LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

HOMILY FOR THE 17TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

One of the important aspects of every Spirituality lies in its model of prayer. The mode of Prayer distinguishes different schools of Spirituality from one another. The Master/Founder together with the members/followers/disciples of these schools compose prayers modelled after their Spirituality and Mission. Religious Orders and Communities of Apostolic Life design prayers which form an exclusive aspect of their spirituality. And they are known by them; for instance, ‘we adore you’ of the Franciscan Order. This was also obtainable for the Jewish Schools of Spirituality. It was normal for every Rabbi to teach his disciples a simple form of prayer which they might have off by heart and could habitually use it. And today, most families and pious groups have developed forms of prayer unique to them. Indeed, the style of prayer is a mark of identity. John the Baptist did the same and taught his disciples how to pray. This might serve as the background of the request to be taught how to pray by Jesus' disciples.

In the Gospel (Luke 11:1-13), one of the disciples made a request to their master, Jesus: Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. This disciple  was very well aware of what he was asking for. Having their  own model of prayer would make them unique. And Jesus heeded to that request; in  it are five petitions. The prayer in general begins with the title: Our Father. Addressing God as our Father exposes His omnipotent, gracious, provident, forgiving, and protecting nature.

God’s omnipotent nature is evident in Petition 1: hallowed be your name. Here, we pray that the ever-present danger of apostasy be far from us, and that all the evils which defile God’s creation be removed, especially those in our hearts.

God’s gracious nature is evident in Petition 2: Your Kingdom come. Here, we pray that the unity, equality and love known as the foundations of God’s kingdom may be felt in our human society; in such a way that the boundaries that exist between the rich and the poor, men and women, saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles might be replaced by unity, equality and love.

God’s provident nature is evident in Petition 3: Give us this day our daily bread. Here, we pray for divine sustenance for both our material and spiritual needs. Bread here goes beyond quenching material hunger to encompass sharing with others (sinners included) at meals of reconciliation (the Eucharist) where-in the spiritual hunger is taken care of.

God’s forgiving (merciful) nature is evident in Petition 4: Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive every one indebted to us. Here, we pray for divine pardon for the many offences we have committed against Him. The condition for receiving this pardon is that Christ’s followers must forgive others who wrong them. The best of us is a sinful person coming before the purity of God. Hence, Christians who are adamant in forgiving others do not have a proper view of God, who is merciful to all. 

God’s protective (guarding) nature is evident in Petition 5: do not let us fall into temptation. For Pope Francis, it is not God who pushes us into temptation to then see how we have fallen. We are the ones who fall. Our father does not tempt us; he rather helps us to stand up to our feet. And so here, we pray that God preserves us from anything that endangers our faith, or that tries to draw us away from him, or that challenges our spiritual integrity and fidelity.

Therefore, we must be ready to ask for we are sure to receive, to knock for we are sure that the door would be opened, to seek for we shall find. In the parable of the determined borrower, Jesus teaches us a great lesson about his fatherhood. If  men as hardened and perverted as they might be could borrow to their friends and supply their children’s needs, what more of God who is a loving Father? God wants us to trust him and to believe that He is a Father and capable of caring for His children. As children that we are, we need to be ever ready to speak to our father in prayers and never to despair when asking for our needs. Our Father listens and cares.

The story of the First Reading (Gen. 18:20-32) is the story of Abraham’s petition and supplication for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded for the people who had rejected God by their evil ways and deeds. In the conversation, Abraham met with the two men (angels in Gen. 19:1) who had gone to investigate Sodom and Gomorrah by God. And the mercy of God would be showcased only if he could find just ten faithful ones. The bone of contention was: will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Abraham dared to bargain to the point that only 10 righteous people would suffice to avert destruction. Perhaps, a fascinating idea about God here was that He would be ready to save a multitude of wicked people for the sake of a handful of just people. Again and similarly, a handful of just people would not be punished even for the sake of punishing a multitude of the wicked.

But how often does this happen in our world? I remember while growing up as a secondary school student; how the whole class would be punished on account of a few noisy students. It is also true in some homes; how some parents would punish all their kids when a valuable cup gets broken and nobody owns up of doing so. It is also true in matters of international relations; how a people would stereotype another people on account of a very few criminals. It happens also in war situations; how millions of lives are lost on account of a few people considered as traitors. This is the human trait in us, and many times, it happens just easily that we might think these are the right or just way to live. However, God would never resort to that. God would never punish a whole class on account of a few noisy students, or would he punish everyone at home when no one owns up to a mistake, or would he stereotype a people because of one criminal, or would he destroy a race because of one or two apostates. Imagine how terrible it feels to be punished for what you did not do. God would never be part of such a system. Instead he would want to save many because of a few. God’s ways are not our ways.

God was ready to save everyone if there were just ten people. Ten became the natural limit in Abraham’s questioning; below that number, God would only save the one individual -Lot- within the city. It would take Christ to be that singular person that could save all. God would no longer need ten to save; only but one would be enough to save everyone once and for all. Our baptism clears this pathway to be enrolled as one of the many that would be saved by this one singular person -Christ. Through baptism, we are inserted into His death and resurrection; we die to a sinful life and rises to live a new life. From the side of the petitioner, what Abraham could not achieve, Christ actualized; from the side of righteousness, what the righteousness of one -Lot- could not achieve, Christ actualized so as to declare every one of us righteous. Yes, Christ is the one that brought us to life having forgiven us all our sins and having nailed every embarrassments and disappointments we caused God on the cross (The Second Reading Col. 2:12-14). The cross becomes now the source of our liberation. Hence, for the sake of Christ, we are forgiven; no longer for the sake of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or even 10. His blood pleads more insistently than Abel’s. He pleads on our behalf.

Therefore, Jesus is the answer. He alone is able to teach us how to pray, and how to save. He alone can lead us to the Father. We must remind ourselves that no prayers goes unanswered. We might not get the answer we desire, but we must be certain that God knows who truly needs an answer. God could also be shaping and reshaping us by our prayers. There is the story of a man who was so sad about his wife that he even wished her dead. And just like us who might not really know what we want -today, we want one thing; tomorrow we want another thing-, he kept on pestering God to find a way of removing her from his life. God allowed him to make three wishes. He then made his first wish that he wished the wife dead so as to get another suitable wife. His wish was granted. But at the funeral, he was startled at the number of people who praised his deceased wife. He never realized she had so many admirable qualities. He realized his mistake immediately and then made his second wish; that God should bring her back to life. It was granted, of course. This left him now with just one wish. As he could not afford another mistake, he found it very hard to make the third wish. Should he ask for money, or for good health, or for immortality? Unable to decide, he asked God for advice. And God laughed at him and said: “just ask to be contented no matter what life brings to you.”

O Lord, teach us to pray for we do not know how to pray neither do we know what to ask for. Make us contented no matter what life brings to our desk. Amen. This is our prayer as I wish you a lovely week ahead. God bless you.