• 17th Ordinary Time (C), July 29, 2007
• Theme: Prayer: Persistent Relationship with God Who Loves Us

• In Genesis – Abraham is persistent in his prayer.
• Bargaining as if he were in a market place
• However, this kind of bargaining could only take place if Abraham has a close friendship with the other individual.
• The persistence makes sense if the two have a solid relationship.

• Today’s gospel has several segments, but they come under a general heading of a teaching on prayer.
• What is striking about the passage is something that we might just take for granted—Jesus prayed.
• Prayer is a major theme in Luke’s gospel and today we are reminded how important prayer was for Jesus.
• He was on familiar terms with God and the intimate way he spoke of God aroused the ire of his opponents.
• His disciples have heard how he has spoken about God,
• They have seen him pray on numerous occasions, and now
• They ask him to teach them to pray.

• The Disciples do not ask for an “approved list” of prayers.
• They just want to learn how to pray
• First, Jesus teaches them a simple yet profound prayer which sets the tone for all prayer.
• It begins with Abba/Father.
• He is telling his disciples that for them, God is not a distant potentate, but rather, God is close, like a loving parent.
• Having praised and acknowledged the goodness and holiness of God
• We ask God to provide us with what we truly need to live the life Jesus calls us to live - our daily bread.
• Since we are still in the process of becoming disciples, we continue to fall short and so we pray for forgiveness for our sins.
• Because we have been forgiven we forgive those indebted to us.
• Along the way we notice that Jesus is teaching us to pray in the first person plural: “give us…forgive us…do not subject us….”
• The very prayer Jesus teaches reaffirms our unity with one another in Christ.
• Even in the face of daily testing and “the final test,” we place our trust in the God Jesus has revealed to us.
(cf. Jude Siciliano, O. P.)

• The subsequent parables on prayer only reinforces what Jesus has already said—
• The friend finally receives provisions for his guests.
• The son receives a fish not a snake
• The petitioner is shamelessly persistent.

• Prayer: Persistent Relationship with God Who Loves Us
• So we should not be ashamed to “ask,” “seek,” and “knock,” since we know the goodness of the One we are imploring.

• At the end of the day,
• We can be persistent with a friend with whom we have a long term relationship.
• To build that relationship takes contact and conversation – prayer
• A real friend would never wish anything bad for us, but only good.
• This close and personal relationship with God that Jesus urges us to express in prayer stands in marked contrast to the wordy and self-serving prayer uttered by the Pharisee and the tax collector in other parables of Jesus.
• The kind of relationship Jesus wants his disciples to have with God is as with a “Father,” “Abba,” “Daddy”.
• Those who come to that kind of intimate relationship with God will experience God both as Father and Mother and as a friend who responds to them in need.
• Moreover, knowing God so intimately, we will ask for and seek what God truly desires to give: The Holy Spirit.
• In so doing we are putting ourselves in the hands of our Loving God.
• The Close friend who above all others cares about us

• Let us continue with our liturgy this morning in gratitude
• For the care and love God has shown for us
• For the opportunity to come close to our loving God
• For all people – all children of the one God

• Amen

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