HOMILY FOR THE 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C.

Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138:1-3. 6-7; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13.

 

“LIVING THE LIFE OF PRAYER!”

 

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Today the church draws our attention to a very important aspect of our Christian devotion which is a life of prayer. We cannot call ourselves Christians if we do not pray, because a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.

·      Growing up we sang this song “prayer is the key, prayer is the key, prayer is the master key. Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer, prayer is the master key”. Indeed prayer is the key to an authentic Christian life.

·      If Jesus who is God prayed at every instance how much more should we who are humans and very frail and weak? Saint Luke’s gospel has various accounts of Jesus’ episodes of prayer: He prayed after his baptism (Lk. 3:21); before choosing his disciples (Lk. 6:21); before predicting his own passion (Lk. 9:18); at the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:29); in thanksgiving on the return of his disciples from mission (Lk. 10:21); before teaching his followers how to pray (Lk. 11:1); for Peter to be strong in faith (Lk. 22:32); for his enemies (Lk. 23:34); and for himself on the Cross: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). There is no doubt that the totality of his earthly existence was prayerfully directed towards his Father. It was a life of constant prayer and total dedication to the Father. And that is what he is teaching us today.

·      When prayer becomes a habit, testimonies become a lifestyle. In the first reading (Genesis 18:20-32), Abraham was in a conversation with God. Through prayer, he became the friend of God. He saw God differently not as an unapproachable God or a terrorist but as a loving father and a friend. Through prayers, Abraham’s relationship with God grew. His relationship with God became deep and intimate.

·      In the conversation between Abraham and God, we see a kind of prayer which is known as intercessory prayers. Abraham was interceding on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was so close to God that he could negotiate with him. From that encounter, we learn that prayers must not always be about us. Some of us are so selfish that we do not find time to pray for others even when they specifically ask for our prayers.

·      Prayer can be a very good tool for Christian charity. When we pray and intercede for each other, it is an act of charity and God listens because we are being charitable to one another using prayers.

·      We also learn that prayers expose us to Divine secrets. Abraham was able to know the mind of God because he was in constant communication with God. Each time we come to God in prayer, we learn from the wisdom of God and discover new secrets. Prayer is like a school where we learn the will of God. In this school, God avails us the opportunity to make our own input to the body of divine knowledge. That was why He gave Abraham the opportunity to keep interceding for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah until he was exhausted. Even today, in our encounter with God, God still allows us to learn more from Him. That is why each time we encounter God in prayer, we learn something new about God, about ourselves, and even about our problems. For this reason, when we pray, we must listen to God first so that we know how to make our requests and adjust them according to his will.

·      The second reading (Colossians 2:12-14), also teaches that through our baptism, we have been called to a special life of prayer. Our baptism incorporates us into the family of God – the family of prayer.

·      In the Gospel (Luke 11:1-13), Jesus is not merely giving us a formula of prayer that is easy to memorize and recite. Rather, in giving us the prayer “Our Father”, Jesus is offering a three-fold invitation to us. In the first place, he is inviting us to enter an intimate relationship with God just like Abraham did in the first reading.

·       St. John pointed it out in his letter: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called children of God. Yet that is what we are” (1 Jn.  3:1). Hence, we are reminded that when we pray, our only and best disposition is to be like little children. That is why Jesus insisted, “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 8:13). God wants us to relate to Him as a child relates to his own father – with love, trust, honesty, humility, and total dependence. 

·      Many times, when people come to me asking for prayers, they would invariably say, “Father, please pray for my intention. I know you are close to God and you are an expert in praying.” I am not even sure if this is a compliment. Contrary to popular belief, praying is not the monopoly of priests. It is supposed to be the main priority in the life of every follower of Christ. 

·      Prayer is the lifeblood of our soul. Saint Padre Pio calls it the “oxygen of our soul”. We cannot live without it. All of us need and are expected to pray. And if we love God, we will find time to pray. Prayer is an expression of our relationship with God. We pray, not because we like to be close to God. Rather, we are close to God, and so we pray. A child who does not have a close relationship with his father will not talk to him in an intimate way. Prayer is the fruit of our relationship with God. The more we love God, the better our prayer will be. Therefore, there are no experts in prayer, but only true lovers of God. Likewise, seniority does not matter in prayer, but only the ability to become like little children.

·      Secondly, in teaching the “Our Father”, Jesus also invites us to enter into a more meaningful relationship with Him and with one another. If we call God “Father”, then Jesus is our Brother. Perhaps, nobody among us here will object to that. But Jesus has identified himself with our fellowmen, especially those considered the least, the lost, and the last. In the parable on the Last Judgment, Jesus concluded: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me” (Mt 25). He demands that we also accept His brothers and sisters as our own. That is why the prayer starts with the first person pronoun “our”. It is never “My Father”. A selfish person has no right to pray the “Our Father”.

·      In his book “Jesus of Nazareth”, Pope Benedict XVI said: “Only within the ‘we’ of the disciples can we call God ‘Father’, because only through communion with Jesus do we truly become ‘children of God.’ In this sense, the word “our” is really demanding: It requires that we step out of the closed circle of our ‘I’. It requires that we surrender ourselves to communion with the other children of God. It requires that we accept the “others” – that we open our ears and our hearts to them. When we say the word “our”, we say “Yes” to the living Church in which the Lord wanted to gather his new family…The Our Father overcomes all boundaries and makes us one family.” 

·      Finally, in teaching us the “Our Father”, Jesus is inviting us to share His vision of this world. The Lord’s Prayer is not as simple as it looks. It is radical and revolutionary: it is a prayer that demands a fundamental change in the world – from being a world of injustice, selfishness, and misery, into a world of justice, peace, and happiness. It is a prayer that impels us to obey God’s will so that we can be instruments for the transformation of this world into becoming God’s kingdom on earth: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is heaven.” 

·      Every authentic Christian must be aligned to the will of God because God’s will for us is eternally good. We must be prayerful, persistent, and patient. May our prayers translate into a deeper relationship with God and may it attract for us God’s abundant blessings through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!