17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray….”

Lk 11:1-13

THEME

I was with a group of teachers on an educational and cultural tour in Thailand. We were at the ‘klongs’ that morning. Klongs are the canals where tourists go to buy souvenirs as well as food. The teachers were haggling with the vendors. Their principle was: your starting price for haggling is one-half the stated price. In the course of the negotiations, a vendor asked: “From the Philippines?” It seems that Filipino tourists are known for haggling in order to get a good price.

What we have in the first reading is Abraham haggling with Yahweh. He suc-ceeded in lowering the required number of good men from 50 to 10.

The first reading is usually chosen because it is related to the Gospel. Where is the point of contact? “I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.” The point of contact is the persistence of Abraham and the persistence of the neighbor. Both illustrate persistence and perseverance in prayer of petition which is the theme of this Sunday’s Gospel.

EXEGESIS

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray….”

I think that this disciple was so touched and inspired when he saw Jesus praying to his Father in heaven that he was moved to asked to be taught how to pray. This led to Jesus teaching us the “Our Father”.

There are two versions of this prayer. The other one is in Matthew. The version of Matthew is longer and more formal because it came to be used as a liturgical prayer. And that is why it is his version that we use at Mass. Luke’s version is shorter and that is why scholars say that Luke’s Our Father is probably closer to the original.

What is the source of our confidence that God will hear us?

What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

Matthew’s version if probably the original: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”

Father

The Aramaic is ‘Abba’. And abba is how you call your father. In our culture it might be translated as daddy, dad, papa, pa, tay, itay and tatang.

I propose an experiment. For a whole week when you pray, instead of addressing God as God, Lord, or Father, use the term for your father. I do that. Iba ang dating. Feeling ko mas close. A word of caution. If you have a difficult relationship with your father, this might not work. But give it a try anyway.

Hallowed be your name.

In the bible the name is the person. I would paraphrase it in this way: May you (God) be given reverence.

Blasphemy is not giving God the reverence that he has a right to. I never un-derstood what blasphemy meant. And I think it is because Filipinos don’t blaspheme God. I finally understood what blasphemy meant until someone said that "xxxxx" blaspheme a lot. And he gave this example: Porco Dio! Translation: God, you’re a pig!

Your kingdom come.

The Jews avoid using the name of God. Hence, the use of the term ‘kingdom’. Kingdom should really read: Kingdom of God or reign of God. I would paraphrase this as: May all people welcome you into their hearts.

When I bless homes, offices and cars, I always remind the people that this ritual means that you are asking God to be present in your home, in your office or in your car. Then I add: “But you can not have God in your home, in your office or in your car, if you have not first of all welcomed him into your lives.”

Daily bread

“Why not monthly? Or weekly? Why daily bread” a pupil asked. His teacher answered, “Because in those days they didn’t have refrigerators yet.”

The NAB (New American Bible) says that the word used for daily could also be translated as future bread. In this case, what is being prayed for is the definitive coming of the kingdom which is often portrayed as a banquet.

It is interesting to know that early Christian literature interprets the daily bread as the Eucharist.

Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.

Once Don (St. John) Bosco had to intervene when two boys starting fighting in the playground. He tried to make the two reconcile. One was agreeable to it. The other was not. Later he invited this boy to come with him. They passed by the chapel. They started to pray the Our Father. But when they came to the words “Forgive us our sins”, he turned to the boy and said you can’t say those words because you are unwilling to forgive your schoolmate.

And do not subject us to the final test.

The NAB says: Jewish apocalyptic writings speak of a period of severe trial before the end of the age (end of the world), sometimes called the "messianic woes." This petition asks that the disciples be spared that final test.

TWO OBSERVATIONS

First observation. The first part of the Our Father is regarding God. The second part is regarding us.

Second observation. What pertains to God is shorter than what pertains to us. What pertains to God is in one verse while what pertains to us is in two verses.

The same observations can be said about the Ten Commandments. The first part is for God and consists of three commandments. The second part is for man and consists of seven commandments.

CONCLUSION

Let me end by going back to the First Reading and getting some lesson from that, too.
In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.”

What is the important lesson? Don’t immediately believe in hearsay. Don’t act on hearsay. Verify. Many conflicts can be avoided, if we just take the trouble of finding out first whether what was told to us is true or not.

---------------------
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - finvoc@yahoo.com - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.