DAILY HOMILIES #pray

Believe that you will get what you ask for even before you start praying. Jesus draws an analogy with a child asking his father for bread or fish saying that if we who are evil can be trusted to give our children what they ask for, how much more, God. To remind us that God is really a Father, Jesus taught us to begin our prayer with “Our Father who art in heaven.”

Do not rush in prayer. First, recollect yourself, then place yourself in the presence of God and remember that God is first your Father. This is why Jesus begins with the words: “Our Father who art in heaven.” Jesus presents an important principle of life: You cannot take without giving. Prayer is not just about asking, it also involves doing. Jesus makes clear the point: “If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Our Gospel passage today contains a lot of names; these are the ancestral line of Judah. Not every person in this genealogy was outstanding, in fact, some of them were terrible sinners who did unthinkable things. What does this tell us? That God can work through anybody. Stop looking down on yourself. Every saint had a past and every sinner has a future. Say Yes to God today and let your past pass.

Today, we are called to do a cleansing of our minds and hearts. We are called to make a whip of cords and search through our lives for any sinful inclination or vice that pollutes the temple of our bodies.

What we are celebrating today is HOPE. Hope that it is not yet over for the dead. Hope that one day, when we too depart, there would be people around here praying for us. Death is not the end. It is only a passage; a new beginning and our prayers go a long way to affect what comes to a person after they have died.

It is not in our place to wonder whether others would remember us, all we must do is to ensure that we follow the path Jesus has traced for us; that we live according to the beatitudes contained in today’s Gospel passage; that we wash our robes clean – clean of sin, clean of pride, clean of selfishness; that we love our neighbor as ourselves.

“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.” (Luke 11:9-10). Fear not. Pray with faith.

Can you imagine what our world would look like if God answered such prayers? Be careful of the type of prayer you utter when you are angry. Avoid the error of James and John. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus gave us an example by praying for forgiveness (not consuming fire) for those who killed him.

It is interesting to note that despite turning down their request, James and John did not resign from the company of the twelve apostles. They went all the way, they drank the cup; they spread the message by their lives and by their blood. Do not live your life only for the sake of rewards. Just do what is right and you will find inner peace and happiness.

Jesus shows us that even the very life we live is part of our prayer. After praying the words, we must follow our prayers with actions. If we refuse to forgive those who sin against us, then our pleas for God’s forgiveness are not complete.

Pray, do what you can, and leave the let God do the rest. Having committed a problem in God’s hands, you are not permitted to take it back. Worrying about something you have prayed for already is a sign of doubting what God can do.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus did not say “all those who come to gather around me are my sheep.” Instead, He says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” These three qualities distinguish the sheep of Christ; First, the sheep must hear the voice of Christ. How often do you read the Bible and meditate on it? Secondly, when Christ says “I know them” it means no one can pretend to be his sheep; you are either with Christ or with another shepherd. Thirdly, Jesus says: “they follow me,” which means, they behave like me. The sheep of Christ incarnate Christ in the world.