Abraham and Jesus teach us to pray

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is-17-il Ħadd taż-Żmien ta'  matul is-Sena

Messalin C pp348

Reading 1       -         Genesis 18:20-32

In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave,  that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.”  While Abraham’s visitors walked on farther toward Sodom,  the LORD remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew nearer and said:  "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;  would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?  Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?” The LORD replied, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,  I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,  though I am but dust and ashes!  What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” He answered, “I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there.”  But Abraham persisted, saying “What if only forty are found there?” He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty.” Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?”  He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.” Still Abraham went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,  what if there are no more than twenty?” The LORD answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.” But he still persisted:  “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?” He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni   -   Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi 18, 20 – 32

F'dak iż-żmien, il-Mulej qal: "L-għajta ta' Sodoma u  Gomorra hi tassew qawwija, u t-toqol ta' dnubhom hu kbir.   U issa  se ninżel u nara jekk għamlux għalkollox skont  l-għajta tagħhom  li waslet għandi.  Jekk le, inkun naf." Dawk l-irġiel kisru minn hemm, u rħewlha lejn Sodoma;  imma l-Mulej baqa' wieqaf quddiem Abraham.  Abraham resaq lejn il-Mulej u staqsieh: "U int se teqred it-tajjeb mal-ħażin?  U jekk hemm ħamsin bniedem ġust f'nofs il-belt, jaqaw lil dawn se teqridhom u ma taħfirx lill-pajjiż minħabba l-ħamsin ġust li hemm f'nofsha?  Ma jkun qatt li inti tagħmel ħaġa bħal din, li toqtol il-bniedem ġust  mal-ħażin, u l-ġust u l-ħażin tmisshom l-istess xorti. Ma jkun  qatt minnek, l-imħallef tal-art kollha, li ma tagħmilx ġustizzja. U l-Mulej wieġeb:  "Jekk jiena nsib ħamsin bniedem ġust  f'nofs il-belt, jien naħfirlha lill-post  kollu minħabba fihom." Wieġeb Abraham u qal:  "Arani, jien issugrajt nitkellem  mal-Mulej, għalkemm jien trab u rmied.  U jekk hemm nieqsa ħamsa għall-ħamsin ġust, minħabba ħamsa u erbgħin se  teqred il-belt kollha?" U wieġbu l-Mulej:  "Ma neqridhiex jekk insib fiha ħamsa u erbgħin." Imma Abraham kompla jitkellem miegħu u jgħidlu:  "U jekk issib hemm erbgħin."   Qal Abraham:  " La tagħdabx, Sidi, jekk nerġa' nitkellem;  u jekk jinstabu tletin?" U hu wieġeb:  "Ma nagħmilx dan, jekk insib  hemm tletin." U raġa' qallu:  "Ara, kif nissogra nkellem lil Sidi:  "U jekk jinstabu hemm  għoxrin?"    U l-Mulej wieġeb:  "Ma neqridhiex minħabba l-għoxrin."  PU wieġeb:  "La tagħdabx, Sidi, jekk nerġa' nitkellem darba oħra biss:  U jekk jinstabu hemm għaxra?" U hu qallu:  "Ma neqridhiex minħabba l-għaxra."      Il-Kelma tal-Mulej 

Responsorial Psalm          PSALM 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8

R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.                                                    R/

Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.                                               R/

The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.  R/

Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.                                        R/

Salm Responsorjali       -           (Salm 137 (138)

                Meta sejjaħtlek, int weġibtni, Mulej.

Irroddlok ħajr, Mulej, b'qalbi kollha,

għaliex int smajt kliem fommi.

Quddiem l-allat irrid ngħannilek.

B'wiċċi fl-art ninxteħet quddiem is-santwarju tiegħek.          R/

Irroddlok ħajr għat-tjieba u l-fedelta' tiegħek,

għax int kabbart ismek u kelmtek fuq kollox.

Meta  sejjaħtlek, int weġibtni,

kattarli l-qawwa f'ruħi.                                                       R/

Kbir il-Mulej, imma jieħu ħsib iż-żgħar;

u, għalkemm fl-għoli, jagħraf mill-bogħod.

Jekk insib ruħi fl-għali, inti tħarisli ħajti;

terfa' idek kontra l-għedewwa tiegħi.                                  R/

Il-leminija tiegħek issalvani mill-qilla tagħhom.

Il-Mulej iżomm kelmtu miegħi.

It-tjieba tiegħek,  Mulej, tibqa' għal dejjem,

la titlaqx għemil idejk!                                                        R/

Reading 2     -          Colossians 2:12-14

Brothers and sisters:  You were buried with him in baptism,  in which you were also raised with him  through faith in the power of God,  who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead  in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him,  having forgiven us all our transgressions;  obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us,  he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -  Qari mill-Ittra lill-Kolossin 2, 12 -14

Ħuti, intom indfintu ma' Kristu bil-magħmudija u rxuxtajtu miegħu permezz tal-fidi tagħkom fil-qawwa ta' Alla li qajmu mill-imwiet. Kontu mejta minħabba dnubietkom u għax ma kellkomx iċ-ċirkonċiżjoni f'ġisimkom; imma issa  Alla takom il-ħajja flimkien ma' Kristu. Ħafrilna dnubnietna kollha.   Ħassar il-kont tad-dejn li kellna bl-obbligi li kien hemm kontrina; neħħieh min-nofs u sammru mas-salib. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel           -           Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,  “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread   and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,  and do not subject us to the final test.  And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, "Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, "Do not bother me; the door has already been locked  and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves  because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives;  and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?  Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju -  Qari skont San Luqa 11, 1-13

Darba Ġesu' kien qiegħed xi mkien jitlob.  Kif spiċċa mit-talb, wieħed mid-dixxipli tiegħu qallu:  "Mulej, għallimna nitolbu, bħalma Ġwanni wkoll għallem lid-dixxipli tiegħu." U qalilhom:  "Meta titolbu, għidu: Missier, jitqaddes ismek, tiġi Saltnatek, Ħobżna ta' kuljum agħtina kuljum. U aħfrilna dnubietna, għax aħna wkoll naħfru lil kull min hu ħati għalina, u la ddaħħalniex fit-tiġrib." Qalilhom ukoll:  "Wieħed minnkom ikollu  ħabib li jiġih f'nofs ta' lejl u jgħidlu:  "Ħabib, islifni tliet ħobżiet,  għax ġie għandi wieħed  ħabib tiegħi mill-vjaġġ u ma għandix x'nagħtih."   U l-ieħor iwieġbu minn ġewwa u jgħidlu:  "Iddejjaqnix, issa l-bieb  magħluq, u wliedi qegħdin  fis-sodda miegħi, ma nistax inqum nagħtik."  "Ngħidilkom jien, li jekk ma jqumx  jagħtih  għax  ħabib tiegħu, iqum u jagħtih kulma jkollu bżonn  minħabba l-wiċċ sfiq tiegħu. U jiena ngħidilkom:  "Itolbu u jingħatalkom, fittxu u  ssibu, ħabbtu u jiftħulkom.  Għax min jitlob, jaqla';  min ifittex, isib; u min iħabbat, jiftħulu. Min hu dak il-missier fostkom li, jekk ibnu jitolbu  ħuta, minflok ħuta jagħtiih serp?   Inkella jekk jitolbu bajda jagħtih skorpjun?   Mela jekk intom, nies ħżiena bħalkom, tafu tagħtu lil uliedkom ħwejjeġ tajba,  kemm aktar il-Missier mis-smewwiet jagħti spirtu qaddis lil dawk li jitolbuhulu!" Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

//////////////////////////////////////

/Commentary by Fr Thomas Rosica

Centrality of prayer in Christian life

                                                   

Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus at prayer is a model for us. In each prayerful moment, Jesus lives out the story of God’s great dialogue with the human family by remaining totally open to the power of God. We must pray unceasingly, for prayer is a sign of our faith in God. Prayer is not something that we use to put pressure on God to get our own way. Authentic prayer opens us up to the action of God’s Spirit, bringing us in line with God’s desires, and making us into true disciples, obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has sent him. Prayer becomes one of the ways by which we follow Jesus in the Christian life.

Three episodes concerned with prayer

In this Sunday’s Gospel scene, Luke presents three episodes concerned with prayer (11:1-13). The first (1-4) recounts Jesus teaching his disciples the Christian communal prayer, the “Our Father”; the second (11:5-8), the importance of persistence in prayer; the third (11:9-13), the effectiveness of prayer.

The Matthean version of the “Our Father” occurs in the “Sermon on the Mount” (6:9-15); the shorter Lucan version is presented while Jesus is at prayer and his disciples ask him to teach them to pray just as John taught his disciples to pray (11:1-4). His disciples watch him from afar, and are keenly aware of the intensity and intimacy of his prayer with God. Jesus responds to them by teaching them the Our Father. Jesus presents them with an example of a Christian communal prayer that stresses the fatherhood of God and acknowledges him as the one to whom the Christian disciple owes daily sustenance (3), forgiveness (4), and deliverance from the final trial (4).

The prayer of the community

The “Our Father” is taught to the Twelve in their role as disciples, not just as individuals to be converted but also as persons already co-responsible for the community. This prayer is an apostolic prayer, because it is said in the plural and takes for granted one’s awareness of a people, of co-responsibility, of solidarity, linking each of us to the other.

When we pray “thy kingdom come,” we reveal our deepest longing to see the day when the triumphant, sovereign lordship of our loving God will no longer be a mere hope clung to desperately by faith, but a manifest reality in all human affairs. Our souls can never be entirely content until God’s honor is fully vindicated in all creation. These words utter a heartfelt plea: When will the reign of evil and death end?

When we beg for bread, we are really pleading for more than food. We beg the author of life for all the necessities of life. “God, give us what we need in order to enjoy the gift of life … bread for today and bread for tomorrow, to sustain us as a community.”

We ask God to forgive our sins as we forgive everyone their debts to us. This may possibly reflect Luke’s concern that possessions not hinder community fellowship. The final petition is most likely eschatological: Do not lead us into trial; i.e., the final, great and ultimate test and agony of evil before the end.

The “Our Father” becomes the prayer of the poor, of those who plod along — weary, hungering and struggling for faith, meaning and strength. It is perhaps the first prayer we ever learn, and the last prayer we ever say before we close our eyes on this life.

God’s assurance of good gifts

The parable of the friend at midnight is found nowhere else in the New Testament. Its message, too, is about prayer and its point is that if our friends answer importunate or shameless appeals, how much more sill God who desires to give us the kingdom (12:32). The concluding section (9-13) builds on the previous section. The analogy moves from friends to parents: if parents give good gifts, how much more so will God. Prayer is to be continual asking, seeking, knocking, but even so, this persistence is within a parent-child relationship, which assures good gifts. Authentic prayer opens us up to the action of God’s Spirit, bringing us in line with God’s desires, and making us into true disciples, obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has sent him.

I conclude this reflection by offering you two thoughts on Luke’s great lesson on prayer in Sunday’s Gospel. First, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 239: “By calling God ‘Father’, the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God’s parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood, (cf. Is 66:13; Ps 131:2.) which emphasizes God’s immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. The language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard: (cf. Ps 27:10; Eph 3:14; Is 49:15) no one is Father as God is Father.”

I also draw your attention to one of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s homilies on this Gospel. The great cardinal wrote in the 19th century words that still ring loud and clear today: “He (Jesus) gave the prayer and used it. His Apostles used it; all the Saints ever since have used it. When we use it we seem to join company with them. Who does not think himself brought nearer to any celebrated man in history, by seeing his house, or his furniture, or his handwriting, or the very books that were his? Thus does the Lord’s Prayer bring us near to Christ, and to His disciples in every age.

“No wonder, then, that in past times good men thought this Form of prayer so sacred, that it seemed to them impossible to say it too often, as if some especial grace went with the use of it. Nor can we use it too often; it contains in itself a sort of plea for Christ’s listening to us; we cannot, so that we keep our thoughts fixed on its petitions, and use our minds as well as our lips when we repeat it. And what is true of the Lord’s Prayer, is in its measure true of most of those prayers which our Church teaches us to use. It is true of the Psalms also, and of the Creeds; all of which have become sacred, from the memory of saints departed who have used them, and whom we hope one day to meet in heaven.”

////////////////////////////