Recharging the batteries with prayer

Homily for 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2015

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39

Introduction

Has someone ever asked you why you spend in prayer rather than using that time to do good works, like feeding the poor?

If you have been asked such a question then you are in good company.  The same thing happened to Jesus.  We heard that this is how he began his day. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

Scripture and Theology

What did a typical day in the life of Jesus look like?

·        Last Sunday we heard how Jesus went to the synagogue of Capernaum on the Sabbath to pray like any faithful Jewish person did.

·        We then heard how he made a great impression not only by his teaching which had a unique air of authority, but he also cured a man who had been possessed by a demon.

·        After the Sabbath service, and this is where today’s Gospel begins, Jesus and his disciples went to Simon’s house; they probably were looking for a free meal – as sons often do.  But Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever.  Jesus again came to rescue and healed her.  On getting better, she returned the favour by waiting on them and providing dinner.

·        Later that evening, after the Sabbath was over and people could once again begin to go about their business, we heard that “they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.  The whole town was gathered at the door.  He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons. . . .”

·        Finally, Jesus must have gone to bed really late and probably very tired.  That was a typical day in the life of Jesus.

But then, how does he begin the next day?  He had every reason to sleep in, given how busy the previous day had been.  But instead, “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

But the disciples could not leave him alone.  Probably they thought he wasting precious time, during which he might have cured a few more people.  That is why when he finds Jesus at prayer, Simon Peter scolds him, saying: “Everyone is looking for you.”  They want you to continue healing people like you did yesterday.  But the response of Jesus is: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come.”  Instead of going back to Capernaum, to enjoy the status a superstar, a celebrity, Jesus chooses to go and pray and after prayer, to continue his ministry in another place.

For Jesus, prayer was essential.  That is elsewhere in the gospels we see him often withdrawing to deserted places, sometimes alone, sometimes with his disciples, so that he can pray, so that he can talk with God his Father.  Especially when he is preparing to do something really important, like at the beginning of his ministry, like before he choose the Twelve Apostles and like before he gave his life on the cross, Jesus always first went off to pray.

For Jesus prayer must come first and then the good works of his ministry will follow.  His work is strengthened and made fruitful only because of the profound relationship that Jesus has with God, a relationship strengthened by prayer.

Christian Life

If praying was necessary for Jesus, it is even more essential for us his followers.  There are many ways in which we pray:

·        We pray as a community when we come to Mass on Sundays like we are doing today.

·        We pray as a small group through various devotions like the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, charismatic prayer meetings and adoration.

·        We pray privately when we say the traditional prayers, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and when we spend time with God in Church or elsewhere.

But why do we do all these things?  Would this time not be better spent doing good works, doing practical things that help people in a concrete way?

·        You could spend this time tutoring a child struggling in school or baby-sitting so that the mother might go to work.

·        You could spend this time doing an extra job, to earn extra money that you could donate to the poor.

·        You could spend this time volunteering with some organization that helps needy people.

But like Jesus, you choose to use this time for prayer; so that after the priest dismisses you, saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” you are well armed, recharged and ready to do these things and to do them even better.

And yet, we who do pray must be careful that our prayer is real prayer.  Our prayer must be a genuine conversation with God, much like a conversations between friends.  There are three ways we could turn prayer into something else.

First, we should not pray simply out of obligation.  We don’t talk with a friend simply out of obligation.  We talk to each other because we love each other.  In the same we talk to God in prayer, because we love him and we know he loves us.  I remember that when I was a kid, sometimes prayer felt like checking off a get-out-of-hell card.  Jesus prayed, not because he had to, but because he loved the Father and wanted to keep in touch.

Secondly, we should not pray simply because we want to get something from God.  If the only time you speak to a friend is when you want a favour from them, that friendship will probably not last that long.  During the football season, some people often ask me, why I don’t say anything about the New Orleans Saints at Mass and why I don’t pray for them to win!  After mustering all the politeness I can spare, I usually remind them that perhaps my prayers might better be used for more urgent problems of the world today, like wars, hunger, Ebola.  We pray to God, not only to ask him for things, but also to thank him, praise and even moan to him like Job does in today’s first reading.  Prayer should not be demanding that God do our bidding; we propose and we wait for his answer.

Finally, prayer is not therapy or entertainment.  Sometimes prayer is joyful, especially when we are praise and thank God.  Sometimes prayer is sorrowful, especially when we bring to God our difficulties.  Sometimes prayer is neither joyful nor sorrowful, but is simply a serious conversation between us and God.

Conclusion

After Jesus, Mother Theresa of Calcutta is perhaps the best example of a woman who understood that prayer preceded good works, and that prayer was true conversation with God.  Mother Theresa was known throughout the world for her great works of charity.  What most people do not know about her is that before she and her sisters went out into the streets to help the needy, they always started their day in prayer.  And at the end of their day, they brought all their experiences to God in prayer.

May our days always begin and always end with prayer, so that we can be sure, that our good works are indeed the works of God.