July 25, 2010 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR
25 JULY 2010, 5:15, 8:00, 10:00
READINGS: Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13
SAINT MARY PARISH, VIROQUA
Introduction: Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is shorter than the more familiar version found in Matthew's gospel. However, all the essential elements are there. We address God as Father; we ask that his kingdom come; we ask for forgiveness and for our daily bread.
1. Then, in the gospel story, Jesus tells the parable of the man who comes knocking at someone’s door at midnight for food to feed a visitor. He is persistent. Reluctantly, the home owner gives him what he asks – just to end the knocking. We should pray with similar persistence. But our prayer will be answered not because we are annoying God; he will answer because he loves us.
At the same time, we should remember this. Jesus also comes knocking at our door! The gospel assures us that the Lord will open the door for us when we knock. The question is: will we open for him? Prayer is a door that swings both ways. Those of us who call God our Father should readily open the door; open our hearts, to him. That’s one of the dangers in prayer. Yes, we make petitions of God; he also makes requests of us. We must open the door to him. He may be calling you to an act of forgiveness; a gesture of love; he may be calling you to a religious vocation. When you pray, expect God has his ear to your lips. And, be ready to open your heart to his message.
2. Now, you may sometime have heard that the Mass, the Eucharist, is the greatest prayer of all. In fact, the Eucharist contains many wonderful prayers, but it is not a prayer. It is an action! Even better, it is an exchange of actions: we give our lives to God. God gives himself to us. When the bread and wine are brought forward in a few moments, place your lives in them. Place the sacrifices and hurts of the past week in the bread that is made from grain ground into wheat. Place the joys and happiness of the past week into the wine made from crushed grapes. With those elements your lives will be placed upon the altar. There they will be changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. At communion time the Father is saying to you, “I love your gift to me so much, that I make now a gift in return: the gift of my Son.” The Mass is a sacred exchange of gifts. This is action, not prayer.
3. Still, in order for this great action to have true meaning we have to be people of prayer. Hear what others say about prayer. Saint Teresa of Avila wrote, “To be a contemplative, you must simply say the Lord's Prayer…but you must say it very, very slowly!” “Dag Hammerskjold wrote, "Hallowed be thy name, not mine. Thy Kingdom come, not mine. Thy will be done, not mine." A Russian proverb urges us not to be lazy at prayer. “Sailors, pray to God, but row to the shore.” We can’t expect God to do all the work!
Conclusion: Finally, Father Daniel Lord was a fine writer in the last century. He urged people towards the end of his life to keep prayer simple. “Talk to God as to a Father, to Christ as to a Brother, and to the Holy Spirit as a constant Companion.”