October 3, 2009
Saturday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
“Fear not, my children; call out to God! He who brought this upon you will remember you. As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him; For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.” Baruch 4:27-29
At that very moment he rejoiced (in) the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Luke 10:21-22
Piety
See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, take heart! For the LORD hears the poor, does not spurn those in bondage. Psalm 69:33-34
Study
Throughout the Gospels, we are often given scenes in which Jesus went off to pray. However, most of the time, we do not know what was in Jesus mind, on his lips or in his heart. However, today’s scene from Luke gives us some of those details. Luke was very focused on integrating prayer life with daily life and testifying about the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout Jesus’ ministry. The Holy Spirit did not just appear after the Resurrection.
The first time Luke portrays Jesus in prayer is after he is baptized. At that moment, we do not learn what Jesus was praying. However, in the first instance, the voice of God is heard initiating and confirming Jesus into his public ministry.
After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22
Most of the time we learn from Luke that Jesus would escape to deserted places to pray giving us an example of finding a special place for ourselves to pray to God.
The next time we encounter Jesus in prayer, again something special happens during the Transfiguration. Prayer changes Jesus’ physical appearance and then Moses and Elijah appear. The voice of God is heard again by the three disciples on the mountain. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” Luke 9:35
The notes in the New American Bible explain: “Like the heavenly voice that identified Jesus at his baptism prior to his undertaking the Galilean ministry, so too here before the journey to the city of destiny is begun the heavenly voice again identifies Jesus as Son.” It goes on to add a critical component: “Listen to him.” When the two representatives of Israel of old depart and Jesus is left alone with the disciples, he is portrayed as “the teacher whose words must be heeded.”
Again, a message is revealed to the disciples and they are instructed to follow it. God does not just make pronouncements. In both cases, Jesus had to enter into a prayerful and sacramental position in order to be receptive to God and pass along the wisdom to his closest disciples.
Today’s Gospel stands out from all the other instances because Jesus is not teaching the disciples but rather he is addressing the Father directly. In doing do, Luke reveals something very special about the nature of Jesus’ conversations with his father and the actual words he uses.
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Luke 10:21-22)
Before the Passion, trial and execution, this is one of the few times that Luke reveals Jesus’ actual words to the Father. This actual example is followed up in the next chapter with a specific lesson in prayer that follows what Jesus said in Luke 10. That most famous example is Luke 11:1-13 when the disciples seek out advice from Jesus about how to pray and he recounts for them what we now know as The Lord’s Prayer. Although there are other prayers uttered by Jesus in the Gospel, what we have seen in the previous examples are times when Jesus prayed in private and when God spoke through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Prayer is the first time Luke tells us how Jesus teaches us to pray.
Not only does The Lord’s Prayer address how to approach God, but it also addresses what we must do to cultivate our relationships with our neighbors after we talk with God. The bottom line is what Jesus says to the widow: "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." (Luke 11:28)
This same sentiment is expressed to the disciples in today’s Gospel: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” However, seeing what is revealed is not enough. As we learn, those lessons must be turned into action.
A final lesson in prayer is in Luke 18:1 before the Passion narrative begins in Luke Gospel. “Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” From this point forward, we encounter Jesus in a different light…always in prayer whether in a deserted place or among people – at the Last Supper, in the garden, and on the cross.
Action
The final lessons in how to pray and how to turn that prayer into action challenge us just as they challenged the widow, the rich man and all of Jesus’ followers two thousand years ago.
The Good Samaritan. Mary and Martha. Luke’s Gospel is brimming with some of the most popular stories that show how action and contemplation are two side of the coin of holiness.
Men and women living in cloistered communities work diligently to balance and integrate their spiritual lives and their temporal lives. Often bells in the church spire ringing on the hour were their reminder to pray no matter what the tasks was at hand.
How can you remember to pray without becoming weary? Maybe you have a small alarm or bell you can set to ring on the hour and upon hearing it you can utter a special silent prayer to God. In this era of smart phones and almost-as-smart watches and pocket computers, is there a way to incorporate some automatic reminders even through your computerized calendar that will prompt you to pray throughout the day.
