Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - July 24, 2022

Readings: Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13

 

Pray, Trust, Believe, and Hope. Never Lose Heart

1.    Last Sunday, we reflected on how Abraham treated the visitors who stopped by his house. Abraham showed them hospitality and provided them with food to nourish and strengthen them for their journey. The visitors were on their way to the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the 17th verse of the 18th chapter of the book of Genesis, “The Lord reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do…?” Our first reading takes off from that discussion. God revealed to Abraham where he was going and why; “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that come to me. I mean to find out.” (Gen. 18:20-21). When Abraham heard those words, he began pleading for the land and his nephew residing there. Abraham prayed that God should spare the lives of the righteous and not punish them with sinners. In the Gospel, we see Jesus Christ at prayer, prompting his disciples to ask him to teach them how to pray. 

 

2.    I often wonder why Christ’s disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. I believe the disciples knew how to pray. As faithful Jews, they would undoubtedly know the scripture, at least the Old Testament. They must have prayed and sang the psalms, 150 of them. They prayed in the Synagogue on Sabbath. As faithful Jews, they would have taken their religious obligation seriously - why did they need to be taught prayer.   Maybe the disciples were just like the rest of us regarding prayer. Do we even know how to pray? Do we know what prayer is? The Catechism of the Church states that “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (CCC 2559). When we are in God’s presence, we realign our spirit with that of God and share his sacred space and blessing. We not only pray for ourselves but, like Abraham in the first reading, we also pray for others. Developing a life of prayer is like starting a business. It takes time, patience, perseverance, and devotion. Most businesses fail because they lack the essential ingredient needed to succeed. Jesus lived a life of prayer. He was consistent, devoted, and patient. Christ prayed all the time. Sometimes he spent the whole night in prayer. Hence, the disciples wondered why he was successful, and they were not. They probably thought that God answered his prayers more than theirs. They wanted to pray like Jesus.

 

3.    Jesus did not pray to change God. He prayed to do the will of God and be constantly in God’s presence. His prayer was filled with gratitude to God for his blessings. He was humble, unassuming, and trusting. This was what he needed to teach his disciples when he taught them ‘The Our Father.’ We see this disposition in Abraham in the first reading. He was humble, unassuming, loyal, respectful, and trusting though fearful of God. He knew his limitation even in his perseverance. We must learn to pray as instructed in the Lord’s prayer. Jesus warned, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt. 6:7-8). When we fail to relate to God in prayer as Jesus and Abraham, we find it difficult to pray as we should. We may begin to think that God does not answer our prayers. 

 

4.    We sometimes command God in our prayers to give us what we want. Some people even demand things from God and adopt an arrogant attitude as if they are God’s equal. Listen again to the perspective of Abraham as he addressed God. “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes!” Again. “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. And finally, “Please let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.” (Gen. 18:27,30,32). He pleaded for God’s intervention in that sinful nation. God answered his prayers, and though there weren’t many righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, God spared the life of his nephew, Lot, and his family. Prayer of the righteous is pleasing to God. Jesus wants us to be like Abraham, to pray, not to change God, but to let God change us. We must ask for God’s kingship over us as we humbly ask him for our daily bread. We must persevere, knowing that our Father knows what we need before we ask him. Today Christ taught his disciples to keep their prayer simple and short. Therefore, we must seek the kingdom of God first and strive to do his will. 

 

5.    There are many forms of prayer, depending on our needs. We say a prayer of intercession when praying for others, as Abraham did in today’s first reading. We can also ask others to intercede for us. In the prayer of thanksgiving, we express our gratitude to God for his blessings. We are encouraged to offer thanks to God for the gift of life. Our most significant act of thanksgiving is the celebration of the Mass – the eucharist. Other forms of prayer are adoration, contrition, supplication, meditation, and contemplation. Our prayer is efficacious and is of utmost necessity for overcoming our enemies. Like Christ, the saints were people of prayer. They prayed not only during the day but at night as well. Prayer is a must for everyone. A Christian who does not pray knows nothing of God and his love for humanity. According to John Vianney, “We will watch ourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain, in vain we will avoid temptation if we do not pray; if we do not have continual recourse to prayer, all our other ways will be of no use at all to us, and we shall be overcome. We can see plainly that in the world, there are many occasions when we cannot run away; for example, a child cannot run away from the society of his parents because of their bad example. But he can pray, and his prayer will sustain him.”  

 

6.    It is also noteworthy that we must forgive others if we want God to forgive us for our trespasses. This is addressed in the Lord’s prayer effectively. Here is Christ's teaching: “And forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.” We cannot expect God’s forgiveness if we do not forgive others. If we pray as Christ did and taught, we will experience life differently; see people differently, and love as God loves us. We will forgive people from our hearts as we want God to forgive us. In praying ‘Our Father,’ we pray to a loving God who cares for us and seeks what is best for us. No matter what we go through in life, our father knows it all and wants us to tell him about it. But most of all, in praying, may we never forget to ask for the one thing that is dearest to God’s heart, the gift of the Holy Spirit. For “The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.” (Rom. 8:26-27). Pray always. Pray perseveringly. Pray insistently, pray, and do not give up. God will turn your mourning into joy and fill you with the blessings of your youth. Amen.

 

                                Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - July 24, 2022

Homily of Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 2022

Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138:1-3, 6-8; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

The readings, today, want us to reflect on the importance of prayer in our relationship with God. More than anything else, the first reading teaches us that prayer is a conversation between God and us. God initiates the conversation by offering us the grace to desire conversing with him. When we accept the grace and the invitation, then, the conversation begins. In the first reading, God initiated the conversation by revealing to Abraham that he was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their grave sin. Then, Abraham responded by interceding for the cities. Abraham kept conversing with God and interceding for the cities until he submitted to the will of God. This is an important point too. Our desire and prayer may not be the will of God. We need to learn from Abraham how to surrender to God’s plan no matter how painful. Jesus prayed, “Not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Dante Alighieri writes, “And in his will there is our peace…”

Although God’s will is our peace, sadly, sometimes, we place ourselves in irredeemable situations as Sodom and Gomorrah did. We hear it often said, “God / heaven helps those who help themselves.” St Paul writes, “This is good, and pleases God our savior who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). There is nothing God nor human beings can do for anyone who knowingly and freely chooses the path of destruction. May Jesus pray for us as he prayed for Peter, that none of us is sift as wheat by Satan (Luke 22:31).

The gospel begins with these words, “Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…’” Prayer was very important to Jesus. He prayed in the desert for forty days before he began his ministry (Matthew 4:2). He prayed on the mountain all night before he chose his apostles (Luke 6:12-16). He was praying when he transfigured (Luke 9:29). He often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). He prayed to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11). He prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail (Luke 22:32). He prayed for his followers and those who believe in him through their word (John 17). He prayed before his arrest (Mark 14:32-42 and John 17). He prayed on the Cross (Luke 23). What is it about prayer that Jesus never stopped praying? If Jesus, who is God, prayed constantly, then, mortals like us need to pray as Jesus did.

Jesus assures us in today’s gospel that God answers prayers. “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, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” This assurance notwithstanding, Jesus gave a parable to emphasize the importance of perseverance in prayer. The man who went to his friend to beg for bread did not give up until his friend got out of his bed at midnight and gave him the bread. If he had not persisted, he would not have received the bread from his friend. Perseverance in prayer is nicknamed P-U-S-H: which is, “Pray until something happens.”

In addition to prayer of petition and prayer of intercession, there is also prayer of loving communion with God, or prayer of presenting oneself to God, or prayer of losing oneself in God. This prayer is essential for spiritual nourishment and growth. It is food for the soul. Without this prayer, the soul malnourishes. This prayer helps us transcend the level of asking for one favor or another to the level of not asking, not needing, not wanting, but being in loving communion. This is the prayer of Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” This is what we mean when we sing the hymn, “Lose yourself in me; and you will find yourself…” (Matthew 10:39).

Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself

Lose yourself in me and you will find new life

Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself

And you will live, yes you will live in my love.

Unless a grain of wheat, falls into the ground

It still remains but a grain of wheat

But if it falls and dies, then it bears much fruit

So it is with those who lose themselves in me.

Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself

Lose yourself in me and you will find new life

Lose yourself in me and you will find yourself

And you will live, yes you will live in my love.

You will live, yes you will live, in my love.

No one is comfortable with another who relates only according to what he or she can get. That is selfishness. We can imagine that our relationship with God based on what we can get is, also, not okay. Therefore, pray but surrender to God’s; pray without ceasing; pray until something happens; most importantly, pray in loving communion with God.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

 

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - July 17, 2022

 Homily of Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, 2022

Genesis 18:1-10; Psalm 15:2-5; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

In Genesis 12:3, God promised Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” As Abraham and Sarah his wife aged, there was no sign of the fulfilment of this promise. Encouraged by Sarah, Abraham’s maid bore Abraham a son called Ishmael. But Ishmael was not the child of the promise.

We read, in today’s first reading, how Abraham and Sarah showed hospitality to three strangers, not knowing that they were angels of the Lord. Abraham and Sarah were rewarded with a gift of Isaac, the child of the promise. God’s promise to Abraham would not have come to fulfilment in the manner it came about if Abraham and Sarah did not show hospitality to the strangers. I believe that the Book of Hebrews echoed Abraham’s and Sarah’s encounter where it writes, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels” (Hebrews 13:1-2).

Two other wonderful examples of the reward of hospitality are as follows. In 1 Kings 17:7-16, the widow of Zarephath, not knowing that Elijah was a prophet, shared with him and her son their “only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug.” Her reward was, “There was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry.” In 2 Kings 4:8-17, the Shunammite woman and her husband who showed hospitality to Elisha and his servant were rewarded. “The woman [who was barren] became pregnant, and gave birth to a son, just as Elisha told her.”

The closing statement of my last Sunday’s homily is, “Somehow, someway, someday, all the love we have given will come back to us.” Jesus promises us, “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you” (Luke 6:38).

In today’s gospel, Jesus visited Mary and Martha. Mary sat beside Jesus and listened to him, while Martha was burdened with much serving, and was anxious and worried about many things. She was also upset. She upset with herself, with Mary, and with Jesus. It is not surprising that Martha was upset. How won’t someone who is burdened, anxious and worried about many things not be upset with oneself and with everybody?

The gospel passage teaches us that like Mary, we need to create quality time to commune with God in order to nourish our spiritual life. If we do not do this, there is every possibility that we become like Martha; demands of life burden us, keep us anxious, worried and upset us. There is a saying that the one who is too busy to pray is busier than God wants the person to be. Jesus emphasized the importance of nourishing the spiritual life to his apostles.  At some point in their ministering to people Jesus advised them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31-33). Spiritual recollection and retreat need to, also, occupy prominent places in our calendar as vacations and various kinds of trips do.

Martha complained to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Of what use is someone who is hardworking but unhappy and full of complaints? Paul writes in Ephesians 6:7-8, “Do God’s will from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not human beings, knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does…” And Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance…”

Jesus cautioned Martha, “You are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her,” The one thing chosen by Mary is be close to Jesus. Let us bring all our burdens, anxieties, worries, upsets, and complaints and lay them at the feet of Jesus, and listen to him speak to us. His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Also, in Matthew 6:25 & 27 he says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, … Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” In 1 Peter 5:7 we have the invitation, “Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” And in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” May God’s words be fulfilled in our lives. Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP