A disciple says to Jesus: “Teach us to pray”. I guess the disciples of Jesus, as good Jews, knew how to pray, and indeed prayed. So, we may wonder, what is it that this disciple wants to learn about praying? Well, no matter the number of years we have been praying we too, perhaps, there’s something we can learn about prayer. But what is it then?

Bible readings
Genesis 18: 20–32
Psalm 138: 1–3, 6–8
Colossians 2: 12–14
Luc 11: 1–13

But is it true?

Jesus puts it simply: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Yet, many are the times, and situations, in our lives when we asked and got nothing, searched and didn’t find and knocked, and the door never opened for us. How do we reconcile, then, the affirmation of Jesus and our own experiences that show, sometimes, just the contrary?

In fact, there are persons who have abandoned their faith simply because when they called upon God in prayer, for rescue, during critical moments of their lives they felt not heard when they didn’t get what they wanted. So, they have gone “away” disappointed. Even those of us who may still be holding on, comes a time when we have doubts and questions about what happens to that prayer we have been addressing to God since long time. Such doubts and questions are good reasons for us to join the disciple in asking Jesus: “Teach us to pray”. But which prayer?

“Our Father…your kingdom come”

The prayer of Jesus is a prayer of a secure believer, confident in the father who cares. He’s not afraid to express how feels and what he wants, like in the case just before his passion: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mt 26:39). We find this attitude in the “Our father…your kingdom come.”  Where God reigns, his will takes first place. It’s not submission or resignation, but an act of trust; surrendering oneself to the one who loves us. This attitude of addressing God as Father, and allowing him to reign in my life, changes also my prayer. I pass from old to new way of praying.  

Old way

How have I been praying? What has been inspiring my prayer? When I feel insecure or when I’m in need; it could be moments of fragile health, financial insecurity or when my relationship is threatened. In such cases, naturally, prayer becomes spelling out a list of things that God should do for me. For an insecure believer prayer becomes an SOS call. Such prayer is heard, so one thinks, only when the desired help comes by. But is it true that our prayer is heard only when we get what we ask for? “Teach us to pray” means opening oneself to another way of looking at prayer.

New prayer

The prayer of Jesus is inspired not by needs or insecurity, it’s rooted in a filial relationship of a son with his caring father. We can add an image to it:  a little child that throws itself in the arms of mum or dad, sure there’s someone who loves and cares. That’s the prayer that Jesus proposes, a prayer of trust, in the knowledge that God is our Father. Before him we can express our needs, all right; but not because we feel threatened but that we have a dad whose will is our wellbeing.

To move from the old, insecure way of praying, to the new and self-abandoning kind of prayer; we need to look at the way Jesus prays. And, then, we can join the disciple, saying: “teach us to pray”.

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Homily. 16th Sunday C. Mary and Martha; Balanced Disciple

In the Gospel Jesus speaks of Mary as the one who has chosen a better part, apparently, opposed to that of Martha. But, is it about choosing one against the other? What lesson can we draw from this Gospel for our daily life for a disciple of Jesus?

Balancing on two legs of a disciple

Bible readings
Genesis 18: 1–10
Psalm 15
Colossians 1: 24–28
Luke 10: 38–42

Pressure to act

High performance is one of the values ​​of our world today. You need to be performant to have a place whether in professional life or business world. We are in a world of ruthless competition. You have to act rapidly for more production and for more profit; in the end, we find ourselves in a non-stop cycle of action. The effect of such pressure for excellence and continued performance is felt soon or later through a cry: I’m drained or a regret: If only I had paid enough attention. Indeed, excelling in professional or business world may come at the cost of our health and family wellbeing. We risk becoming aware of the damage when it’s too late. So, should we be suspicious of high performance? I don’t think so.

Performance and excellence have certainly their place in today’s world, and they have positive results, no doubt. All we need, however, is to consider that there’s more to life than just high performance. There are other values that deserve also their place in the organisation of our life and our time. It’s a matter of striking a balance in life. And the Gospel calls us to such equilibrium.

Action and Contemplation

In the Gospel, at first glance, you are likely to have the impression that there’s an opposition between listening and acting, especially considering the response of Jesus to Martha: “Martha, Martha, you worry, and you get agitated for a lot of things. Only one is necessary. Marie chose the best part ...” Consequently, there has been a tendency in the Christian spirituality not only to oppose action to contemplation but also to prioritise one against the other. But a global look at the text can save us from such misinterpretation.

Two legs of a disciple

Remember, Jesus is heading to Jerusalem. On the way he instructs the disciples and sends some on mission. So, we can fairly say, what we find in the Gospel is the teaching about discipleship. And if we follow the sequence of events in Luke’s Gospel, today’s scene comes after the parable of the Good Samaritan, a charitable and humane action that Jesus praises. That’s the way a disciple is called to act.  Indeed, doesn’t St James warn us? “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead…Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds” (Jas 2: 17-18). But that’s not all, there’s another leg of a disciple which this Sunday’s Gospel highlights -the listening part.

Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to him; sign of a disciple learning from the master. The call of the first disciples in the Gospel of Mark can enlighten us further on these two legs: “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). A disciple is one who, first, puts himself at the feet of his master, lets himself be instructed so that, thereafter, he can go out to act like his master. He’s therefore called to listen and to act; a disciple is both Mary and Martha. Listening and action are not opposed, but two faces of the same reality.

A disciple is both Mary and Martha

Then, each one can ask oneself, am I really walking on the two feet of a disciple, Mary and Martha, that is, listening and acting? The word of God invites us to be hospitable and to act for a world that is more humane and fraternal. But these good deeds are accomplished through listening for it is Jesus, our master, who inspires us and sends us. Let us then be disciples, that is, men and women who listen to the word of God and put it into practice.