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26/6/2016
24/07/2016 - 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time - C

24/07/2016 - 17th   Sunday of Ordinary Time - C

1ª reading Gen 18,20-32 * from Psalm 137 * 2nd reading   Col 2,12-14 * Gospel Lk 11,1-13

Today, thanks to the biblical readings, we must learn to pray. To say the truth we feel that we know how to pray, infect the question: “teach me to pray”, we never hear it. We believe that we know how to pray because we are able to ask, always pretending from God. Whoever asks, in effect, know what is he doing? Observe correctly: whoever asks something to God is thinking of himself, he is looking to see what he needs, what he is unsatisfied needs, what are the sufferings which are giving him a lot of thoughts, who are those people who are making him suffer, and he proposes a solution. He asks to God. But which God? To whom he is asking? What ideas has this God of life?   He is only capable to realize my own requests or can he know better or does he want other? No, these demands do not arrive, these are too much of a commitment. However, God, if he is God, is someone who has a heart, who has much higher desires or better than those of mine. Abraham was able to realize this, as also the disciples of Jesus.

Abraham get to know about the disaster of the sinfulness that the city of Gomorrah committed, the city in the south of the Dead Sea. And naturally, he also was aware that such sins called for repercussions. In Gomorrah though there lived his nephew, who was not part of this grave act which the inhabitants committed. Would he also be put under the sword? Would be also die he and his family? Here infact is when Abraham intercedes with God for his nephew. But he thinks that God needs to be convinced with intelligent reasoning, that he needs to bring plausible reasoning, that with him one could not be immediate and sincere. He does not ask about Lot but he puts a questions to put God in embarrassment: |If in that city there are 50 just men, would they with the unfaithful? You would thus appear unjust to the eyes of the people”.   Definitely not! God appears to appreciate the reasoning of the uncle of Lot. At this point Abraham slowly diminished the number of those who are presumably n just in the city, as if God was not aware of this. But God is at the same t is God who arrives at this point time merciful of Abraham. Strangely, the latter, stops at the sixth attempt, at the number 10. His mercy is limited. Not only, but Abraham did not use the seventh attempt, that which to God would have liked more. He does not say: “I will go to live in Gomorrah, would you have the courage to destroy it?” No, Abraham does not arrive to this point with the whole world, because after the punishment of Gomorrah the people continued to live in iniquity. God comes, in the person of the Son, and so, with the presence of this Just in the world, fire will not fall from the sky, neither in Samaria, when they want him to invoke the two brothers, “sons of thunder”.

The disciples of Jesus infact assist silently of their own Master. They must wait that he finishes: his payer infact is prolonged. How do they see him? What kind of words do come out of his mouth? Certainly they are amazed themselves, as they were used to the prayer of the Psalms and hymns of the synagogue and the temple, that they do not know how to pray. The prayer of Jesus is new, it is different, it is difficult: they ask him to teach them how to pray. And Jesus does not make them repeat the question another time. He immediately starts to answer: it seems that that they were waiting for this request for some time. Knowing how to pray, and praying in a way to approach the Father, is important. The prayer of Jesus is a true encounter. How face is transfigured because it comes illuminated by the light of God. He meets the Father, and in his encounter and from the encounter he comes out changed, different. You this yourself. When you encounter God you are not yourself as you were before. When you encounter God you are influenced by his own beauty, by his own goodness, by his own mercy. From the encounter with him you are transformed, more joyful, more hopeful, more generous, more free, more ready to give love and pardon. You come out with your prayers heard in your desire, that to receive the Holy Spirit.

Thus, Jesus starts in this way his answer: “When you pray, say: Father…” Every Word of Jesus is a mystery. The “when” leaves open the space: it you always pray, not only in the established times. “Praying” is not asking: Jesus uses a term that means “extending oneself”, as if to say: wanting to become in everything one with God, being immersed in his own love to take him everywhere you go, desiring to unite yourself with him to realize your own projects and thus extending his kingdom. Thus, when you do not think more of yourself, “say”. Simply, but not too much: say means do in a way that you will have in your heart those sentiments and those desires which make you pronounce the following words. Do not pronounce the word Father if you do not recognize himself son and you will not live obeying. Before you pronounce this word make yourself, little, humble and obedient. Today we will learn from Abraham, and learn imitating Jesus. The prayer, if it is true, will change, it will realize our own conversion and thanks to it, will change the world, which is in need of people who pray.