A long time ago, probably when I was in 4th or 5th grade, I came across this gospel passage and it inspired me. The simplicity of Jesus’ command to pray with confidence and his promise that every prayer would be answered seemed, to my child’s mind, an untapped treasure. At the time I was consumed in my desire for a bulldozer. Actually, I think you call them backhoes, where they have the big scooper on the front and a smaller bucket on the back. My siblings and I loved to dig holes, build forts and were even hoping to work on a mini pond. So this type of machinery was extremely practical and, dare I say, necessary for an 11-year old. Taking Jesus at his word, I would pray each night before bed for a backhoe, preferably a John Deere but other brands were acceptable. This was a heartfelt prayer like you see on a holy card: hands clasped, eyes closed, kneeling down, next to my bed. Every morning for a few weeks, I would utter my prayer, go to sleep, wake up, and look expectantly out in the back yard. To channel Yogi Berra, all I ever saw was nothing!
To be honest I got pretty discouraged for a while. I was mad at Jesus and wondered about his teaching on prayer. Of course, in time, things made a bit more sense and I understood the teaching behind the words. That God is not some sort of spiritual pez dispenser who kicks out what we want when we say the magic words. I see now that it would have been a disaster to me and half my neighborhood if God had plopped a big piece of machinery down in the yard just so he could get my thumbs-up for answering my prayer. God sees the big picture and gives us what we need for salvation. He always gives us something when we ask but it might not be what we have in mind.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray; and when he does, he gives them (and all of us) the wonderful prayer we call ‘the Our Father’.
The first thing we notice about the Lord’s prayer is that it is full of petitions. The first one is that God’s name would be hallowed. The second is that God’s kingdom would come. The third is that God would give us our daily bread. And so on. The Lord’s prayer isn’t just a litany of praise to God. It isn’t just an expression of a pious wish that God’s will be done. It isn’t only a surrender of one’s own will to God. Just look at the request for daily bread. It presents to God what we would want God to give us. Having desires and expressing them to God are required by the Lord’s prayer. The Lord’s prayer requires us to trust God enough to tell him what we want—over and over and over.
The second thing we notice about the Lord’s prayer is that people don’t generally get what they ask for. Ask and you will receive, the Lord says. But how many people around the world pray the Lord’s prayer and go without food that day? And food is only the beginning. In every mass, we ask God for healing: “Only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Then we lug our sinful, sick, and sorrowful souls around another day or another week. Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us and that process is a long, tedious one because of our sinful tendencies.
So here is the third thing to notice. Jesus doesn’t promise we will get the thing we ask for. He says that if we ask, we will receive; but he doesn’t happen to mention what we will receive.
As much as that might disappoint, annoy, or even disillusion us at times, perhaps that is the most important point of all. If a sick person could heal himself, he would be the doctor, not the patient. The patient’s job is to want to get well. It’s the doctor’s job to figure out how to get him well. In the same way, the Lord’s prayer requires us to trust God enough to tell him what we want—over and over and over. Our job is to ask continually but never to cross the line into trying to be God or telling him how things should be done. God’s job is to figure out what to give us that will really fill us and heal us not just for a day, a year, or even a human lifetime; God always has his eyes set on eternity!
So we might not get what we ask for. And oftentimes that ends up being a very good things. As Garth Brooks once sang, “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” But as long as we keep asking, the Lord promises that we will receive—grace, strength, peace, joy, and life in measures we can only imagine!
Related to these lessons on the need for daily prayer, many of you probably saw that Archbishop Carlson released the names of clergy from the Archdiocese of St. Louis who have had substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against them. I know there is a whole range of emotions and feelings about this news. Some of you may be growing weary of the topic. Some of you may be reeling from seeing names on the list that you would never have expected. You may be wrestling with feelings including grief, betrayal, or disgust. And some of you may be experiencing relief that at last, the name of someone whom you knew to have committed a crime has been made public.
The Archdiocese has many steps and resources available through the Promise to Protect initiative. You can go to the archdiocesan website to find details about the investigatory processes and the make-up of our review board. For parents, there are also resources on how to discuss the topic with your family. Additionally, a special edition of the St. Louis Review with more information about the list, as well as related articles relevant to this topic, will been delivered to Catholic households in the archdiocese. But at this particular moment, I want to speak to you from a pastoral perspective.
Archbishop Carlson also asked that we make sure our parishioners know that we, your priests, will make ourselves available to you if you would find it helpful to have a personal conversation about this topic. All you have to do is call the office or send us an email and we’ll find a time that works for both of us.
As a member of the clergy, I want to say I’m very sorry for the scandalous behavior of any and all who have injured the young, vulnerable, and innocent by their actions. I am sorry that these ministers, who were supposed to represent the face of Christ, have done so much harm. I am sorry their selfish decisions have perhaps made you ashamed of your faith, made it difficult to trust, or even driven you away from God and the Church. I don’t blame you if you feel this way; it’s certainly understandable. Please know there are still many good priests who love God and love serving his people. I am humbled, honored, and blessed to serve you in this parish. I want to help restore the dignity, beauty, grace, and truth our Catholic Church is capable of proclaiming. Please keep deepening your relationship with Jesus. Please keep praying for healing for the victims of abuse in our diocese and around the world. And please, pray for us, your parish priests, that we can always exemplify Christ the Good Shepherd. Like Abraham, we trust that God hears the prayers of the righteous, even in the midst of terrible evil. There are many righteous men and women here at Incarnate Word and in the Catholic Church. So, with that confidence, we pray as Jesus taught us: “Our Father…”
