Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parenting books often tell us that we ought NOT to give into our child, especially when the child is being particularly difficult, by throwing a tantrum, for example. The theory is that we, as parents, must be consistent in our parenting, and let our “no” mean “NO.” But most of us who are parents have had the experience of saying no only to find ourselves giving in within minutes. I remember once my husband had succumbed to our daughter’s wish for something, and when I asked him why, he explained, “Well, she REALLY wanted it!”
But if this is perhaps bad parenting, we might be comforted to know that God our Father is likewise swayed by our persistence. In the first reading from the book of Genesis, we hear a telling conversation between God and Abraham. God is proposing to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great evil, and Abraham becomes and intercessor for these people, asking the LORD if he can justly wipe out a whole people when surely there are some innocent among them. By the end, God has gotten to the point of saying that he will not destroy them if he can find even ten innocent people. And we can assume that indeed, there will at least be ten babies who are innocent!
We see another illustration of persistence in our gospel reading from Luke. Upon being asked how they should pray, Jesus teaches his disciples the “Our Father” prayer, which we say at every Mass and should say every day. This prayer is a petitionary prayer; it is one where we ask God for certain things that are for our benefit. We ask that we can do his will on earth, that we can receive daily sustenance from him, that we can forgive others and also be forgiven. This asking is of utmost importance! And so Jesus tells the story of the persistent friend who will not go away until he has gotten some bread for his guests.
Upon reading these passages, we might get the impression that God is but a flighty parent, uncommitted to having his “no” mean “NO.” But this is certainly not the point of our readings. For example, if we look at the first reading, we might wonder if God really intended to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah or if, instead, he received Abraham’s petitions on their behalf because he knew it was educative for Abraham. In other words, God knows that when we ask him for things it changes US more than it changes HIM. It’s likely that God was not so much convinced by Abraham as that Abraham convinced himself that even such sinners as those in Sodom and Gomorrah deserved to receive God’s mercy so that they could live.
So also the “Our Father” is meant to be a transformative prayer for those who pray it. We say this prayer not to change God’s mind about any of the things mentioned, but rather to change our minds. We want to become more sincere about our faith, and when we say this prayer faithfully and truly mean what we pray, it will transform us into holier people. This is true in general for the persistence of prayer. When we pray unceasingly to God, when we remember God throughout our day, offering him constant words of prayer, we are changed. God uses our prayer to make us more open to accepting his will for our lives.
The truth is that God wants the best for us. He wants to give us good gifts, and he wants us to recognize all of his gifts as good. Note that Jesus does not say that the Father in heaven will make us wealthy or famous or gorgeous; no, God has something better for us – the Holy Spirit. As Paul notes in today’s second reading, Jesus has brought us to life with him, forgiving all of our transgressions. Could there be any gift better than that of our salvation and the possibility for sustenance in the Eucharist and the help in our daily life that comes from the Holy Spirit still with us?
Today, let us commit ourselves to being persistent in prayer, begging God for all his good gifts so that WE might change OUR minds, that God might transform us into better and holier people.
- Maria Morrow