Is God a slot machine?
19th Sunday in Ordinary time
1 Kgs 19:9a. 11-13a; Ps 84; Rom 9:1-5; Mt 14:22-33
Among the initial verses of the Gospel text which the Church proclaims on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time is a striking phrase which speaks of Jesus as going “up the mountain by himself to pray” (Mt 14:22-23). The next verse informs us that “when evening came, he was there alone”, showing us that Jesus’ prayer time was a rather long period and not some mere fleeting moments. All this convinces us that spending time in communion with God was an activity so dear to Jesus’ heart.
Perhaps this intimate and lengthy tête-à-tête between Son and Father rooted in love, contrasts sharply with Peter’s short petitionary prayer, inspired by fear and self-interest, which surfaces towards the end of this episode. Petrified by the strong wind and the mighty black waters beneath his feet, Peter screamed for survival and thundered: “Lord, save me!” (Mt 14:30). This reminds us of the sad fact that for most Christians, prayer seems to be an activity which has its place only at times when problems and difficulties crop up and takes the unique form of imploring for divine help and assistance. Within such a narrow mentality, God is envisaged as a slot machine, whom we seek only when we are in need, rather than as our Beloved Creator who delights in relating to his human creatures.
Jesus’ loving and trustful relationship with God the Father teaches us that Christian prayer is not so much a question of reciting words but of entering into a personal and profound relationship with God. The example of Saint Francis of Assisi beautifully illustrates this view. The first biographer of Francis, Thomas of Celano, described Francis as “living prayer”. “Francis did not so much pray,” he wrote, “as he himself became totally prayer.” This idea helps us realize that Francis did not recite many prayers but rather he lived in a deep relationship with God – he became prayer. “Prayer is the expression of intimacy with God and ultimately must shape the way we live our lives and what we become among the living” (Ilia Delio O.S.F., in “Franciscan prayer”).
This discourse on prayer reminds us of what Pope John Paul II says on the subject in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Ineunte, wherein he explains that “prayerer can progress, as a genuine dialogue of love, to the point of rendering the person wholly possessed by the divine Beloved, resting filially within the Father’s heart. This lived experience is a journey totally sustained by grace, which however demands an intense spiritual commitment and is no stranger to painful purifications (the “dark night”). But it leads, in various possible ways, to the indescribable joy experienced by the mystics as “nuptial union” (33).
May this Sunday’s Gospel verses (in which, as the above suggests, we can decipher two approaches to prayer) help us to refrain from narrowing down our prayer life to the making of supplications and petitions, and initiate us into the mentality of considering our prayer life in the more mature context of a relationship with the One whom our heart loves! Lastly, may the above considerations bring about a renewed commitment for everyday prayer in the heart of every believer!
1 Kgs 19:9a. 11-13a; Ps 84; Rom 9:1-5; Mt 14:22-33
Among the initial verses of the Gospel text which the Church proclaims on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time is a striking phrase which speaks of Jesus as going “up the mountain by himself to pray” (Mt 14:22-23). The next verse informs us that “when evening came, he was there alone”, showing us that Jesus’ prayer time was a rather long period and not some mere fleeting moments. All this convinces us that spending time in communion with God was an activity so dear to Jesus’ heart.
Perhaps this intimate and lengthy tête-à-tête between Son and Father rooted in love, contrasts sharply with Peter’s short petitionary prayer, inspired by fear and self-interest, which surfaces towards the end of this episode. Petrified by the strong wind and the mighty black waters beneath his feet, Peter screamed for survival and thundered: “Lord, save me!” (Mt 14:30). This reminds us of the sad fact that for most Christians, prayer seems to be an activity which has its place only at times when problems and difficulties crop up and takes the unique form of imploring for divine help and assistance. Within such a narrow mentality, God is envisaged as a slot machine, whom we seek only when we are in need, rather than as our Beloved Creator who delights in relating to his human creatures.
Jesus’ loving and trustful relationship with God the Father teaches us that Christian prayer is not so much a question of reciting words but of entering into a personal and profound relationship with God. The example of Saint Francis of Assisi beautifully illustrates this view. The first biographer of Francis, Thomas of Celano, described Francis as “living prayer”. “Francis did not so much pray,” he wrote, “as he himself became totally prayer.” This idea helps us realize that Francis did not recite many prayers but rather he lived in a deep relationship with God – he became prayer. “Prayer is the expression of intimacy with God and ultimately must shape the way we live our lives and what we become among the living” (Ilia Delio O.S.F., in “Franciscan prayer”).
This discourse on prayer reminds us of what Pope John Paul II says on the subject in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Ineunte, wherein he explains that “prayerer can progress, as a genuine dialogue of love, to the point of rendering the person wholly possessed by the divine Beloved, resting filially within the Father’s heart. This lived experience is a journey totally sustained by grace, which however demands an intense spiritual commitment and is no stranger to painful purifications (the “dark night”). But it leads, in various possible ways, to the indescribable joy experienced by the mystics as “nuptial union” (33).
May this Sunday’s Gospel verses (in which, as the above suggests, we can decipher two approaches to prayer) help us to refrain from narrowing down our prayer life to the making of supplications and petitions, and initiate us into the mentality of considering our prayer life in the more mature context of a relationship with the One whom our heart loves! Lastly, may the above considerations bring about a renewed commitment for everyday prayer in the heart of every believer!
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