Today we hear about the Lord, who descended from the heavens in order to accomplish a particular mission. We read from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 10 to 11, “Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10–11).
Now, my brothers and sisters, this is a profound reading beyond our understanding. It is so deep and theologically rich because it perfectly describes the Word of God, who is Jesus, who descended into our midst, pitched his tent among us, as we're told in the Gospel of Saint John, that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14).
And then if we bypass everything else that he did throughout his life, which were many, many splendid things and blessings and miracles, when we come to the cross, he's on the cross and he's about to return to the Father. And what does he say? “It is finished” (John 19:30). “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Here we see the Word of God, who came down into the world and blessed it, gave it life, who now returns to the Father not empty-handed, not a failure in its mission, but one who has accomplished the task perfectly. Such a beautiful reading from the prophet Isaiah, who captures in this very short paragraph the beauty of what Jesus has accomplished for us by shedding his blood for us, redeeming us, loving us into heaven if we so desire. Because, my brothers and sisters, God did not create robots. He created us to be free. He created us to have a relationship with him, to speak with him, to dialogue with him as a loving Father. He wants to sit down with us and us to sit down with him and spend time with him.
And that is why Jesus in today's Gospel, on speaking about prayer, he says, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7–8). So the question might arise in your minds and your hearts, as it has in mine, to be honest, on occasion. Well, if the Father knows what we need before we ask him, then why is there a need to ask at all? And the reason is simple, my brothers and sisters, but I need to explain it to you by way of an analogy. Let's say you subscribe to a newspaper, or you subscribe to some product that you've ordered off of Amazon, and you've set it up in a way where this product is going to be delivered to you on a scheduled rhythm and cycle so that the provider, either the news outlet or Amazon, in this case, it knows what you need and it's going to send it to you, but it's going to send it to you because in its eyes you are a consumer. You're just a number. You're a means to a financial end, which is so different from what you are to the Father, the Father who loves you, the Father who desires to be with you, the Father who has everything ready to give to you already. He knows what you need, but he doesn't just want to be Amazon to you. He doesn't want to be just a supermarket to you. He wants to build a relationship with you.
And so we ask and we plead with him, and we thank him, and we rejoice in his presence because we're in a relationship of love. And we have to understand this point, my brothers and sisters, because otherwise we'll think it useless to even ask him for anything. And imagine that, imagine not praying, but still expecting everything to be given to us by the Father. Would that not just be an exploitation of God himself, reducing him to utility, that he's good to us only insofar as he provides for us? What kind of a son would I be if I loved my father only when he gave me stuff? What kind of a daughter would I be if I spoke to my parents only when I was in need? What kind of a relationship would it be if a wife and a husband spoke to each other only for their own selfish desires? And so, my brothers and sisters, we connect with God, we spend time with him, we pray because we love him and because we know that through Jesus he has shown us how great his love actually is.
May Almighty God bless you in your endeavor to grow in his presence, to grow as his son and as his daughter through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, who knows perfectly what a beautiful relationship with him can accomplish in our lives. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. May Almighty God remain with you always and let his face shine upon you. Amen.
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