Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 24, 2016 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13]SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2016 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13] "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." [Luke] As I write this, I am at a retreat house to preach a retreat for aspirants and candidates for the Permanent Diaconate and their spouses. My retreats are usually organized around the four "pillars" of Dominican life: prayer, study, community and ministry. I put these in the form of four questions: How am I praying? Learning? Loving? Serving? The question about praying is certainly at the forefront of today's gospel scripture and in the passage from Genesis (Abraham arguing with God). The gospel scripture begins with the words, "Jesus was praying in a certain place." When the disciples has him to teach THEM how to pray because John the Baptist had taught his disciples, one wonders if they had noticed Jesus praying! In any case he begins with what we call "the Our Father," and goes on to counsel persistence in prayer and trust that God will give a response! I think we all know the experience of someone continuously ringing the doorbell while we make our way from the furthest room away! That may be a good image to consider. The "Our Father" focuses on acknowledgment of God, the need for enough to live on and the need for mercy as long as we are merciful! That last one is something to consider. When asking how we pray, we may want to ask also how merciful we are. The story in Luke of the tax collector and Pharisee who go to the temple to pray is a good one to ponder. [Luke 18:9-14] "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Last but not least, there is the matter of attentiveness. We can become so "devout" that we never shut up and listen to what God may have to say to us. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warns us about multiplying words in the belief that this will get us a hearing. Jesus promises that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. I think God hears the doorbell the first time it rings! AMEN
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