Prayer? Ain't nobody got time for that!

Luke 10:38-42

Whenever I hear the gospel story about Martha and Mary, I cannot help but feel sorry for Martha. It seems like Jesus is being unfair to her. If I was in Martha’s shoes, running around working while Mary just sat around, I would probably complain to Jesus. I would also be upset that Jesus didn't tell Mary to get up and help. We must realize that there is more going on here than meets this eye. This gospel does not downplay the importance of work or service. This gospel should, however, serve as a powerful reminder about the importance of taking the time to pray. It is critical that we regularly imitate Mary by putting aside our duties and take the time to consciously spend time with Jesus. Such a reminder is important as we find ourselves so busy with work, family and social commitments.

Deep down we all harbor the suspicion that prayer is not the best use of our time. Of course we would never say this out loud; in theory we all agree we should take time to pray. But our actions suggest otherwise. How often do we justify not praying by telling ourselves that we are too busy today? I once read an interview with Bill Gates that struck this point home. As most of you know, Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft and is now well known for his charity work.  Though I do not agree with all the causes Bill Gates supports, his generosity and drive in helping the poor is admirable. In the interview he was asked: “Mr. Gates, are you a religious person?” His response: “for me, I find that there are more productive ways that I can use my Sunday morning than being in Church”. I do not know whether Bill Gates still thinks like this, I mention it because I think that he said out loud what we often think. Often we think that there are better ways to use our time than spending it is prayer and religious pursuits.

The truth is that prayer makes us better people.  When we pray we give God the opportunity to transform us. I firmly believe that prayer makes me a better human being.  When I do not pray enough I find that I am less patient and not as kind. When I do not pray enough I lose sight of what is truly important in life and become bogged down in work and duties.  I become like Martha: distracted by many things. It is as though each of us is like an electric car which has batteries that power the engine. For a while the car runs great, but after some time you need to plug the car in otherwise the batteries get drained, the car loses power and will eventually stop. As Christians our “batteries” hold the grace of God, His strength and life, rather than an electric charge. If we do not take the time to re-charge we will stop working properly, we cannot live like Jesus intends. When we pray we “plug into” Jesus, the source of all goodness, love and kindness.  In prayer we become like Mary in the gospel, we sit at Jesus’ feet and He charges us with His grace. Plugging in an electric car to recharge it is not optional. Likewise for us Christians, taking the time to pray is not optional. When we pray we give God the opportunity to change us for the better.

In order for God to transform our lives through prayer we need to pray regularly each day. Just as regular practice is crucial to becoming a good musician, praying regularly is fundamental to becoming a good Christian. There was this great pianist called Ignacy Jan Paderewski. When asked about the important of practice he said the following: “If I miss one day of practice, I notice it.  If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.” If we pray regularly, we should experience the same thing. If you miss praying one day, you will notice the difference, you may be less patient for example. If you miss two days, those closest to you, your family, will notice a difference. If you miss three days everyone else will notice a difference. Sometimes we are inspired to make a grand plan to pray for a long time each day, but what usually happens is that after two days we stop. It is much better to choose a realistic amount of time to pray, and a certain time that you can be sure to pray each day and stick to it. For example, perhaps you just have time for five minutes of personal prayer each day that you can do first thing in the morning. The important thing is that you are faithful to this time and do it every day. This regularity in prayer is a great sign of love to God and will also allow Him to change you.

In the end, the more generous we are with God in our prayer life, the more He will be able to transform us.  God can only transform us to the extent that we give ourselves to Him in prayer. Generosity in prayer is about more than just spending time in prayer, but also about how open we are with Jesus. For example, the more honest that we are with Jesus in prayer about our problems, the more He can help us with them. There is story that illustrates this principle.   In India there was a beggar sitting by the side of the road. Every so often a traveller would pass by and place a little rice in the bowl the beggar was holding. One day the beggar heard the king approaching with his entourage. This was the moment the beggar was waiting for. Surely the king would give him plenty of rice! The king did indeed stop before the beggar. But when he bent over towards him, this great king said something unexpected. The king said to the beggar, “give me some of your rice”. The beggar was taken aback! He reached into his bowl and gave the king one grain of rice. The great king calmly replied “is that all”? Furious, the beggar took out a second grain from his bowl and tossed it at the king. With this the king gathered up his entourage and was off. The beggar, filled with rage, greedily fingered the remaining rice grains in his bowl. It was then that he noticed that one grain felt different to the touch. When he brought it out of the bowl he noticed that it was a grain of pure gold! The beggar quickly checked the rest of his bowl. To his delight he found a second grain of gold. He had one grain of gold for each grain of rice he gave the king. As the king walked away, the beggar couldn't help thinking “why on earth did I not give the king everything?!”  We should ask ourselves the same question. Why do we not give our King, Jesus Christ, everything? The more generous we are with God in prayer, the more God can transform us.

Though we are busy, if we are honest with ourselves and examine how much time we spend daily on television or social media I think we must conclude that we do have time to pray more. Today let us commit to praying more regularly. If you do not yet have a daily time of personal prayer, commit to pray 5 minutes each day at some time that works for you. If you are already do this, commit to praying 5 minutes more. Let us be generous with God. Pray regularly and allow yourself to be transformed by God. You will be doing yourself and everyone around you a favor.

Avoiding "God blindness"

Matthew 11:20-24

In North America and Europe God can seem so far away for many people. Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher, has written quite a lot about this. He explains that a few hundred years ago, belief in God was “axiomatic”, it was something that people simply accepted. Today in Western society this is just not the case. Believing in God does not come automatically. Many people are unsure if God exists, others say there is no God. What accounts for this dramatic change?

Though there are perhaps many reasons, I suggest that one is that we have become blind to the way that God works and acts in our life. In today’s gospel Jesus is warning the inhabitants of the cities in which He has worked His greatest miracles. Even though Jesus has done His amazing works in these places, the people have refused to change their ways and turn to God. In North America and Europe we have an abundance of good things: plentiful food, peace, access to education and a good medical system. Certainly things are not perfect, but we do have so much.  Often we can go through our lives ignoring all the good things that we have.  Perhaps it is because we tend to focus on the negative. We should stop and ask ourselves: why do we have all this goodness in our lives? I am not asking a scientific question here but a philosophical one. Science, for example, can tell us how we have so much food: good soil, climate, agricultural technology, etc. It is an entirely different question though to ask why we have so many good things.  Is it just chance?  Are we just lucky that the factors are such in the universe that we happen to have it so good? Or is the answer that there is a God who loves us and is trying to show us this by giving us so many gifts? One answer is not more scientific than the other. Maybe we have become like the cities that Jesus cautions in the gospel. God is working so much and giving us so much but we do not recognize it comes from Him. Perhaps as a society we have become blind to the way God works in and acts in our life.

Being deaf to how God is speaking to us is a real possibility for us who profess a belief in God and are trying to grow close to Him. We too regularly ignore how Jesus is working in our lives, just like the cities in today’s gospel.  The problem is that we expect God to work in dramatic and fantastic ways. God can work like this but more than not God speaks to us in simple, daily events: a conversation with a friend, a family dinner, a passage of scripture that happens to strike us or a sunset. We might complain that God is not active in our lives, that we feel unloved by Him or that He is not answering our prayers. We should ask ourselves if we are paying attention. Perhaps God tried to show you His love today through the smile of some stranger on the bus. Maybe God is trying to tell you to be more patient with yourself through the words of a friend with whom you are having a conversation. If you are having doubts about God’s power, perhaps He is trying to demonstrate it to you through some wonder of nature, such as a thunder storm.  Since God is always speaking to us through daily events, it is important to develop a discerning heart by 1) being aware of different events that happen to us (not just letting life pass us by) and 2) taking the time to ask, “what is God trying to tell me through this person or event”? God is always speaking to us, but often we are not listening.

Let us not make the same mistake are the cities that Jesus rebukes in today’s gospel by being blind to the works that God is doing in our lives.  We should notice them and allow them to lead us closer to Him. A very practical way you can do this is by taking some time at night to review your day to try to find one or two events in which God was active. Perhaps something good happened to you, for example someone said something kind. Or maybe you felt inspired to do a good deed for someone. Whatever it may be, identify it, give thanks to God and ask the question, “what is God telling me through this person/event”? You may be surprised by the answer.

Loving "difficult" people

Luke 10: 25 - 37

Today’s gospel covers a moral principle that is so fundamental, something we have all heard so many times. In theory we all agree that you should love your neighbor as you love yourself.   You would be hard pressed to find someone who didn't agree with the Golden Rule, to treat other people as you would like to be treated, it’s something we all learn in Kindergarten.  In today’s Gospel we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is such a beautiful and meaningful passage. Because we have heard it so often, we can listen without giving it a second thought.  We have no problem agreeing with the message.  Of course we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Of course our neighbor is everyone, there are no exceptions.  We get it, we need to love everyone and treat everyone as we would like them to treat us. When we hear the story we might even judge the priest and Levite harshly.  How could they possibly pass the man by who is in such great need?  I guess they both need to go back to kindergarten.  In theory we all agree that we should love our neighbor as ourselves and treat others as we would like to be treated.

In practice, however, it is not easy to love our neighbor.  In our daily lives we often encounter people who we simply cannot treat as we would like them to treat us.  Take a moment to picture in your mind some person, or perhaps people that you just have a hard time getting along with. Think of someone who upsets you, someone you find it difficult to be around, someone who you would never go out of your way to help.  Perhaps you were thinking of your boss at work who is rude and overly demanding.  Maybe you pictured someone who lives close by that you find annoying, someone who when you see them coming down the street you want to go inside your house and hide because you do not want to get into a conversation with them.  Or did you think of a member of your extended family who always gets on your nerves because they never pull their weight, they are just a little lazy? I suspect that we all were able to think of someone.  Two things are important to realize: 1) Like the man who fell victim to robbers, that person is in need of something. Perhaps it is something as simple as a kind greeting or someone to listen to them. 2) According to Jesus, that person is your neighbor, someone you should love as yourself.  The truth is that we all behave like the priest and Levite in the gospel, we often pass people by who are in need of our help, love and support.

           

We tend to make excuses that allow us to pass by our neighbor who is in need. Often we come up with reasons that justify our indifference toward people we come in contact with who are in help. The priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan did the same. The priest needed to remain ritually pure in order to do his job. If the man were a non-Jew or already dead, touching him would mean that he would become impure. Surely this should excuse him from helping the man. Levites were often assistants to the priests. Some commentators suggest that the Levite saw the priest pass by the man in need so   the Levite was able to excuse himself from helping the man, thinking “if even the priest is not helping him, I need not”. Like the priest and Levite we too make excuses for passing by those in need of love and help. We excuse ourselves from greeting a rude co-worker by telling ourselves that they are always unkind and abrasive to us. Why should we be nice to them? We make it too easy to pass by a beggar on the street by telling ourselves that they are probably faking or that they will just spend the money on booze. Further from home, we excuse ourselves from thinking too much about those in the developing world because they are so far away, nothing we could do could ever make a difference. We tend to come up with excuses that justify our indifference towards people who are in need of our attention.

The first step in loving our neighbor as ourselves is repenting of our hardness of heart, the indifference, we have towards some people. In order to really treat other as we would like them to treat us we must start by repenting for all the times that we have made excuses that have allowed us to think that some people were not really our neighbor and ignore their needs. Recently Pope Francis visited Lampedusa, a small Italian island far south of Sicily, close to the African continent.  Lampedusa is famous because tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Africa land there as they try to enter Europe.  Thousands of Africans have lost their lives making the journey to Italy from Africa.  Pope Francis spoke about how we have become blind to the plight of these refugees.  Our behavior towards them has been like that of the priest and the Levite in the parable. Pope Francis begged God for the grace to no longer be indifferent, to see again these refugees as our neighbors.  Interestingly the Pope did not come proposing some political solution to the problem.  He is telling us that the first step in loving others as we love ourselves is to stop being indifferent to those who suffer. The Pope wanted to show those refugees who suffer, our neighbors, that we see their sufferings and that we want to stand by them.  He went to make a “gesture of closeness”.  What the Pope has done is an example for us all.  Repenting of our indifference is the first step in loving others as we love ourselves.

During our life we won’t be able to help every person in need who we come in contact with. We cannot solve everyone’s problems, but we need to ensure that our hearts do not become closed to those who suffer.  We need to be careful that we are not making excuses that allow us to be indifferent towards some people, that we can pass them by without noticing their suffering.  This is the first step in following the commandment to love others as you love yourself.  Let’s return to that question I asked earlier, “think of someone who upsets you, someone you find it difficult to be around, someone who you would never go out of your way to help”.  Maybe it was your boss or relative. Today let us ask God for the grace to see that person as your neighbor who is in need of your attention. Let us try to stop making excuses that allow us to pass by this person. Ask God to remove your indifference.