July 25, 2010

    Little Johnnie wanted a bright red wagon before going back to school. The summer was coming to an end so Johnnie decided to write a letter to Jesus. He began, "Dear Jesus, if I get a red wagon, I won't fight with my brother Hank" The next evening, with no wagon in sight Johnnie realizes, “Oh, no, Hank is such a brat, I will never keep that promise”. So Johnnie threw away the first letter and wrote another. "Dear Jesus, if I get a red wagon, I will eat all my vegetables for a year." The next evening, with no wagon in sight Johnnie thinks, “Oh, no, that means spinach, broccoli and even asparagus. Yuck! I will never keep that promise. Suddenly Johnnie had an idea. He went downstairs to the living room. From the mantel above the fireplace, he grabbed the family's statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He stuffs the statue into a grocery bag, takes the bag upstairs to his room, opens the closet and gently places the package in the farthest, darkest corner. He then closes the closet door, takes a new sheet of paper and writes, "Dear Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again..."
    Little Johnnie was serious about wanting his red wagon. In today's readings, Jesus is asking us what are we serious about wanting. Some might say that little Johnnie needs to learn to pray better, but we can learn a few things from Johnnie. First, Johnnie is persistent. He keeps going back to Jesus and tells Jesus what he wants. In the first reading, we see Abraham bargaining with God not to destroy Sodom if Abraham is able to find 50, no 45, 40, 30, 20, OK, 10 good people. In the Gospel we hear about the annoying (I mean persistent) neighbor who asks for three loaves of bread after everyone has gone to bed. Jesus encourages us to be like little Johnnie, like Abraham, and even like the neighbor – we are to be persistent in our prayer.
    Another lesson we can learn from Johnny is to be clever. Johnnie knows how to motivate Jesus. The disciples use a similar tactic when they ask Jesus to teach them to pray. They use peer pressure. They tell Jesus that John teaches his disciples to pray, so surely Jesus should be teaching them. When we really want something, I mean really, really want something, we take time to figure out how to get it. We are willing to scheme to get it. We think about who we need to talk to and what we need to say. Jesus encourages us to ask God for those things for which we truly hunger. We ask not only for our daily bread, but also for forgiveness and God's Kingdom to become present. Ironically, we do not always know what it is that we really want or what it is that will really make us happy. With the humility of the disciples, we ask God to teach us and to reveal to us what it is that we truly desire.
     When I was in high school, I thought I wanted to be a priest and when I graduated I entered the seminary and began studying to be a priest. But my heart was divided and quite frankly I was not ready to be a priest. It takes a lot to prepare one to be a priest. Part of my formation was serving one year here at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. As the disciples say to teach Jesus, “teach me to pray” I found myself praying “teach me to be a priest”.  You have been God's answer to that prayer. You teach me what it means to be a priest by the witness you give as followers of Jesus. Your faithfulness to prayer is inspiring. In the midst of an increasingly complicated world, you show me the importance of remaining focused on people, on relationships, and on building community. Here we eat together, we pray together, and we show our love and concern for another through working together.
     Over the years, I periodically enjoy the opportunity to come back here to Our Lady of Guadalupe and to witness the growth that has taken place. For me, it is little things that show me that this community of faith is very much alive. You model for me the faithful generosity Jesus desires of his followers as you care for one another, accepting and encouraging each other, supporting one another in times of uncertainty, but always trusting that God is here with us. You teach me how to be a priest because you have shown me how to love as Jesus loves. It is a confident and faithful love that remains strong and passionate through the years. It is a love that strengthens and transforms us. As Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, so too you have taught me to be a priest who prays and loves.
    And yet, it is NOT easy to trust in the slow work of God. We may be concerned when others do not seem to understand us, we may be frustrated when we do not see things progressing as quickly as we would like. Like Johnnie, we may even want to take matters into our hands rather than leaving them in God's hands. But in his simplicity, Johnnie reveals the importance of being serious and knowing what we want, about being persistent in asking for it, and even clever in trying to get it. “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”. I asked, I received. I sought and I found. I knocked and the door was opened. Today, Jesus encourages you to continue to teach the world, as you have taught me, how to pray. Be persistent, keep asking, keep nagging, keep pushing because by doing so you give witness to and become Jesus for the world. Ultimately, you become for one another, as you have been for me, God's answer to those prayers. This is what the world needs. This is my prayer, that you continue to reveal Jesus to those around you.