In our Gospel, it is said that Jesus prayed in a certain place. Afterwards, one of His disciples asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples". There is nothing wrong with what the disciple asked from Jesus i.e., to teach them to pray. But let me ask, why did the disciple say "as John taught his disciples" if he could only say, "as how You (Jesus) pray"? Well, the answer may be obvious as they could not pray the way Jesus prayed. So when the disciple asked Him to teach them how to pray as John taught his disciples, this is a direct statement from the disciple that they could not pray the way Jesus prayed but they could pray the way a follower of Jesus should pray.
In praying as a disciple of Jesus, one is privileged to address God as a Father. Apostasy is never an option whenever painful events happen in his life. In other words, he has to glorify the Holy Name of God whatever comes his way. He also treats everybody as his equal because in the Kingdom of God, only God is above all. As a disciple, he believes in the Divine Providence. Everything that he needs, God will provide him. If it is not good for his soul, he is deprived of it. When he falls into sin, he asks for forgiveness. If he has not yet sinned, he has to pray for protection against temptation.
My dear friends in Christ, we are led to realize with our Gospel that Jesus taught His disciples not only how to pray but also how to be a man of prayer. We are also invited to do the same. So, everytime we pray the Lord's Prayer we condition ourselves that all in all we must submit our will to God. We pray not to impose our will to God but to attune our will with His will. We pray the Lord's Prayer as we know how to live as disciples of Jesus. Moreover, we pray the Lord's Prayer, so our hearts and minds are formed to be authentic diciples of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment