Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 24, 2022 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Gen 18:20-32; Col 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. For everyone who asks, recesives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened......" [Luke]
I have a painting in my room of a boy out in a field with a rock in his hand preparing to throw it at the sky in the hopes of hitting God!! A student once told me this is what he did when he got angry with God! I mentioned the story at a parish mission and an artist in the congregation painted the scene and presented the painting to me months later! It is a reminder to me of what prayer is. It is first and foremost the communication that sustains the relationship with God.
In the first scripture today we read about Abraham's conversation with God in which he bargains with God about Sodom and Gommorah. The substance of the conversation is not as important and the relationship in which Abraham feels comfortable in bargaining with God! We know that Jesus prayed regularly to his Father as well as before special decisions like the appointment of the apostles and in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest.
We know from our own experience that what sustains a friendship is communication. It may not always be about deep and profound things, although that is important. It may be about the everyday things - the "How was your day?" type conversation. The gospel scripture today quotes Jesus about the necessity of persistence in prayer. It is this everyday commitment to the relationship with God that ultimately sustains us. I often tell folks who complain they never seem to find time for prayer that when they wake up in the morning and put their feet on the floor they can say to God: "Nothing can happen today that you and I cannot handle together." This includes God in the day and in one's life.
When the disciples ask Jesus for an example of prayer, he teaches them what we call "the Our Father." But he goes on to stress the importance of persistence and perseverance. It is not a matter of words printed on a page or a particular devotion like the rosary. If those help, then we should use them. What is important is the relationship to God and keeping it strong and continual. AMEN