Introduction:
When prayer becomes our lifestyle, then the answering of our prayers becomes God’s lifestyle. In this life, we all are struggling for survival. It could be physical, material, spiritual, pathological etc, but sometimes, despite the efforts to get ourselves loosened up from worries, we find ourselves embittered or embattled the more. What do we do? We must understand that sometimes life is going to shovel dirt on us; I mean all kinds of dirt while we are lying inside what could be referred to as ‘pit of problems.’ But we must know that we can get out of that ‘pit’ through persevering effort and never by giving up. Just offer it to God in prayer.
The readings today are meant to help us understand a fundamental virtue of Christian prayers (persevering prayer). The first reading and the gospel help us to understand that our God is never tired of hearing our prayer knock on his door. We must keep knocking until he opens the door. Secondly, the more we grow familiar with God, the easier it becomes to obtain favors from him. Abraham’s friendship with God made God to change his original plan of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. The secret is the virtue of perseverance. Never give up!
First Reading: Genesis 18: 20-32
The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of those stories in the Bible that reveal the action of the God of justice against the wickedness of man. The chapter 19 of the book of Genesis explains the motive behind the destruction of the cities. They were remarkably known as cities of wickedness and sexual perversion, specifically the sin of same sex intimacy (Gn 19:5-6). Before raining down the sulfur and fire of destruction upon them (Gn 19:23-26), Abraham interceded on their behalf as we see in today’s reading. He bargained between fifty to ten righteous men. In all these, God promised not to destroy them. But the irony of the whole story is that there were not even ten righteous men in the cities, yet God spared them. The only persons that found favor in the eyes of God were Lot (Abraham’s cousin), his wife and two daughters and their son in-laws. Not to have destroyed the cities at first is a clear demonstration of the unfathomable depth of God’s mercy, thanks to the prayer of the righteous Abraham. From this passage we come to learn that:
• The power of intercession should not be underestimated
• Friendship with God is an express way of obtaining favors from him (Abraham)
• God is the God of second chances who gives man the opportunity to repent and turn back from evil.
• The mercy of God should not be toiled with, because the same merciful God is also a God of justice, hence, the invitation to man is to not joke with God’s patient mercy.
Second Reading: Colossians 2: 12-14
Addressing the Christians of Colossae, St. Paul teaches the inseparable link between baptism and the death and resurrection of Christ. In other words, baptism finds its expression in the death and resurrection of Christ. Hence, the immersion into water signifies the burial of the catechumen with Christ, the burial of his sins and the rising from the baptismal font is the resurrection with Christ into a new creature. This interconnection is Paul’s way of affirming the ‘mediative’ work of Christ between God and humanity. Hence, baptism is simply the privilege of sharing in the life of God through Christ. It is equally the sacrament of the forgiveness of sins, the crucifixion of the flesh and of eternal life.
St. Paul connects us to the message of the first reading in the sense that through the baptismal grace mediated by Christ’s death and resurrection, the believer is freed from the life of Sodom and Gomorrah (from sin) and gains access to God which will enable him not just to obtain favors from God for himself, but as well capable of interceding for others (like Abraham). On the other hand, like Abraham, Jesus has become our only mediator of the new covenant sealed by the blood of his cross, and who now sits at God’s right hand to intercede for us.
Gospel: Luke 11: 1-13
Luke began this gospel passage by presenting Jesus as a ‘praying fellow.’ It is customary for Jesus to retire to a lonely place from time to time in order to pray (Mt 14:23; Mk 6:46; Lk 6:12; Mk 1:35; Lk 5:16; Lk 9:18 etc). Although such action of Jesus remains a puzzle to many who ask; ‘If Jesus is truly God and of course equal to the Father as he claims, why then does he pray?’ First, it is only when man moves away from myopic understanding of prayer as ‘a request’ to understanding prayer as ‘a relationship of dialogue’ that such enigma will be cleared. Whenever Jesus retires to pray, he simply goes away from the world in order to have time with the Father and to report to him whose will he has come to do. It is simply a dialogue between the Father and his obedient Son. In the second place, it is good to understand that every action of Jesus is simply pedagogical. It is a way of instructing his followers on how to live. A good follower of Jesus must move away from the world with its distractions from time to time in order to hear God and to be refreshed by him in order to sustain his journey in the world.
The second part of the gospel is Jesus catechesis on prayer which gave rise to the traditional prayer known as ‘the Lord’s prayer.’ The ‘Our Father’ prayer is a complete prayer in itself but at the same time a structure of prayer. In it man asks everything that he needs to ask in prayer and at the same time learns the directive steps to prayer.
The last part of the gospel is Jesus’ teaching on the virtue of perseverance in prayer. He made his followers to understand that prayer is a continuous effort and not a ‘one click action.’ When God keeps silent, it does not mean that he has not heard, but he wants to evaluate the faith of the man who prays, and at the same time allows him to purify his intention in order to ask for what is truly needful.
LIFE MESSAGE
Sodom and Gomorrah is not just a story: The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is very much present and relived in our time and in our societies. The wickedness of man against God and neighbor continues to grow day by day. Same sex relationship, sexual immorality, unnatural lust and abominable things (Jude 1:7; Ezekiel 16:50) has not ceased to be a sin before God. It was detested by God among the Sodom and Gomorrah and punishable by him. Unfortunately, today it has even taken a new look. It is now legalized relationship in most of our societies. This is a sign that God has no more place in human society. Let us know that he is still the same. Those who promote and live what is sinful in the eyes of God must be answerable to it. Therefore, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a reminder of what the God of justice can do.
Jesus teaches us to pray: He retires to a lonely place, a sacred place in order to pray. It does not always mean a physical withdrawal, but the ability of man to be quiet in mind and heart in order to enter into relationship with God. A distracted mind cannot connect with God in prayer. The world is so noisy that it sometimes prevents us from hearing the true voice of God. Robert Cardinal Sarah espouses the virtue of silence when he says; “Our world is constantly speaking at a devastating speed and volume in order to say nothing. Modern civilization does not know how to be quiet. Post-modernity is an ongoing offence and aggression against the divine silence…the noise tries to stop God from speaking. In this hell of noise, man disintegrates and is lost. Thus, man must make a choice of God or nothing, silence or noise. For without silence, God disappears in the noise…” (The book ‘The Power of Silence against the dictatorship of noise’)
What is our approach to the Lord’s Prayer? The Lord’s prayer is referred to as a traditional prayer. For many of us; we have become so familiar with it that we now recite it banally, thereby loosing the spirit of that prayer. Jesus taught it as a powerful prayer. Do we still pray it in the spirit? Do we still see it as a complete prayer to be approached with all devoutness? On the other hand, many of us have become more traditional than the prayer itself, therefore unable to really express ourselves further in prayer. We must learn to pray from the spirit. Prayer must spring from our heart so that the dialogue with God will become sincere and authentic and not just a memorized form of prayer.
The power of intercessory prayer: Abraham interceded for others (first reading) and in the gospel parable; a man begged his neighbor for bread on behalf of his guest. How often do we pray for others? As a community of believers, we are meant to carry each other on the wing of prayer. Our prayers can go a long way to strengthen the faith of the fallen. Let us not be on the side of criticism. Abraham was aware of the iniquities of Sodom and Gomorrah but instead of criticizing them, he prayed for them. If we can pray for others the same way we criticize them for their weakness, then we will be doing a ‘divine work’ and we will equally have a better world to live in.
Problems are solved through prayers:
We cannot possibly pretend that all is well with us. All was not well with Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham noticed it and prayed and God relented. We must learn to connect with God in that secret place of prayer. The soul of man leans on God through prayer where God breathes his spirit to revive it. We must make prayer our lifestyle. Abraham kept pushing until something happened. Jesus said we should keep pushing by asking, seeking and knocking, then the bolted door of God’s blessing will be let lose to give us ‘the bread we need’ (symbol of prayer answered).
Have we stopped praying simply because we no longer see the need to pray? Has God delayed so much that we are now tired and no more interested in praying? We must understand that God lives outside time and operates beyond time. He does not work with our time-table. Whatever prayer we think that has not been heard, has actually been heard but in God’s own time-table. What appears to be a delay for us is not a delay for God, because nothing is too late for God. Remember, for Mary and Martha Jesus delayed, and that’s why their brother Lazarus died. He had been buried and after four day and according to Mary and Martha he was already smelling due to the absence of Jesus. For them, Jesus was no longer a friend to be trusted because he disappointed them when he was needed the most. But little did they know that Jesus purposely waited in order to perform a greater miracle in their lives (the raising of Lazarus is a greater miracle than just coming to heal him). Do not give up even after ‘four days’ of unanswered prayers. Like Lazarus, your problem may have started smelling after four days, but at the appearance of Jesus, you will certainly come out of the ‘tomb of problem’, no more smelling but with a sweet fragrance. Never give up! I thought the death of my mum last year was an end road to my happiness; a woman I grew up to call mother and whom I shared a humble beginning with, suffering in difficulties. She made every effort to see me through to the seminary, but unfortunately I lost her after one year of my priesthood. I asked God a series of questions requiring an immediate answer. Like Mary and Martha he never responded immediately. I thought I could not survive the emotional trauma but gradually he is healing the wound caused by her absence in my life. Let us keep praying to that God who never grows tired of hearing our prayers.
PRAYER:
Father most merciful, your word assures us today that you are never tired of hearing us. Teach us the best way to pray, so that we may grow in relationship with you and come at last to that eternal inheritance you have prepared for us, you who live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
