Tuesday February 20, 20181st Week of Lent
1st Reading: Is 55:10–11
Gospel: Mt 6:7–15
Jesus said to his disciples, “When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.“This, then, is how you should pray:Our Father in heaven,holy be your name,your kingdom comeand your will be done,on earth as in heaven.
“Give us today the kind of bread we need.“Forgive us our debtsjust as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.“Do not bring us to the testbut deliver us from the evil one.“If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A little boy who can barely pronounce even easy syllables sends God this text message: “Our Father thou art in heaven, Harold be thy name…” God does not reply. He is not Harold. The boy texts again: “Give us this day our daily bread with French fries and a drink of marmalade…” God is not replying; the boy is ordering, not praying. The boy texts one last time: “Do not bring us to the test but deliver us some email. Amen”.
We may not mispronounce the “Our Father”, but how many of us rattle off this formula without even thinking of its meaning? In the first place, do we know how to pray? Three men argue about the best body position at prayer. One says kneeling, while the second says lying in prone position. The third, an electrician, gave this thought-provoking answer: “The best position at prayer is when I am up there hanging up-side-down held only by cables at my waist repairing a live electric transmission line.”
Praying as we should is not about body position but disposition. The electrician’s disposition of total self-surrender is the best disposition at prayer. We fail in this regard. Haven’t we approached God at prayer like we are approaching a vendo machine? Vendo machines pertain to entrepreneurship; prayer is about relationship. One who is in a genuine relationship cannot afford to treat the beloved as a milking cow. At prayer our hearts should remain open to God’s Will, believing that even before we pray the Lord already knows our needs (Matthew 6:8).
We don’t differ much from the child who took the words of the Our Father wrong. While we rattle off this prayer in perfect pronunciation, the motive is not to build deeper relationship. It is rather to place before God an urgent order of specific needs. Then we sulk if no delivery happens thereafter. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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