Our Help is From the Lord, Who Made Heaven and Earth"

Sunday Mass Readings

I wonder if there are things you have been praying for and they have not been answered. Sometimes it leaves us disappointed with God. Sometimes we even question God, “Why?” Sometimes we try to give answers, “It is not God’s will.” The theme of the readings today is prayer. But we will not concentrate on prayer itself, rather on how prayer functions in our lives. In many ways the readings teach us about and prayer, persistence and perseverance. the judge in the Gospel reading “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” The surprise element in the reading today is not that that Moses won the battle or the woman over her adversary. The surprise element lies in contrast that we can draw between the judge and God. God is not like the judge. Unlike the judge, God cares for his people. In fact, he is eager to give us what is good for us. There may be a difference in what we consider good for us and what God considers good for us. But then we know that from experience. There is a difference between what parents consider good for their children and what children consider good for themselves. How do you define a good parent? Is a good parent the one who gives his or her child whatever the child asks for? That will spoil the child. Is a good parent the one who removes even the smallest problem that the child faces? That will make the child incapable of being strong and self-reliant. Is a good parent the one who does the child’s homework? That would make the child dumb. Is a good parent one who never disciplines or corrects the child? That would make the child a criminal. A good parent is one who as the child grows up, gives the child what the parent knows from experience, from the larger picture, is good for the child. A good parent is one who makes the child develop a good character so that the child may make wise choices. The child does not understand that as much as we do not understand why my only child should have cancer, or why my child is handicapped, or why my spouse is unfaithful, or why God does not just win a million dollar lottery for me.

The point is this: Even without asking, God has already fulfilled the deepest longing of human hearts. What we want most is that we live forever; that we are forever in peace with no pain and sorrow; where we shall not want anymore; this longing for eternity, for salvation is already fulfilled. God gave us his only Son to fulfil that need. So when we persist in prayer, we are approaching a God who is all love, who cares about us and in his eagerness to see us happy, has fulfilled our deepest need.

St. Paul's words in the second reading are worth praying about: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, and who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient" (2 Tim 4:2).