Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 13, 2025 - 1st Week of Lent - Thurs
[Esth C:12, 14-16, 23-25 and Matt 7:7-12]"God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand." [Esther] "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of grade, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him." [Matthew]
The Sermon on the Mount, in the Gospel According to Matthew, sets forth a demanding standard for interior and exterior dedication to Jesus' teachings. That standard applies to prayer, which is the expression of our relationship to God. Prayer should include forgiveness and reconciliation with neighbor, avoidance of ostentation and verbosity, and absolute trust in God like that of a child on a parent. The prayer of Esther in the first scripture for today reflects these values even though the Book of Esther antedates Jesus' ministry!
There is an old liturgical axiom: Lex orandi, lex credendi (the way we ought to pray is the way we ought to believe.) In doing spiritual direction, I often ask the directee how they pray because this reveals who he or she believes God to be, which reveals their relationship with God - the state of their faith. The demands of Jesus' teachings require a relationship of trust and hope. Asking for help so that we can live according to these teachings is a fundamental form of prayer, as shown in today's gospel scripture, which comes from the Sermon on the Mount. It could be a helpful Lenten observance to examine how we pray and how it impacts our love of God AND neighbor. "The Lord's Prayer" reflects both those values. How do WE pray it? AMEN