Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr. Erasio Flores, SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
Tuesday 1st Week of Lent
To understand rightly what Jesus wanted to say in today’s Gospel, we must take note of two aspects. The first is his warning not to imitate the pagans in praying; and the second is his sublime message in addressing God as “Father.”
The “pagans” whom Jesus was referring to were the people of other nations then surrounding Israel, who did not know nor worship Yahweh, the true God. They worshiped many other “gods,” usually creatures; carved in images of wood or stones. They did not have the right concept of God. These people looked at their gods like human beings who get tired of listening. In 1 Kings 18, 27, the prophet Elijah told the worshipers of Baal, “Shout out louder. Baal is a busy god, or he may have gone out or perhaps he has gone on a trip, or he is sleeping and must be wakened.”
But no, it should not be that way. One should be, of course, persevering in prayer, not because God does not listen, but more for our benefit, so that we always stay attuned and in contact with him who is the source of blessings. We call this nowadays “connectivity.”
There are actually two dimensions of prayer: private and common or praying with others. We need to pray privately or by our own self, because prayer is the source of our spiritual life and also human strength. God’s action takes place in our lives through prayer. When we are withdrawn from the noise of the world, God’s Spirit can speak to us.
The other dimension is common prayer. As the song goes, “No man is an island, no man stands alone. In biblical terms, the words of Jesus himself vindicates this point: “For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them” (Mt 18, 19-20). Common prayer promotes a bond of love as brothers and sisters. In other words, it is not enough to be praying alone but as a people. Hence, the need to be together at the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist (Acts 2, 42).
Actually, the prayer which our Savior taught us, the “Our Father” has an essential message for us, it is meant to effect a radical change in our attitude towards God. The God of the Old Testament was a “warring God:” David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17, 45ff); Gideon and the Medianites (Judges 7, 19ft); Judith and Holofernes (Judith 13). But with Jesus becoming-man in the New Testament, he became our Brother; and God is no longer a warring God, but a loving and merciful Father who sends sunshine and rain on the just and the unjust, on the good and the bad.” With love and confidence, Jesus wants us to address God, as our Father, our merciful and loving Father.
