Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

MATTHEW 18:15-20
THERE ARE A LOT OF THEMES RUNNING THROUGH THE READINGS TODAY WORTHY OF A SERMON. BUT THERE IS ONE WHICH STANDS OUT. JESUS SAID “AMEN, AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, IF TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH ABOUT ANYTHING FOR WHICH THEY ARE TO PRAY, IT SHALL BE GRANTED TO THEM BY MY HEAVENLY FATHER. FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM.” A WHILE BACK MANY MEMBERS OF THIS PARISH PRAYED FOR A LITTLE GIRL WITH CANCER. WE PRAYED FOR HER HEALING. NO QUESTION, THAT'S WHAT WE ASKED, THAT'S WHAT WE AGREED TO PRAY FOR. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND I'M SURE MANY PARENTS IN THIS PARISH HAVE PRAYED TOGETHER FOR A CHILD – AND THE PRAYER DID NOT SEEM TO BE ANSWERED. WE CAN ALL THINK OF MANY TIMES WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE DID PRAY TOGETHER AND HAVEN'T SEEN ANY EVIDENCE THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARD. LISTEN TO THE PETITIONS LATER, THE PRAYERS WE MAKE AS A COMMUNITY. ARE THEY BEING GRANTED?
IF OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED, EVEN WHEN JESUS PROMISED THEY WOULD BE, THEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO POSSIBILITIES: JESUS WAS WRONG, OR THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR PRAYER. SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM SCRIPTURE ABOUT HOW TO PRAY? THE EVANGELIST DAWSON MCCALLISTER SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS ISSUE.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER. I THINK MOST OF US DON'T REALLY, OR WE HAVE VERY WEAK FAITH. LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF JAMES: “BUT WHEN HE ASKS, HE MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT. BECAUSE HE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA, BLOWN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. THAT MAN SHOULD NOT THINK HE WILL RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD; HE IS A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN, UNSTABLE IN ALL HE DOES.” AND JESUS TELLS US, “IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER”. THE LACK OF FAITH IS PROBABLY THE MAIN REASON OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED.
SECOND, WE ASK WITH THE WRONG MOTIVES. JAMES TELLS US: “WHEN YOU ASK, YOU DO NOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE YOU ASK WITH WRONG MOTIVES, THAT YOU MAY SPEND WHAT YOU GET ON YOUR PLEASURES.” I THINK THAT HAPPENS TO ME. FOR EXAMPLE, I MAY PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE ME MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE HIM. BUT I MAKE THIS PRAYER PARTLY BECAUSE I ENJOY EXERCISING MY TALENTS. OR I MAY PRAY FOR A FRIEND'S HEALTH, PARTLY BECAUSE I DREAD HAVING TO DEAL WITH MY FRIEND AS HIS HEALTH DETERIORATES. IF OUR PRAYERS ARE TO BE ANSWERED, OUR MOTIVES NEED TO BE PURE – OR AT LEAST, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THEM.
THIRD, UNFORGIVEN SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD. ISAIAH THE PROPHET SAID: BUT YOUR INIQUITIES HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD; YOUR SINS HAVE HIDDEN HIS FACE FROM YOU SO THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR” WHEN WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WE ARE PRAYING AS CHILDREN OF THE SAME FATHER; BUT THE PRODIGAL SON'S PRAYER TO HIS OWN FATHER WAS NOT HEARD UNTIL HE RETURNED. IN ORDER TO BE RELIEVED OF OUR SINS, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THEM, AND MAKE OUR CONFESSION.
FOURTH, WE SET UP FALSE GODS IN OUR HEARTS, THAT COME BETWEEN US AND GOD. A GOD, AFTER ALL, IS WHERE WE PUT MOST OF OUR ATTENTION, WHERE WE DEVOTE MOST OF OUR ENERGY. I BET YOU CAN THINK OF A FEW FALSE GODS THAT SEPARATE YOU FROM THE TRUE GOD; I CAN. AND THEY ARE THE USUAL; MONEY, FAME OR PRESTIGE, AND POWER. EZECHIEL SAID: “THESE MEN HAVE SET UP IDOLS IN THEIR HEARTS AND PUT STUMBLING BLOCKS BEFORE THEIR FACES. SHOULD I LET THEM ASK OF ME AT ALL?” WHAT ARE YOUR FALSE GODS?
FIFTH, WE DON'T ANSWER THOSE WHO CRY TO US FOR HELP. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS TELLS US: “IF A MAN SHUTS HIS EARS TO THE CRY OF THE POOR, HE TOO WILL CRY OUT AND NOT BE ANSWERED.”
SIXTH, WE DON'T MAKE GOD'S WORD PART OF OUR LIVES. HOW MANY OF US MAKE TIME FOR SCRIPTURE READING, SCRIPTURE STUDY, PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE? JOHN'S GOSPEL TELLS US: “IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORD REMAINS IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.”
AND FINALLY, SOMETIMES WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. ISAIAH TELLS US: “FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS".
THERE WAS ONCE A LITTLE BOY WHO TOLD EVERYONE HE WANTED TO BE A COWBOY. MANY YEARS LATER HE GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE AND TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE WAS GOING TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND BECOME A LAWYER. HIS FATHER GOT VERY UPSET. “WE SAVED AND SAVED AND FINALLY WERE ABLE TO BUY A RANCH AND STOCK IT WITH CATTLE, BECAUSE YOU TOLD US YOU WANTED TO BE A COWBOY!” “BUT DAD,” REPLIED THE YOUNG MAN, “WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME? I WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD!” TO GOD WE ARE ALL EIGHT YEARS OLD.
WHEN JESUS ASKS US TO PRAY IN HIS NAME, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE THROW HIS NAME AROUND IN PRAYER. SOMEONE'S NAME, IN JESUS' TIME, HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHAT THAT PERSON WAS ABOUT. WE SEE THAT IN SOME OF OUR ENGLISH SURNAMES, LIKE “TAYLOR, OR “HUNTER” OR “BAKER”. AND JESUS WAS ABOUT SALVATION, LOVE, JUSTICE; HE WAS ABOUT HEALING; HE WAS ABOUT THE POOR, ABOUT WIDOWS AND ORPHANS AND ALL THOSE ON THE EDGE OF SOCIETY. AS WE APPROACH THE FATHER IN PRAYER, WE NEED TO DEVELOP THE MIND OF JESUS, TO THINK LIKE HE DID, TO ACT LIKE HE DID AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SAINT PAUL TELLS US: “ YOUR ATTITUDE SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THAT OF CHRIST JESUS."
NOW NONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SHOULD PREVENT US FROM PRAYING. OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO BE ABLE TO PRAY THE RIGHT WAY. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US, “WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY AS WE SHOULD. BUT THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US WITH GROANINGS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS. … HE INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS (THAT'S YOU AND ME) ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.”
SO I MAKE MY PRAYER. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT TELLS THE FATHER, “THAT WASN'T A VERY GOOD PRAYER DON MADE. WHAT HE MEANT TO SAY IS THIS, SO PLEASE ACCEPT THAT AS HIS REAL PRAYER.” AND IN THAT WAY I CAN BE SURE THAT ALL MY PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED.