Pray in my name and...

Last Sunday Jesus talked about prayer and persistence. Jesus also says in the Gospels that pray for anything in my name and it will be granted to you. Obviously this is not to be taken literally.
Prayers answered need to be in the will of God. The will of God in our lives will include a relationship with God that is continually being deepened and strengthened. A request in Jesus' name for millions of dollars will not be answered because most likely, that will harm our relationship with God. Having every desire we wish will not keep us on our knees but learning dependence and trust in the great things of creation and not the creator.

Another thing in the will of God is that all people be saved. Persistence in prayer is a theme of last Sunday's Gospel. Anyone can pray for something once or twice, and then perhaps that petition fades on us. The prayer goes seemingly unanswered and we think God does not care. Thank God that Monica never ceased praying for her son Augustine or we may never have had this doctor of the Church. Since God does not infringe on free will, God's timetable is just a bit different in answering prayers for people.

I wonder why God waited more than 20+ years to bring me to the priesthood. Obviously the way I was living, my free will said no and God respected that no. Thankfully people did not cease praying for me and twenty years later, I had a disposition that when asked, I was open to the possibility and said yes...free will and all. We all know people that are not in or have left the sheepfold. It is God's will they be saved. It will take much persistence in our prayer life and it will take time for God to break the hearts of stone and prepare them for a change in life and attitude. We make our prayer today for the hearts that have hardened to God...that through grace, God find a crack in the stone to pry open and be invited in.

R&R

What does rest and relaxation mean. For many, the grind of work makes them feel they are being cheated out of life so R&R means go like crazy on the weekends and whenever the opportunity affords them. Often, vacation and weekends can weaken us more so that we feel exhausted. Keep Holy the Sabbath is a commandment from God. Not for God's sake but for our sake. It was such an important commandment in 1st century Judaism, (and even today for that matter) that in Mark's Gospel, healing on the Sabbath was the incident that the religious began their plot to put Jesus to death.

For years, I played softball a couple nights a week and on most weekends. The weekends could get crazy and we would play many games. We would travel back and forth from home to the park, or after the games, there would be a social aspect of weekend tournaments in these rural communities with the firefighter picnics and going to the wee hours sometimes. There was always something happening, but in retrospect, this schedule kept me drifting farther and farther from God. It may have seemed like rest but it wasn't, and it certainly was not holy. The relationship with God dwindled and this busyness of life results in many souls even unwittingly severing ties with God. Is it a wonder that there is a crisis of faith if we do not keep the Sabbath Holy or encourage some rest with younger generations.

God commanded us to take time and relax because God knows what our body and mind can handle far better than we do. We may know our limits physically, but mentally and spiritually, our limits are exceeded far to often with bad consequences. Many people work on Sunday, but you could take another Sabbath, or a time to recharge. The Sabbath was made for worship and rest. To remain spiritual people, a day set aside for resting the mind and contemplating God is crucial. I often think why it is that the last couple of generations have drifted from God when the previous generations held it together. We live in a world where there is far more free time and far more activities and gadgets that take our minds from God and we need to be consumed with all the fun. That takes us from God and the natural progression will be to take us from any faith life and keep us immersed in ourselves and our world.

Piece of cake??

Christianity is so easy...just a plain piece of cake. That is until we get readings like the Good Samaritan on Sunday. I heard of a deacon who began his homily on Sunday announcing a second collection for the orphans and widows of Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. He was joking, but what a question to chew on when Jesus asks us who our neighbor is in explaining the mission of the Good Samaritan. This is where the rubber meets the road in Christianity. This is where Christianity ceases being a piece of cake and actually becomes a little difficult.

To top it off, today's weekday Gospel has Jesus telling us He came not to bring peace, but the sword. Division will be rampant...why...because wherever free will is present, there will be division. It is free will though that allows genuine and authentic love of neighbor and love of God. Free will also can choose evil and we all know that happens. In the Good Samaritan and this deacons point about our enemies, lies a truth to wrestle with that makes us uncomfortable. That is really what Jesus does quite often...His teachings make us uncomfortable. It made the first century religious uncomfortable and He was put to death.

The bottom line, as followers of Jesus...if we cannot follow the hard teachings of Jesus and love enemies and minister to them, who will? Jesus tells us that anyone can love those who do good to them...that is not hard...but who can do good to those that harm them? Jesus did...He wants us to also. To follow Christ is picking up a cross in His hard teachings. If we as Christians cannot show mercy, then there is no hope for anyone...no one will learn that there is an alternative. For society and its ills, a dose of civility and mercy can stop so many examples of cyclical cycles of evil. We pray for the courage to love.

Revelation or speculation

There are so many interpretations of world events as they pertain to the Book of Revelation and that of the prophetic writings. Some Evangelicals have made their entire ministry to the world the preaching, writing, and interpretation of the events in the world in which we live and then interpret the writings of Sacred Scripture to shed light on how the end of times will unfold. I bring this up because I heard yesterday how the gulf oil spill resembles one of the seven seals of revelation. (Truthfully, I was wondering when I would hear that this oil spill was linked to the end of the world and God's judgment.) I have heard hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami, any earthquake, and a host of any event being tied to God's judgment on humanity. I guess I find all of this kind of dangerous to be laying on God.

Are any or all of these events caused by God? Maybe, but I don't know that it's true and I certainly do not know if it's for the purpose of judging sinful humanity. It is a dangerous thing to offer God as a cause and then tell us why God had to do it. All of God's revelation is already in the Sacred Scripture and no more revelation is expected before Christ returns. Why do people insist on speculating as to the motive of God's purposes for anything that happens in the world? Certainly it is our faith that God is in control. If God does not cause, then God permits things to happen. Could God stop calamity...sure, but God set a world in motion and usually does not interfere.

Jesus clearly warns us in the Gospel that we are not to worry about the end of times. No one knows when Christ's return occurs. Jesus wants us busy with more important things like witnessing God's love to the world and to show that light to those in darkness. I don't believe we need to be judging and condemning the world when tragedy occurs and it certainly is counterproductive to engaging the world.