Sunday, July 25, 2010  Fr. Pat Grile

 

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

A little paraphrase on the first reading this morning.  Here’s Abraham whittling God down, trying to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.  And earlier this morning I was praying to the Lord and I said, “Lord, if only 100 people show up for Mass at 10:30 should I say Mass?”  And the Lord said, “Say the Mass, Pat.”  I said, “What if only 90 people show up, should I still say the Mass?”  “Say the Mass, Father.”  I said, “Well Lord, what if only 50 people show up, should I still celebrate Mass?”  “Celebrate the Mass, Father.”  I said, “Well Lord, what if only 25 show up, should I still say Mass?”  “Say the Mass, Father.”  I said, “What if only 10 show up at the 10:30 Mass, should I say the Mass?”  “Say the Mass, Father.”  Well, thank heavens more than 10 showed up. 

 

But you kind of get the idea.  Here’s Abraham.  Prayer is like that.  It needs to be persistent.  One of the beautiful lines in that first reading though, and it kind of sneaks in there—“The Lord remained standing before Abraham.”  In that culture in society to stand before someone was the position of humility.  If you stood before someone you were the lower asking something of the person you were standing in front of.  And for the scripture to say that God stood before Abraham was really almost anathema.  Whoa.  You never find that any other places in the scriptures.  So it was the image trying to say that God was so concerned about these people that He was willing to humble Himself before Abraham and allow Abraham to keep asking Him.  God knew what He was going to do.  He didn’t need Abraham to keep pushing Him. 

 

So there’s the tip-off again.  Prayer changes you and me.  Prayer does not change God.  It changes you and me.  God knows everything we need.  And in the gospel today we find Jesus praying.  When Jesus, the Son of God prays, humbles Himself before His Father before all the major events of His life in His ministry.  He prayed before He chose the apostles, the temptations in the garden.  We find Him constantly going away by Himself to pray.  He knows in His heart that He have to come before the Father to find the strength, the help that He needs.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  We are called into the very life and intimacy of Jesus that He has with His Father. 

 

Notice in the scriptures, of course we have them in English, when the Lord says pray, Father.  In the Aramaic it was Abba, Daddy, Dad.  Jesus is staying the relationship that I have with My Father, that is the relationship I want you to have. 

 

So prayer says a lot about what you and I think, how our relationship is with God.  Do we see God as some big ogre in the heavens, some big power, creator, sustainer, provider, keeping tabs on us?  Or do we think of God as someone who really loves us, care about us, who we can call Daddy, Mama, Papa?  How you pray will something about your relationship with God.  And Jesus is saying, “I want you to have the same kind of relationship that I have, one of intimacy, one of deep trust, knowing that God has your best interest at heart.” 

 

Now when you and I pray what do we do so many times?  I need this.  I want this.  Give me this.  I want health.  I want power.  I want riches.  Whatever it might be.  Then when we don’t get it we say, “Well God didn’t answer my prayer.”  We are praying dumb.  When we pray in the name of Jesus it’s to get into the heart and the spirit of Jesus.  So whether that prayer is answered the way you and I want it to be is not the point. 

 

Perhaps for me, I know in my life there was one point when I was just about a year before ordination.  And I was honestly struggling at that time, wondering if this is what God really wanted me to be and to do, to become a priest.  And I was filled with anxiety because a lot of my friends and classmates had left the seminary.  Some had been told to leave by the superiors and that was upsetting me.  This was on a particular Sunday morning.  I remember it very clearly.  We were in Mass at the chapel.  All the seminarians praying our hearts and singing like mad and I was filled with anxiety.  I couldn’t wait to get out of that chapel.  As soon as the ending song was over I literally went running out the front door.  I ran down towards the cemetery that we had there on our grounds.  And there was a huge crucifix of Jesus right in the center of that cemetery.  I came roaring in there and I raised my fist at this crucifix and I said, “I’m fed up.  I can’t take it any more.  I’m really frustrated.  I don’t know what the heck is going on.  How long do I have to put up with this, Lord?  Do you really know what You are doing?” 

 

And I looked at my fist and I sheepishly looked around and said, “O boy, I hope nobody else saw that.”  And I began to lower my fist.  And I tell you, deep within me a voice, something said very calmly, “You asked Pat if I know what I’m doing.  Yes I do.  You asked how long?  All your life.  All your life.”  And there was a deep sense of peace that came over me.  In that moment I realized I could talk to God from the depths of my heart, my fears, my worries, my anger, my pride, my selfishness, everything that I was, everything going on inside me.  I knew right then I could give to the Lord and God is going to say “Gotcha.”

 

Several years later when I was pastor down in St. Louis.  At that particular moment in my life, at that time too many things were going on and I was very close to leaving that parish saying, “Get out of here Pat, they don’t want you here.”  It was on a particular evening, after a meeting, when everybody was just, “What are you doing?  Why do you want to put this ministry in?  We are happy with what we have.”  And everybody was just putting up blocks.  Finally I reached the point and I said, “Do whatever you want.  I’m outta here.”  I left the cafeteria and I went up to the church.  And so I said, “Well here we are again Lord.”  I said, “You remember what it was like a few years ago when I poured out my anger and my frustration.  Here I am again.”  And I raved and I ranted for about half an hour, walking up and down the aisles of the church.  Finally I was physically exhausted and I just sat down in the pew and I said, “Okay, I surrender.”  And again deep within the Lord said, “Go back to that room.”  And I said, “No.”  “Pat, get your feet up and go back to that cafeteria.”  “Okay.”  

 

You want to see 300 people with big surprises on their faces as I walked back into that room.  They did not expect me to come back into that room and neither did I.  But I came back into that room and I said, “Here we are.”  And in the midst of that time that I had left and I had come back those people, among themselves somehow, I presume with the Spirit leading them, said, “Let’s give it a try.”  We worked together and put the ministry and the program in.  It was a Confirmation program for the high school students, for the kids of the parish, the young people.  Totally new for those people and that community.  And I said, “Okay.”  And we did it, and God blessed it.

 

So what you and I pray for, perhaps how we pray for it, but even more so I think the reality is you’re not always going to get it back the way you want it.  Because when we pray in the heart of Jesus we have to pray with such a deep trust, that “Lord I’m pouring it all out to You, but I know You know better.  But I’m still going to keep coming at You, giving You my hurt, my pain, my doubts, my fears, my hopes, my joys.” Whatever it is you’re praying and thinking and going on in your life.  Give it to God.  God’s big enough to handle it.  Don’t be afraid of that.  But also have the deep trust and awareness that God gives you what you need most at that time. 

 

Scriptures say it another way—God will give the Holy Spirit.  That’s great theology but just know God will give you what you need most at that time.

 

There is a beautiful prayer that came out of the Civil War.  I think one of the Confederate soldiers it’s attributed to.  But I’d like to end—you’ve probably heard this before.

 

I asked God for strength that I might achieve.  I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things.  I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.  I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.  I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for but everything I had hoped for.  Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.  I am among all men truly blessed.

 

Alphonsus, the founder of our Redemptorist order tell us, “Those who pray will be saved.  Those who do not pray will be lost.” 

 

Imitate Jesus and pray.