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FROM THE PULPIT
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C SCRIPTURE: Genesis 18: 20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2: 12-14; Luke 11: 1-13. REFLECTION: THE EFFECT OF PRAYER. Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp. Abraham and Sarah enjoyed a good relationship with God. The disciples cherished their close contact with the Lord Jesus. The scripture readings of today’s liturgy teach us about God’s justice and mercy on one part; and on the other side Scripture exhorts us to pray because prayer is effective and powerful. We can pray for others and God will hear and answer our prayers. We are encouraged to pray for our own spiritual and material needs and God will grant us according to his own will. As the story of Abraham and his divine guest continues from where we stopped last Sunday, God appeared to Abraham in a human form to show his closeness and concern for the well-being of his creatures. The Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was grave and the outcry of their inhabitants was great. God decided to intervene as a last resort. Abraham became moved by the plight of the few righteous who might still live in those cities; his nephew Lot and his family too lived there. He interceded for them to God and God answered his prayers tirelessly. Our God is just and merciful. In his justice, he doesn’t bundle up the wicked and the good to the same condemnation and punishments, rather He distinguishes the righteous from the wicked, everyone to what he or she deserves. In his merciful love, God lets live the wicked together with the good for the sake of those who are pleasing to Him. The wheat and weed are allowed to grow together (Matthew 13: 24-43). The disciples were used to seeing Jesus pray. They witnessed the effects of Jesus’ prayers. Jesus drew strength and peace from prayer. Some of Jesus’ disciples had been followers of John the Baptist from whom they had learned some prayers. They were eager to learn from Jesus how they should pray effectively. Jesus taught them the prayer of Our Father. This prayer is a comprehensive formula that contains the essence of all prayer. The Our Father Prayer is not a one way deal but it requires us to respond to God’s demands as well. Jesus went on to emphasize the necessity of perseverance in our prayers. We need to insist on our petitions to God as a sign of our humility and the strength of our faith. The Parable of the Unjust Judge (also known as the Parable of the Importunate Widow or the Parable of the Persistent Woman), is one of the parables of Jesus which appears in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 18:1–8) that teaches us also the necessity of perseverance in prayer. God is concerned with us; in response to our prayer of petition, he gives us what is best for each one of us. He will not give us what could lead us to harm and perdition, but what brings lasting joy and salvation. He will give us the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and the Paraclet if we ask him. There is no greater gift than the Holy Spirit, because that is God’s own love. |