READING 1:
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34 READING 2: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 GOSPEL: Luke 18:9-14
We have all heard priests, deacons or lectors make the occasional mispronouncement as they proclaimed the Word of God. Weddings are events where we are especially likely to hear mistakes because the brides and grooms choose friends or family to do the readings and they often have little or no experience reading the Scriptures. Usually, we photocopy the readings and the bride or groom gives them to the readers in advance. Then, we invite them to rehearse the evening before the wedding. Sometimes they make it and sometimes they miss the rehearsal for one reason or another. Once, a bride assured me that although her reader couldn’t make the rehearsal, she was an experienced public speaker and would do just fine. The big day finally arrived and everyone looked beautiful. The reader approached the altar with grace and poise and she looked elegant and confident. Then she looked at the reading and made a little face. I thought, “oh no, the book must be set on the wrong page.” But before I could get up to help, the woman regained her confidence and began: “A reading from the Book of Genesis. In the beginning, Yahoo created them male and female…” You have no idea how many times Yahweh appears in the passage until someone reads it as “Yahoo.” The details of prayer are important if they are to be effective in our lives. It is essential that prayer enters our hearts and opens us to our own reality and to change, to grow better, to be more like Christ invites us to be. I read this story. A high school youth group from a church in San Antonio, Texas, decided to do a mission trip to help some poor people. So they all got into a bus and traveled to a border town and went to work. They mended fences, they replaced boards on porches, they painted and cut weeds down, and they fixed a roof for one elderly couple. At the end of the day, they were tired and hungry as they began the trip home. They stopped at a roadside diner and went in. They sat for a long time without anyone coming to wait on them. Finally, one of the youngsters got up and went over to the waitress and told her they were ready to order. The waitress said, “I am sorry but I cannot wait on you as long as those two are with you.” She motioned toward two of the teenagers who were obviously of Mexican descent. She continued, “We are against all those people coming across our border.” The young man said, “oh, but these guys are okay, they are from our church in San Antonio and they were born here just like I was.” “It’s still the policy. We don’t serve any Mexicans; but I will let you order extra food and you can take it out to the bus for them if they leave the restaurant.” The young man returned to the group and reported. There was a prolonged period of silence. Then another teenager stood up and said, “I guess I am not that hungry Afterall.” He left, the others slowly followed. They got back on the buss and went up the road and found a McDonald’s to eat at. The next morning, the waitress got up and went to church and said her prayers and the teenagers in the youth group got up and went to church and said their prayers. The question is who prayed? Jesus frees us from the chains of our own making. Jesus was telling anyone who listened, he tells us, prayer must impact our lives to be meaningful. We can get by merely saying prayers and continuing to live as always. But justification, salvation, redemption, hope is only in prayer that changes our lives to a better way. When we really pray, all of heaven sings out a joy filled, “ Yahoo!”. Fr. Jeff McGowan |
