“Lord, teach us to pray”

I’ve got no doubt that many of those following Jesus in the Gospels were good people. They went to the synagogue (or to the temple, if in Jerusalem) on a regular basis. They had their prescribed times during the day for prayers. They also had their traditional prayers, written somewhere or passed on from one generation to generation. These prayers they knew by heart.

Yet, they must have seen something in Jesus which they did not possess. Once, they said that the way he teaches is not the same way their other masters teach. He teaches with authority. Now they must have seen something else. The way he prayed was, somehow, different to the way they were used to, or taught. And they must have also realized that it was good. Hence, they wanted to start praying like him. Perhaps they also saw that his prayers were more effective than theirs.

In answer to their request, Jesus did not give them a prayer-book to learn. Neither did he start teaching them how to sit or stand, taking different postures, etc. Instead, he gave them the Our Father – a prayer which we ourselves say probably more than once daily.

This prayer must have shocked quite a few people in those days. First of all, Jesus invites us to call God Father. Unheard of, in Jesus’ time. We remember that one of the accusations brought against Jesus during his trial was the fact that he called God “Father”. For the Jews, this was a more serious crime than working on the Sabbath: “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (Jn 5:18). Now, he is inviting us to do the same!

For Jesus, prayer was not just rituals, or saying formulas, often expecting some magical outcome. For Jesus, prayer is a dialogue with a loving Father, a Father who knows what is good for us, a Father who would never do anything that would harm us. More importantly, Jesus invites us to enter into a relationship with a God who wants to be close to us. This is why prayer is so important. Because, not unlike any other relationship, our relationship with God has to be nourished and nurtured in order to grow. Otherwise it will slowly taper off and die.

“Lord, teach us to pray”. This is a good question to ask, as disciples of Jesus. Being his followers, we desire to walk on his footsteps. Our hope is that, one day, our life will be like his. And prayer is a very important element of this lifestyle. Through the Our Father, Jesus teaches simplicity, honesty and humility. Above all, he teaches trust.

Simplicity, because there is no need for too many words. The essentials that come from the heart is enough.

Honesty, because he teaches us to present ourselves and our desires as we really are. With God, there is no need to pretend otherwise.

Humility, because through this prayer we know that we need God even for as little as our daily bread, as much as we constantly need his forgiveness in our lives.

​Finally, trust. Because we trust that He knows what’s best for us, and that He will give this to us. With a childlike trust, we are invited to throw ourselves in God’s loving arms. 

“Don’t you care?”

You have to love today’s gospel passage. It is so human, so real. We can all relate to it in so many different ways.

Martha’s question is not exactly a plea for help. She has been working hard. She is tired, exhausted. Moreover she sees her sister sitting there doing (apparently) nothing. Martha’s expression is more of an accusation rather than a question, addressed to her sister Mary, rather than to Jesus. It is this sister that doesn’t seem to care at all!

Jesus tries to help Martha understand the reason why he is there in the first place. It does not matter whether the house is perfectly in order or the meal is impeccably presented. He is there first and foremost to be with them. Rather than food or perfection, Jesus longs for presence, for relationships, for friendship. “You are worried and distracted by many things,” he tells Martha. “Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus does not rebuke Martha for wanting to get things done. Her problem lies in worrying and being distracted. Work, getting the house in order, making sure that everything is up to scratch, become for her things that distract her from what is really important.

Jesus longs for human relations. This is another very human element in this story, and yet it’s simultaneously so divine! Jesus feels the need of being with friends—friends who become disciples. Because Mary’s sitting at the Lord’s feet is noting but a sign of discipleship, someone who listens attentively to the master, always ready to learn and then to follow.

Jesus calls Martha’s name, twice. It’s a strong invitation for her to enter into the mind of Jesus and see what really matters. I can imagine Jesus inviting us in the same way: calling us by name, helping us understand what is really important in life. It’s an invitation to get our priorities right. Perhaps sometimes we tend to do too many things for Jesus. Things that may be good, important and praiseworthy. But how is my relationship with Jesus? If I try to do things for Jesus when my relationship with him is not nurtured, I might be struggling in vain. Perhaps I might do a lot of work for my parish, or my group, I might be working hard to set others on the right path, trying to convert others, trying to persuade relatives and friends, children and grandchildren to go to Church and do the right thing. It is only when I allow Jesus to have a real place in my heart that my actions can give fruit. Because welcoming the Lord is always an act which gives fruit.

We see this in today’s first reading, which speaks about Abraham’s act of hospitality towards the visiting strangers. Hidden in those three strangers is Abraham’s God, and the result of that hospitality is the birth of Abraham’s child, which went against all human logic.

In the recent film “Mary Magdalene” (whether she is the same Mary, sister of Martha, is something we won’t discuss today!), the relationship between Jesus and Mary begins with a beautiful dialogue:

"What is it you long for?" Jesus asks.
"To know God, " Mary replies.
"And yet you've felt God's presence," Jesus observes.
"Sometimes in stillness," Mary replies.
​
May we always be able to find those moments of stillness where we can experience God’s fruitful presence in our lives.

“Go and do likewise”

This instruction of Jesus which concludes today’s gospel reminds me of another moment in Jesus’ life when he gave the same instruction. It was that most solemn moment of the Last Supper. In John’s gospel, having had washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus tells them to do the same thing he had just done. If we take the other three gospels, where we have the institution of the Eucharist, Jesus does practically the same thing. Having given his body and blood, he instructs the disciples to “do this” in his memory.

The lawyer in today’s gospel, to whom Jesus addresses his instruction, had asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Being the good teacher that he is, instead of lecturing him Jesus tells him a story. Everybody likes stories, especially ones we can relate to. It was not unheard of in Jesus’ time that someone would be mugged on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. It was a dangerous journey often rife with robbers well-hidden among the hills of the winding, deserted road. Jesus tells the story of someone who had gone through that unfortunate experience, and left bleeding to death on the side of the road. Two people pass by, a priest and a Levite, both people of the temple. If they had touched the bleeding man they would have become ritually impure. They had a choice, and instead of helping the man with all the consequences, both decided to keep going. A third person comes by, a Samaritan. We know that there was no love lost between the Jews and the Samaritans. And yet, Jesus tells us that this man went out of his way to help the poor victim. He tended to his wounds, he took him into an inn to recover, and he payed for all his expenses. For that stranger, the Samaritan spent his time and money. Moreover, he did not bother with the fact that, getting in contact with the victim’s blood would have made him “unclean” for temple-worship. Indeed, here was a man who understood what Jesus meant when he insisted that love is the highest commandment. It is superior to all other commands, laws, rules and regulations, of which the Jews had more than enough.

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This was the initial question presented to Jesus by the lawyer. Through his dialogue with Jesus it is clear that he had his priorities right. He knew that love of God and neighbor is supreme. His doubt was about the definition of neighbor. Is it just the person of my own clan, faith or country? By using a Samaritan in his story, Jesus showed in no uncertain terms that my neighbor can be anyone, no one excluded, even my enemy! This would have been very hard for many people listening to Jesus to digest!

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” I suppose this could easily have been our own question if we were to meet Jesus personally. We all want to attain eternal life. And we would not mind knowing from the Master himself if there were a shortcut! If we were to answer that question ourselves, we would probably have given different answers. I am sure that our answers would have included obeying the commandments, prayers, Masses, other expressions of piety, etc. The list could have been quite long. Jesus tells us that it all boils down to the one supreme law: that of unconditional love. “Love one another as I have loved you”, he once told us in the gospel. This is how he loved us, without any conditions, while we were still his enemies as St Paul would say.

​As someone once said: Love one another. It’s as easy as this, as difficult as this.

I’m happy to say that, in my short stay in Toronto so far, I have lived through what is probably one of the happiest and most exciting times the city has lived in recent years. The Raptors’ win of the NBA championship changed, for a while, the city. People wearing the team’s jersey could be seen everywhere during these glorious weeks. Suddenly, almost everybody started talking and having an opinion about basketball – even those who, perhaps, do not usually follow the game very well. It was beautiful to see. People who managed to get a ticket for one of the finals games could say “I was there”. People who went downtown for the parade could say “I was one of that crowd”. However, for many, slowly life gets back to normal, and people go back to their own business. Wearing the Raptors jersey for a couple of weeks in the year does not make you a raptors supporter. The true supporters are those who are there throughout the year; they follow with passion all that the team goes through throughout the whole year.

I thought of all this as I was thinking about being a disciple of Christ. Is it enough to put the jersey on every once in a while? We go to Church, most of us on a regular basis. Others are present on special occasions – weddings and funerals, maybe the feast of a favorite saint. Today Jesus helps us to understand that, being his disciple entails much more.

Last week we have seen Jesus embarking on a journey, during which he calls some to follow him. In the gospel he had already sent the twelve apostles “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick”. Now he sends another seventy-two disciples. These do not form part of the intimate group of the twelve. Like you and I, they are mere followers of Jesus. People who have somehow experienced an encounter with Jesus and discovered that this person is worth following. He can offer something which others cannot.

What Jesus does today is very important. It is good, and it is important, that we follow Jesus. It is by following that we learn how he lives, how he responds to certain situations. It is by staying close to him and journeying with him that we can listen to his words and teachings. As Pope Francis reminds us, "The missionary disciple has first of all a center, a point of reference, which is the person of Jesus." And now Jesus is showing us that it is not enough for his disciples to follow and receive from him – whether that includes teaching or some form of healing, or both. Like the chosen twelve, the disciple also shares in the mission of Jesus. He is also sent to proclaim, to give witness. Pope Francis points out that our status as missionaries is not a consequence of ordination, but of baptism, that all of us are called to be missionary disciples, to be sent by Jesus and speak on his behalf. If I were to be a disciple who seeks only to receive from Jesus without sharing what I received with others, that would make me a very selfish disciple. And selfishness and Jesus do not go well together!

Finally, the Master tells us to take with us only what is essential for the journey. Those who are sent to proclaim are “secure only in the love of the one who sends them, remaining strong only on the power of his word which they go to announce,” reminds us our Pope. And what we are to give to others is the gift of his peace.

​The twelve, the seventy-two, eventually changed the world. They shared the same passion for the well-being of humanity that Jesus had. They were not people who wore the colors of Jesus every once in a while. This is what we are called to be: people who, with passion and love, bring his peace wherever we are sent.