30 Sunday in Ordinary Time -
A Reflection by Fr. Leo
“The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.” (SIR 35:16-18)
We have a wonderful tutorial on prayer this morning. The scriptures teach us much about prayer and the proper disposition for prayer. Quoted above is the last part of our first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastics. I would recommend it before any prayer session.
The first phrase, “The one who serves God willingly is heard,” reminds us that it is our choice to seek and serve the Lord. Our prayer is for God’s will, which we believe is also the best for ourselves. Later it says, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds.” The lowly refers to the weaker members of our community, the orphan and the widow, but in this context it refers to the disposition of the prayer. The lowly one is the humble one who may be strong, but who too, hears the cry of the poor. Our psalm echoes his this notion with the refrain, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”
In the gospel the correct disposition of the prayer is made eminently clear. The rich man who is full of himself is not heard. He is not blessed with God’s love. He is too busy loving himself with his own boasting. On the other hand, the real sinner, who is humble and begs God’s mercy, is heard. Though he cannot lift up his eyes because of guilt and shame, the Lord raises him up. God’s love can embrace him because there is room in his heart. The Lord lifts him up and justifies him because his desire to live for God, and not himself, is real!
When we pray, our desire to love God opens our bodies, minds and heart to God’s will. It is God who blesses us and seeks our love, and God will always hear such prayer and respond swiftly as if he was sitting next to us in prayer, because he is. True humility is the foundation of genuine prayer, and such humility makes possible the action of God’s love. Let us pray with humility then, that we may experience the love of God in our lives, which is sweeter than anything we could desire for ourselves.