THE OUR FATHER -
THINK ABOUT IT
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 17th Sunday in
Ordinary Time C is, “The Our Father -
Think About It.”
I was at a wedding reception somewhere along the line and
I’m talking to this guy - who says to me, “I don’t go to church - but I do say
the Our Father.”
Seeing me, did I cause guilt or something? Funny comments happen at priests at weddings.
He continued, “The Our Father is a great prayer. I say it
every day. It has everything in it.”
Then he said, “Think about it!”
I don’t know what I said next or what have you - but I
thought about what that guy said. I want to thank him - because like many
people I say the Our Father over and over again - most of the times without
thinking about it. This guy got me to think about it.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
I thought about that moment when I read today’s gospel. It
contains Luke’s version of the Our Father - a bit different than the one we all
know very well: Matthew’s version. I assume that both Luke and Matthew’s
version have the basic ingredients of the prayer that Jesus taught his
disciples.
Luke was writing for Gentile Christians. His gospel is dated
from around 80 to 90 AD - some scholars think in Antioch
in Syria - the 3rd
largest city in the Roman Empire at the
time. Matthew was written 75 to 90 - perhaps in South Syria - or
Northern Palestine for Jewish Christians - certainly after 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Our Father is the first part of the New Testament and
the gospels that is translated into the language of any new group that
Christians are reaching out to.
Understand the Our
Father and you understand an awful lot of Jesus’ message.
As priest I noticed that the two things people remember till
their end is the Our Father and Happy Birthday.
I was once in a nursing home inOhio and I
noticed a sign on the door of the person I was visiting. It said, “Happy
Birthday.”
I was once in a nursing home in
I asked the lady if it was her birthday. She gave no
response. She was all alone and was out of it and close to death. I wanted to
ask an attendant if anyone sang, “Happy Birthday” to the lady, but I didn’t see
anyone. I can’t sing or carry a tune, but what the heck, the lady was dying.
So
I sang, “Happy Birthday!” and it woke her up and she gave me a face - making me
feel like a fool and off tune. I was.
Surprise she began to sort of sing along
with me. Then she spaced out again.
I said the prayers in the book and anointed
her and then I said the Our Father also out loud.
Surprise! She was praying
along with me - and then spaced out again.
No problem. I’ve often seen people
coming in and out of it during sermons.
So that’s why I say the last two things people remember are
Happy Birthday and the Our Father - Matthew’s version.
And sometimes if the person says, “For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory” at the end, I know he or she was either in AA or went
to a Protestant Church
As an aside, wouldn’t it have been nice if the Catholic
Church added that Protestant addition at the end of the Our Father we say at
Mass - as a gesture of good will. Yet at Mass, we did add it a bit later.
TEACH US HOW TO PRAY
Today’s readings are about prayer. They are a good reminder. They are a wake up call and a challenge for us to think about our prayer life - our communication - our relationship with God. How is it?
Today’s first reading has the fascinating story in the
primitive text of Genesis - how Abraham like anyone in the marketplace tries to
haggle down a merchant on how much something is going to cost. Abraham gets God
from 50 down to finding 10 good people in Sodom
and Gomorrah -
and God won’t destroy it.
Message: there is nothing wrong with arguing, haggling, begging, bargaining, bothering God with our prayers.
Today’s Psalm Response has one of the 4 most basic prayers
there are: Help, Sorry, Thanks and Wow! Petition. Contrition. Thanksgiving. And
adoration. The Psalm response we sang was a good prayer, “Lord, on the day I
called for help, you answered
me.” If God doesn’t answer you, pray some more - and let God know you’re angry
with Him. The Psalms are loaded with that reality - especially, “Help!”
Today’s second reading from Colossians challenges us to bring to prayer the need for God’s power to forgive us our sins - our transgressions - one of the key parts of the Our Father.
Today’s gospel begins with a great way to learn how to pray: Go to Jesus and say to him: “Lord, teach me how to pray.”
Today’s gospel gives us Luke’s Version of the Our Father and
then the key message of asking, seeking, knocking at God’s door - any time of
the day or night and keep nagging him - nagging him - nagging him.
PRAYER SUGGESTION: USE A ROSARY
One simple, short, suggestion: use your rosary for your
praying.
I like to say in the pulpit, “Rosary beads aren’t just for
Hail Mary’s.” I’m not saying I’m against the great prayer called, “The Hail Mary.”
What I am saying is to use a rosary as a reminder. When you
reach for it in your pocket in the car or at a boring meeting or while walking,
you’re saying to yourself: “I am now
about to pray.”
Muslims do the same thing with beads and prayer rugs. Just
take them out and you’re telling yourself, I am now going to pray. Rosary beads
are great worry beads - they are great prayer beads - and don’t be scared to
let people see you use them. We’re supposed to be evangelizing folks.
PLEASE EXPLAIN BETTER
If you tell me next summer. I heard your sermon last summer
about using one’s rosary beads for prayer - and for this past year my rosary
beads are right here in my pocket - and I take them out from time to time to
pray - and I wasn’t scared to tell family and friends what I was doing.
Next I hope you hear the following.
Before using a rosary for Hail Mary’s, the Our Father, the
Glory be and the Apostles Creed, say on the 59 beads for a month - once a day
the opening request in today’s gospel: “Lord, teach me how to pray!”
Just do that for a month.
Second month: Our Father….
In today’s gospel, Jesus then teaches his disciples the Our
Father.
Now, it’s an obvious disaster what we can do with the Our
Father when we say it as if it is one long word: OurFatherwhoartinheavenhall owedbethynameThykingdomcomethywillbedoneonearthasitisinheavenGiveusthisdayourdailybreadandforgiveusourtrespassesasweforgivethosewhotresspassagainstusandleadusnotintotemptationbutdeliverusfromevil.Amen. It’s not one word….
As that guy at the wedding said to me: Think about it.
For that second month simply say on the 59 beads the words,
Our Father - and forget about the counting - let the beads do that for you.
Ponder God as Father - our Father - while saying those two words 59 times. If
you’re a father, what kind of a father are you? Think about God - as Father.
That’s one of Jesus’ big teachings. It can be seen as sexist - or it can be
seen as God as core - God as central - God as creator and provider - mother and
father, parent. God as the one who keeps the whole house of the Universe
together. Our Father.
By saying that we’re saying we believe in God. We’re saying,
“I’m not in this life alone.” We’re saying, “There is a God - Our Father - and
He is aware of me.”
Say for the next month, “Our Father who are or art in
heaven.” Saying there is a heaven is
another act of faith. See where that takes you by saying it 59 times and
thinking about it for a month.
Say for a month: “Hallowed be your name.” A person’s name is sacred. The person whom we
love, we say their name all the time in our inner brain. I read once that
lovers say one word - all the time - the name of the person they love. Hallowed
be your name - our Father.”
“Your kingdom come.” Say that for a month on your beads. See
where that takes us. Mathew adds, “on earth as it is in heaven”. Luke just
says, “Your kingdom come.” What does
kingdom mean? Isn’t the kingdom what God desires - what God wants, what God
wills, what God hopes for. Isn’t that what we want, a dream world and a dream
hereafter. Compare our dream with God’s dream and see where that takes us - in
the here and in hereafter.
“Give us each day our daily bread.” We feed birds. We give animals water in the
dog days of summer. We keep hearing lots of folks are starving and there is
enough food for all. People eat. People are hungry. It’s great when we see
beyond our own bellies and do for the bellies and stomachs of all.
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Notice the word “Our”. That one prayer can
get us to volunteer for Thanksgiving Dinners for others - or to volunteer to
help with the St. Vincent de Paul Society or put money in our poor boxes - or
to help out once a month at the Lighthouse or make sandwiches once a week - or
once a month - or once a year -for hungry folks or what have you.
Forgiveness is the next big theme to pray for a month on -
using our beads. Luke’s version is shorter than Matthew’s. I think one
reason Matthew’s version is more
accepted and known is because it interconnects our being forgiven with the way
we ourselves forgive others.
And lastly, spend a month with our beads with the prayer:
“lead us not into temptation” or “the final
test” as Luke’s version in English puts it. Saying the prayer: “Lead us
not into temptation” - or “Prepare me for the final test.” Say that 59 times on
our beads for a whole month. See where that takes us.
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily is, “The Our Father - Think About
It.”
I think I gave you some practical ways of learning how the Holy Spirit can help us to pray and how to grow in prayer - how to be with Jesus praying to Our Father each day.
