Friends, we come to a set of readings today in which, once again, we see how important it is for our freedom as sons and daughters of God to engage God in prayer. But knowing that the purpose of prayer, more than the accumulation of goods, is communion, relationship, a relationship with God more than what He can give us. We are entering into a loving, joyful celebration of His love for us and our love for Him.
And we start off with a man who was very united to God, in fact chosen by Him to be a prophet. We have been hearing about the prophet Elijah throughout these readings this week, and we are told about his successor Elisha in the Book of Sirach. That Elisha was fearless. The exact quote is: “During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will” (Sirach 48:12).
Now the same was true of Elijah the prophet, his mentor. Elijah the prophet stood before kings, as we have seen with Ahab, and queens, his wife Jezebel, and the false prophets, the ones he challenged to place their offerings to their false and non-existent god on an altar, while he simultaneously placed his offering on another altar to the true God. And the challenge was that they would both call down fire from heaven, from the true God, upon their offering, and whichever offering it consumed, that was an indication of who was serving the true God. And of course, the false prophets, worshipping false gods, had nothing in answer to their prayer, while Elijah's prayer was heard with a fire from heaven which devoured his offering.
Now he was able to stand before all these false prophets and these ruthless kings because he first stood before God in awe, and in reverence and in love. Many people today fear public opinion, what others think of them and what others might say after we share the truth of what has happened in our lives by encountering our Lord Jesus and getting close to Him and allowing Him to transform our hearts and our minds. We fear what people might say.
And now governments, of course, are doubling down on their persecution of Christians, trying to limit what we can express, what can be said, all under the guise of love. Of course, many people today fear criticism. Just as soon as you begin to criticize a political movement, or a national organization that's meant to protect people, or even religious leaders who are called to serve and protect the flock of Christ, as soon as you constructively criticize what is going on, you'll get backlash. And a lot of people fear that backlash. Many people have experienced rejection because of what they have stood up for, and so they begin to fear even rejection.
There's a lot of fear in today's culture regarding failure. Success at all costs, even if it means doing evil as a means to achieving an end, as good as that end may seem. My brothers and sisters, we need to stand before God in awe, wonder, and love in order to overcome these fears that creep into culture and society. We need to unite with Him in prayer. And this is what Jesus is teaching us in today's Gospel.
The goal of prayer is not information. God already knows what our needs are. We don't have to provide Him with a whole bunch of information that He already knows. The goal of prayer is communion. So not merely getting things from God, but becoming friends with God. Jesus in the Gospel said: “I no longer call you servants, but friends, because servants do not know what the master is doing” (John 15:15). But we know. We know what God is doing because He has revealed it to us. And He continues to reveal it to us in our hearts.
Saint Francis of Assisi would have loved today's Gospel because it begins with the words “Our Father.” The greatest discovery Saint Francis had made was that God was not merely Lord, Judge, or Creator. He was Father. And once Francis discovered this, he no longer needed wealth, possessions, power, or human approval. Why? Because the Father is in control. He's got it. He's got our back.
Take no money bag with you. No extra tunic. No staff. Why did Jesus instruct the Apostles to go out with as few personal belongings as possible? Because God would provide every single thing for them.
Now, my brothers and sisters, the saints teach us that holiness begins when God becomes truly our Father. Prayer becomes relationship. Forgiveness becomes a way of life. And God's glory becomes more important than our own. For a lot of times we seek honour, prestige, fame, in a way which extols us as alternative little gods. The Our Father speaks directly against this in directing all glory, honour, and power to the Father.
My brothers and sisters, may the good Lord give us the grace to come to know Him as a tender, merciful, and loving Father in our lives so that we may help others recognize the same. That notwithstanding anything that has happened in their former lives, and what may come in the future, nothing will ever change His love for us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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