Thursday, March 5, 2020

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Skeptics use gospel passages like the one today to demonstrate the folly of prayer.  They say something like, “Lord, give me a million dollars.”  Because they never receive the fortune, they conclude that God does not listen to prayers.  Of course, they misunderstand the kind of prayer that Jesus has in mind.

Jesus’ premise is that we go to God as His children.  He wants us to develop a relationship with God that is as close as the one many enjoy with a natural parent.  One man recalls how his father was the finest person he ever met.  He said his father was not educated but intelligent and, better, truthful and caring.  Trusting that God is eminently like this, we will find Him responsive to our petitions. 

We develop a filial relationship with God by showing Him gratitude for all that we have.  We thank God even for our own handiwork because it can be ultimately traced to Him.  Then we ask God for what we need.  We will do so humbly because He has already blessed us abundantly.  And we will find our prayers answered as surely as the sun rises.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Skeptics will use gospel passages like the one in today’s Eucharist to demonstrate the folly of prayer.  They will say something like, “Lord, give me a million dollars.”  Because they never receive the fortune, they conclude that God does not listen to prayers.  Of course, they misunderstand what Jesus is saying.

Jesus’ premise is that we go to God as His children.  He wants us to develop a relationship with God that is as close as the one many enjoy with their natural parent.  One man recalls how his father was the finest person he ever met.  He said the father was not educated but intelligent and, more than that, truthful and caring.  Trusting that God is eminently like this, we will find Him responsive to our petitions. 

We develop a filial relationship with God by showing Him gratitude for all that we have.  We thank God even for our own handiwork because it can be ultimately traced to Him.  Then we ask God for what we need.  We will do it humbly because we recognize that He has already blessed us abundantly.  We will find our prayers answered as surely as the sun rises.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

The young man was late for a crowded event. Because parking was tight in the downtown area, he said a prayer that he would find a space quickly. Surprised but hardly astounded, the man saw a car pull out of a parking place after riding hardly a block more. God always seemed to answer his prayers when the man turned to Him in need.

Jesus teaches us the same lesson in the gospel. He does not hesitate to call God our “Father” as well as his. As any father, God provides for our needs. “Do we have to ask Him?” we wonder. Not really, but recognizing our dependence on Him makes us more like His only-begotten son, Jesus.

The evangelist attaches to Jesus’ exhortation to pray the challenge that we care for one another. As in the “Our Father” where we ask God to forgive our offenses as we forgive others, we are to care for others as we ask God to care for us. This only reiterates what we just said: God’s true daughters and sons act like Jesus.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

The young man was late for a crowded event. Because parking was tight in the downtown area, he said a prayer that he would find a space quickly. Pleasantly surprised but not really astounded, the man hardly rode a block before he saw a car pull out of a parking place which he easily entered. God always seemed to answer his prayers when the man turned to Him in need.

Jesus teaches us the same lesson in the gospel. He does not hesitate to call God our “Father” as well as his. As any father, God loves us and provides what we need. “Do we have to ask Him?” we wonder. Not really, but recognizing our dependence on Him makes us more like His only-begotten son, Jesus.

The evangelist attaches to Jesus’ exhortation to pray the challenge that we care for one another. As in the “Our Father” where we ask God to forgive our offenses as we forgive others, we are to care for others as we ask God to care for us. This only reiterates what we just said: God’s true daughters and sons act like Jesus.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Thursday of the First Week in Lent

(Esther C12:14-16; 23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

You are late for a meeting and cannot find a parking space. So you say a prayer for help. Should you expect that a space will be forthcoming? Or should you just prepare an excuse for being tardy? The first stance bespeaks presumption and the second, desperation. The proper disposition lies in between. We should not expect God to treat our every request as if He were our attendant. In the gospel today, Jesus defines His relation to us. He is like a father who loves all his children dearly. Nor must we think that God might hold back something necessary for our well-being. He knows our needs better than we do. Our attitude vis-à-vis God should always be trust.

Perhaps we would accept Jesus’ exhortation to prayer more readily if we think of God as our family physician as well as our father. As our doctor knows how our sick bodies will respond to different stimuli, God knows what is best for us in every situation. Like our doctor’s prescription of strict dieting or, in severe cases, chemotherapy, God’s ministration may not be pleasant or even intuitive. Nevertheless, it would be unwise to ignore what God’s sends our way as inconsiderate and foolish not to seek His help in the first place. No, God’s care for us and His knowledge of us warrant our utmost confidence.

Homilette for February 14, 2008

Thursday of the First Week in Lent

(Matthew 7:7-12)

A man once commented that it is useless to pray that God end a war. He thinks that war involves so many people that God could not have much say regarding its outcome. Many believe that God cannot answer personal requests either. In fact, a whole theological movement known as “process theology” believes that God is powerless over events in people’s lives. Then why pray at all, we might ask?

Process theology adherents would answer that prayer at least lifts a person’s thought from worrying about a problem to imagining a solution. Psychologically, prayer facilitates positive thinking. Such reasoning, however, hardly convinces regular Christians. If we needed to think about solutions, we could do that without directing our hearts to God in prayer. In the gospel, of course, Jesus does not seem to doubt that prayers will be answered. “Ask and it will be given to you,” he says confidently.

Those who doubt the value of prayer to achieve its purpose have an inadequate conception of God. God knows what we need before we express our need, even before we exist. He wants us to pray, however, so that our relationship of faith may strengthen. He will respond to our prayer by providing for our need. His answer may not conform exactly to what we have in mind, but it will see us through the difficulty. Once, a mother brought her son suffering from a brain tumor to Lourdes for healing. Shortly after their return, the boy died. When the mother was asked if she felt God had let her down, she said, “no,” the experience of praying with so many faith-filled people at Lourdes strengthened her to accept her son’s death. The boy died in God’s grace and family survivors live in assurance of God’s love for them.