Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 11:1-11; Matthew 6:7-15)
As a manager places his best hitter in the middle of the
batting order, so Matthew has put the Our Father at the middle of the Sermon on
the Mount. The evangelist wants the
reader to realize that the incredible demands that Jesus makes of his disciples
cannot be fulfilled by their efforts alone.
They absolutely need the help of God, or they will fail to comply.
One need not live too long or study too much to realize how
much sin has entered the world. Look around
for what motivates people, and you will not likely find that it is love of God. Rather, people usually act out of desire for fun,
fame, or fortune. When one is asked to make
a great effort without an immediate payoff, she or he will likely not act at
all.
But Jesus promises an eternal reward for those who follow
his commands. Again, it is not easy to always
do his will, but he will send his Spirit to help us. We just have to ask the Father in the name of
the Son.