17th Sunday Ordinary Time
Return to Cycle Index
Cycle C
- Q277: I am always worried about whether or not God really loves me the way that I am. How can a sinner like me find favor in God’s eyes?
- A snake or a fish?
- Q434: How can I learn to pray better? I am not very good a praying, compared to some “prayer warriors” that I know.
- Q590: Why was Abraham haggling with God over the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah?
====
Q277: I am always worried about whether or not God really loves me the way that I am. How can a sinner like me find favor in God’s eyes?
It is always a delightful event when we receive so much reassurance from our loving God in our Sunday readings, such as we are receiving today! Over and over and over he tells us just how much he loves us!
Abraham was concerned about any “innocent” people that might be killed when God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked behavior. And so he cautiously kept asking God, and kept on probing, to find out just how far God would go to save only a few innocent people out of so many. God repeatedly reassured Abraham that even if he found as few as ten innocent people in the midst of thousands of guilty ones, he would spare the towns because of those innocent ones (Gen 18:20-32). Then the Psalmist sings the praises of a God who always hears and answers those who call upon him (Ps 138:1-8), a God who responds on the very day that they cry out to Him. Finally, the apostles themselves see the serenity and peace that comes from Jesus’ own prayer life, so they ask him how to pray. Once again, Jesus reminds them about the always-faithful God who always responds to the one who makes the effort to seek the Lord’s help (Lk 11:1-13).
Perhaps the most reassuring of all the encouraging and loving comments today come from our God through an inspired St. Paul. In his letter to the people of Colossae, he reassures them -- and us -- that even though we were spiritually dead in our sinful state, Jesus took those sins and nailed them to his cross, thus bringing new life through baptism to those who believe (Col 2:12-14). The message is unanimous and the evidence is undeniable: the Father loves us with an everlasting, eternal love, so much so that his only Son gave his life for us!
'Know Your Catechism! Knowing that God loves us so much, we cannot willfully continue to disobey his laws as revealed to us through his Church. Instead we must seek forgiveness and return to the way Jesus wants his disciples to follow. We show our trust in this love of God for us when we pray trustingly the Lord’s Prayer, which came from Jesus’ own heart (CCC #2759,65,66). It is the very center of scripture, and is a summary of the entire gospel (CCC #2761,63).
====
On August 6, 1945, Tadashi Hasegama, aged 14, was seated with some schoolmates on a riverbank about one mile from the center of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Suddenly, the kids heard U.S. bombers overhead. Instinctively, they threw themselves facedown upon the ground. A moment later the first atomic bomb exploded. It sent forth a lurid yellow light, and flying balls of fire struck Tadashi and set his clothing afire. He plunged into the river, but pain stabbed every part of his body. When he crawled out of the water he found his skin hanging from him like ribbons.
Fortunately, his father found the lad and took him to a Jesuit residence hard by. The superior, a Spanish priest named Pedro Arrupe, took Tadashi in and gave him whatever first aid he could. For weeks the boy was in a critical condition, his body full of sores and infection. The Hasegamas, who visited him often, were Buddhists, but they were touched by the Jesuit's remarks about God, Jesus Christ at the crucifixion. When the priest suggested baptism of Tadashi, they were not opposed. After baptism Tadashi slept for a whole week. When he finally woke up, his wounds were almost healed.
In today's parable, our Lord teaches God's fatherly concern for each of us. He says that our heavenly Father, no more than an earthly father, would give his son a snake when he asked for a fish. We can carry the parable a little farther, however, then say that sometimes God does give us what looks like a snake, but then turns it into a fish. Tadashi's trials eventually bore the fruit of faith, baptism and finally a vocation to the priesthood. When an editor at St. Anthony's Messenger recently interviewed Father Tadashi, now a pastor at Hiroshima, he found him a man who blamed the sinfulness of mankind rather than the American bombers for the destruction of Hiroshima. Naturally, he is a strong opponent of nuclear warfare, but not so much out of fear as out of hope that men may henceforth cultivate peace.
Thus God gave Tadashi tribulation, but by means of tribulation, true Christian wisdom.
-Father Robert F. McNamara
====
Q434: How can I learn to pray better? I am not very good a praying, compared to some “prayer warriors” that I know.
I don’t know how many of you have been on a spiritual Retreat, or purchased books on Prayer. I have been a Retreat Director on several occasions, and I notice that one goal of many Retreatants and spiritual book-buyers seems to be to draw closer to God through prayer – an excellent goal! But I also notice an unnecessary concern to learn “how” to pray better, or “what words” to use, or “what posture,” and so on.
Jesus gives us great advice in today’s Gospel (Luke 11:1-13). First, he teaches us to keep it Simple and Meaningful. Never worry about “what” to say; just say what is in your heart. The Lord’s Prayer is probably the simplest prayer there is, with very few words. But when prayed sincerely from the heart, it is all that is needed. Worship the Father; ask for your real daily needs, including forgiveness; forgive all with whom you hold resentments; and ask God not to test your faith right now – because you might fail!
Second, Jesus teaches us to Trust that our Father hears and answers each and every prayer. There are no exceptions! So “ask away”! [Remember that Abraham (First Reading, Genesis 18:20-32) was bold enough to ask God to save an entire town, even if there were only a small handful of virtuous people to be found there.] Our Father always responds in the most lovable and just manner possible. Perhaps we might think our request went unanswered? Not so – we need to see with the “eyes of faith” that our Father cares, hears, and answers. In case you doubt, Jesus gives two great examples: no loving Father would give his child a scorpion or a snake in response to a simple request for bread and eggs!
We believe that we indeed have a loving, caring Father in heaven! And so we have the courage to pray the Our Father at the very beginning of the Communion Rite at each Mass. The next time (and every time thereafter), pray it with meaning, from your heart!
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! “When” can we pray? It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public…or seated in your shop…while buying and selling…or even while cooking. [St. John Chrysostom, quoted in CCC #2743.] The important thing is: DO IT! BELIEVE the words in today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 138:1-3,6-8).
====
Q590: Why was Abraham haggling with God over the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Today we have two readings that emphasize persistence in petitionary prayer. In the First Reading (Genesis 18:20-32) Abraham sounds and acts like a camel trader. He keeps negotiating the price needed to avoid the destruction of the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. His haggling with God is about the number of righteous people needed to save the city. The dialogue reveals not only God’s compassion and response to prayer; it also reflects Abraham’s compassionate heart and his concern for his nephew Lot, who lives in Sodom. Comforting is the observation that even if only a handful of virtuous people can be found in the city, it will not be destroyed – the lesson being that the morally just person(s) is really the true life of the entire community.
The Gospel (Luke 11:1-13) is also about persistence in prayer. This section of Luke has been called a basic catechism on prayer, and rightly so. Jesus teaches us how to pray; he urges us to be persistent; and he wants us to believe and trust that the Lord really does hear and answer our prayers. There is nothing in the words of Jesus that tells us what posture to use during prayer, or how long the period of time ought to be for our daily prayer. The most important element is not the prayer technique, but simply that we pray—and that we are faithful in making this the very highest priority in our daily activities.
St. Alphonsus Liguori once said these famous and sobering words: “Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly condemned” (CCC 2744). He was spoton (as our British friends say), because one’s faithfulness to daily prayer is a prime measure of one’s relationship (or lack thereof) to God.
KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Our Father knows what we need before we ask him, but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. Pray daily to know His will (CCC 2736); ask him confidently for your true daily needs; and give him thanks.
====
