7/24/2022 - 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

     The central theme of the Word of God on this 17th Sunday is prayer. The first reading, strange as it sounds to us, the book of Genesis tells this episode of Abraham bargaining with God. He kept haggling and badgering: “Are you really going to destroy the just man with the sinner?”   Abraham’s prayer highlights a certain familiarity between Abraham and the Lord God. Abraham gives up the ‘bargain’ since he concludes the people earned their punishment by their wanton lifestyle. In the Gospel reading of today, Luke collects together some teachings of Jesus on prayer – including the prayer that Jesus gave us as the pattern of all prayers – the Our Father. Underpinning these readings is an invitation towards an attitude in prayer that goes beyond particular formulas and specific locations.

One oft quoted teaching of Jesus is, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, and knock and the door will be opened to you” (Lk 11:9). I would like to reflect with you on this teaching and see in it an invitation to go beyond asking for favors from God.

Ask: And He will give the Spirit to you!

      Asking for our daily needs in prayer does have a place.  This is at the center of intercessory prayer.  This is also part of the prayer that Jesus taught us: “Give us each day our daily bread.”  Asking God for our needs, although He knows our needs even before we mention them, is an expression of our dependence on His providence. On the other hand, our prayer should not be need-focused.  Only God remains the center and the sole focus of our prayer.  Being problem-focused is a temptation in prayer.  It is important to realize that we do not pray so that God might solve our human problems, but God is simply worthy of our praise and worship.  This is the center of prayer and we tend to forget it.
       In the very last instruction on prayer Jesus says, “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Lk 11:13).  Jesus is inviting us to focus on higher gifts.  Even in the “Our Father”, besides asking for bread, Jesus invites us to pray: “may your name be held holy; your kingdom come; forgive us our sins; and do not put us to the test.”  These are higher gifts to ask for. And prayer needs to focus on them. In our spiritual life, we might be pegged down to knowing our problems, and trying to solve them with God’s help. But we can go beyond!

Seek: And He will show Himself to you!

     The word, “seek” is used in the Scriptures unlike in common parlance, to refer to the relationship between human beings and God. Interestingly, in the Hebrew Scriptures, it is human beings who seek the Lord God. For instance, the Psalmist prays: “It is your face, Oh Lord, that I seek.  Hide not your face from me” (Psalm 27:7-8). Or David tells Solomon, “As for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve Him with a perfect heart and a willing soul… If you seek Him, He will let Himself be found by you… (1Chr 28:9).

     In the Gospels, there is a new dimension to the word, “seek”.  It is not merely that we human beings seek God, but it is God who seeks us out.  Jesus would emphatically state, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost” (LK19:10).  So, another important aspect of prayer is to seek the face of God, but above all, to become aware of the God who seeks us out. Seeking, in spiritual life, is going beyond our ordinary way of life, to some extent being discontent with a creaturely existence to take the risk of looking for the higher dimension.

Knock: And you will find that it is He who was knocking!

       The word “knock” is used in two contexts in the New Testament.  First, in the context of prayer as we heard in the Gospel reading of today. Second, in the Book of Revelations: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s side” (Rev 3:20).  Therefore, after all, it is not we who are knocking.  It is God, in Christ, who is knocking at the door of our heart.  So then, is prayer becoming aware of the sound of the knock of God at the door of our heart? Here we encounter the God of surprises. We begin to become mystics who are sure of what will satisfy our inner longings and are ready to open the doors to the divine visitation. St. Therese of Lisieux described prayer as a “surge of the heart”. It is more than just words in our heads. It is truly sharing with God our deepest longings, joys, sorrows, and feelings. Prayer is a relationship!  
Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.