Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - Tuesday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 6:1-11 and Luke 6:12-19]Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve.....And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people.....came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. [Luke]
We Dominicans are well acquainted with the stories told of St. Dominic's late night prayer vigils on behalf of sinners everywhere. But the images of Jesus praying in the gospels can seem a little strange to us in the light of later theological Trinitarian doctrine. If Jesus is divine, isn't he then praying to himself? But the gospels weren't concerned with the Trinitarian teaching that would find its roots in them. The idea here is the incarnate Jesus praying for strength and guidance and to be able to share his relationship with his Father.
He prays for strength to counter the demonic forces that try to block his power. He prays for guidance in choosing his closest associates. And he prays as a way of making it possible to share with others his relationship with his heavenly Father. This is manifested in the healing power that radiated from him. All of this is meant in the Gospel According to Luke to encourage early Christian missionaries in their own ministry in the face of persecution.
The fundamental reality of Jesus' prayer is relationship with God. It is a relationship, furthermore, that is meant to be shared. We don't have to stay up all night, but we do have to be persistent if the benefits are to be experienced by us and those with whom we live. If this or that devotional activity helps, fine! But they are not the relationship. For our sacramental Church, the Eucharist is the focus of our relationship with God. Everything else radiates from that. This is what is meant by "communion." During the COVID epidemic, when many were unable to get to Mass, the tradition of the Church in regard to "spiritual communion" was very much in play. Again, this desire for the relationship (communion) with God brings about much the same result when physical participation is not possible. Prayer is the expression of our love and need for God's presence (grace) in our life. Jesus is our inspiring example. AMEN
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