“Faith: The Wings of Prayer”
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
“FAITH IS BELIEVING IN THAT WHICH WE CANNOT SEE.”
Gospel: Life is oozing out of two people: Jairus’ daughter and the Woman
with a 12 – year hemorrhage.
-both of our gospel characters do not give into despair – no they
turned to Jesus.
-both Jairus and the Woman assumed positions of humility when
seeking Jesus’ help.
-both have faith, and both have their wish for healing granted.
Question: Does that mean that every time we pray, we will get what we want?
No! God provides us with that which we need to grow in holiness and grace. Sometimes our prayers get answered in a way far different than we wanted but things still seem to turn out all right.
Faith requires trust and abandonment!
-when we trust the Lord and place our cares into His hands, then
we must abandon our own self-interests and control issues and let Him work in our lives – at His pace and in His way.
Story: Jonathan Ritchie’s brain tumor
PRAYER IS NOT MAGIC!
Prayer requires energy and work, trust, and fidelity.
Just because we do not get the answer to the prayer, we want does not mean we should give up on our God or on one another.
Living the Paschal Mystery through self-abandonment and sacrifice:
Both of our gospel figures were staring death in the face. In a society where we like to deny death, postpone death, keep death at a distance, the Paschal Mystery invites us to see death as a doorway to life (that which we truly want).
Death is part of our human lives. Yet, Jesus’ inauguration of God’s kingdom vanquishes death and restores life. Like Jairus and the Woman, all we need to do to overcome death is to reach out and touch the nearness of Jesus.
Death is not part of God’s plan for us. With the coming of Jesus and he establishment of God’s reign over sin and death the integrity of life through Christ Jesus was restored.
God’s kingdom of life is not built by avoiding death, but by embracing it. Living the Paschal Mystery is none other than our daily dying to self – overcoming our fears and reaching out to Jesus in humility – in all the little practical ways that fill our daily routines.
Paschal Mystery dying is as simple as smiling at the children when we are bone tired or taking an hour out of my busy day to visit the sick. When we surrender in humility to His goodness and power, Jesus offers us life!
A quote to remember: “Faith furnishes prayer with wings, without which it cannot soar to heaven!”