17th
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-13
"If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will the
Father..?"
Jesus' visit at the house of Martha and Mary teaches
us that Mary's choice is better. This goes to say that prayer, giving time with
the Lord, listening to and meditating on his word -
all of this makes the better part of Christian life. That is why today, we continue to meditate on what we started last
Sunday. We are invited to go deeper and explore further the meaning of prayer.
And as it presents, today's gospel consists of two parts: the Our Father
and the Parable on Prayer.
1. "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." It is quite surprising why Jesus' disciple comes to him with this request. As we know, his disciples had already been with the Lord for quite sometime. And besides, some of them even came from the circle of John the Baptist where prayer was not a foreign thing. Does this mean, then, that Jesus did not teach them to pray all the way before? Or, were they actually seeking and longing for the real meaning of prayer which at last they realized they could only find in their master?
The latter seems more possible and probable. Before
anything else, the person of Jesus was the very answer to their longing. They
saw in him the most attractive form of prayer life, for indeed the person of
Jesus reveals the perfect blend of prayer and life. The serenity
of his life was founded on prayer, just as the intimacy of his prayer was
inspired by his life. Jews as they were, the disciples must have their own form
of prayer. But sadly, they might have found no concrete correspondence between the
prayer they said and the life they led. Thus, when confronted by the
captivating force of Jesus' prayer life, they could not help but plead: “Lord,
teach us to pray…”
2. “When you pray, say ..." The only prayer formula Jesus left is the Our Father. But this single formula contains the internal and external peace and harmony the disciples were seeking for. Today's Lukan version has some differences from that of Matthew. But is precisely in reading it according to this Lukan theology that we see the content and context of the Lord's Prayer.
a. "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” Luke’s Our Father immediately starts with praise which is followed at once by an act of surrender. Perhaps, nothing can best describe man's inferiority before God and God's superiority over man than these two humble attitudes. But along with them is the Lukan concept of God's closeness and familiarity to man. Luke's kingdom is both eschatological and phenomenal. That is why although the kingdom is yet to come; it is at the same time built here and now. This explains why Luke omits the Matthean form "who art in heaven.” Luke's God is certainly omnipotent, omnipresent and sublime. But he wants to portray a down-to-earth God. He is the God of that kingdom which is here present though not yet.
b. "Give us each day our daily bread.” Next comes the intercession. Again, this Lukan intercession differs from that of Matthew. While Matthew uses the sense of once-and-for-all for the word “day,” Luke means it as day after day. This goes with the Lukan concept of kingdom. As the building of God's kingdom is a day-to-day task, man must therefore pray for his pressing daily needs. Of course, God knows our needs even before we ask. But all good prayers must have intercessions and not only praises. Otherwise, we may just be fooling God. But neither a good prayer consists of intercessions alone.
c. "Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” This prayer utters repentance as it recognizes man's sinfulness. No doubt, only man's honest acceptance of his failures can curve God’s anger. But here, what is more profoundly taught is how divine justice dispenses its most righteous verdict. Man is treated just the way he treats his neighbor. At the final hour, forgiveness will surely be the sinful man’s last battle cry. And at that time, what he actually begs is God's mercy and love. But even then, God's justice shall prevail. Thus, the Lord's Prayer is a constant reminder that the sweetest reward of forgiveness bears its footstool at every act of forgiveness we give.
d. "Do not subject us to the final test.” This last petition bespeaks of man's vulnerability. Surely, God does not test us beyond our individual capacities. So, what we actually implore here is spiritual assistance that strengthens our weak dispositions. The road to glory is long and winding, difficult and painful, tiresome and frustrating. Jesus knows this as he takes the way of the cross. If Jesus himself cries to an almost desperation - Father, why have you forsaken me? - how much more for a weakling creature before a cruel world?
3. While Jesus gives this prayer formula, he does not forget to teach about the basic catechesis on prayer. This is what the Parable on Prayer is all about. Among others, two important lessons are clear. First, every honest prayer is always heard. And it is heard because an honest heart never tires of uttering an honest prayer. True, many a times we wonder if there is really God or if the God we adore is simply deaf or asleep. He seems not to hear us at all. The struggles of the poor have already made lengthy pages in history, and yet the God of history seems to loose even his own sense of history. But this desperate attitude is what the Parable is precisely trying to counter. God can never remain deaf and if ever, for argument's sake, he is asleep, he can never afford not to rise even at the middle of the night just to give us what we ask for. Why? Because it is but a matter of justice that he has to. Being a just God, he can never twist nor reverse the scale of justice which he himself has set. Thus, it may not be out of love or mercy, or friendship for that matter. But out of justice, certainly he hears.
Second, the parable teaches us that prayer is the
strength of man and the weakness of God. Actually, the deeper reason why God
does not fail to hear an honest prayer is not only justice but love. Jesus says
it in a most touching statement: "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?” With this, perhaps even the most hardened sinner may ponder
that amidst a sinful world, a world that even tries to deny any God, there is
that