock was recognized as a teacher of the universal Church.

Peter Chrysologus looked upon learning not as a mere opportunity but as an obligation for all, both as a development of God-given faculties and as a solid support for the worship of God.

Some time before his death, St. Peter returned to Imola, his birthplace, where he died around A.D. 450.

Comment:

Quite likely, it was St. Peter Chrysologus's attitude toward learning that gave substance to his exhortations. Next to virtue, learning, in his view, was the greatest improver of the human mind and the support of true religion. Ignorance is not a virtue, nor is anti-intellectualism. Knowledge is neither more nor less a source of pride than physical, administrative or financial prowess. To be fully human is to expand our knowledge—whether sacred or secular—according to our talent and opportunity.

posted by Mike Young @ 8:06 AM