Thursday of 11th Week in Ordinary Time
TRUSTFUL PRAYER
The reading from Sirach is a hymn of praise in honor of the fiery prophet Elijah.
In the words of Jesus, Matthew gives us today a catechesis on prayer. The reason and basis of our prayer should not only be merely that we need something and we should not think that our prayer is more powerful when we use a stream of words. We pray because Jesus asks us to and because we have trust in our Father who knows what we need even before we ask him. In our prayer we should also place first things first: God and his kingdom, which is manifested and communicated to us by bread, forgiveness and protection.
First Reading: SIR 48:1-14
Next there arose like a flame a prophet whose word burned like a torch. The first thing he did was inflict a famine on the people. Many grew envious of his power, but most of these he weeded out. With the Lord’s advice and consent, he turned the rain off and the fire on—blitzing the earth three times. He was, of course, Elijah, and his ability to do miraculous things increased exponentially. Who had a reputation like his? With the Lord’s approval, he raised from his final resting place a dead child. Kings he toppled from their thrones, bounced them from their beds, smashed their fragile power into smithereens. At Sinai he went on the defense; at Horeb he recovered his courage and went on the offense. He
brought kings to their knees in repentance; he schooled prophets who’ d follow
him. Elijah was caught up by a whirlwind, horses of fire pulling his chariot up and away. According to tradition, he is the one in the final days who’ll dampen the fiery wrath of the Lord, soften the Lord’s heart toward his wayward children, and restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are those who make friends with him; they sleep the better because of their friendship. Like Elijah, we all have only one life to live; unlike him we all have to die
and don’t have his reputation to leave behind.
Elijah was indeed swept up in a whirlwind, but he left behind his spirit in Elisha. Elisha was fearless when facing a prince. No one was more powerful than he; no one bested him when faced with word-to-word combat. After his death his body continued to prophesy. Alive, he did wonders; dead, wonders continued to be attributed to him. And yet, for all his efforts, dead or alive, the people didn’t repent. They didn’t pull back from their sinful lives, even while they were being ejected from the land and exiled all over the face of the earth. What was left of the chosen was a pitiful few in Judah; they had one leader, a king from the house of David. Even then, only some did what pleased God; the rest kept on sinning.
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
Prayer
Lord our God,
you know what we need
even before we can ask you.
We are sure of this
on account of the human experience
of Jesus your Son, who was one of us.
And so we pray you:
Don’t take it amiss
when we use too many words
to cover the emptiness of our hearts,
and teach us through your Spirit in us
to ask for the things that matter,
you and your kingdom,
that will last for ever and ever. Amen.