God Knows Already!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

October 16, 2016

In the past one year I have been in this parish, I have preached severally about prayer, talked about the meaning of prayer, the importance of prayer, the role of prayer in the life of a Christian and the indispensability of prayer. I have encouraged us all to be people of prayer. My steady emphasis on prayer is rooted deeply in Jesus’ teaching about prayer. Jesus did not only talk about prayer, he did pray. He was deeply prayerful. A song has it that “Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer.” The initial words of today’s Gospel from Luke 18:1-8 buttresses my point, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” The parable is about a widow who wouldn’t accept no for an answer from an ungodly judge. She had suffered a loss of land from land-grabbers and was powerless to face them. So, she went to a judge and pleaded with him to “Render a just decision “ against her adversary. “For a long time the judge was unwilling” to attend to her. The woman too, was unwilling to give up on pressing charges against her enemy. She refused to surrender to a bully. She refused to yield to injustice. One day, her persistence paid off when the godless judge became worried that his refusal to deliver justice to her may provoke her so much that she may resort to violence against him. 

Jesus wants us to pay attention to the fact that the judge, although godless and dishonest, was still able to yield to the persistent demand of the widow. If this judge, who neither feared God nor respected any human being was able to succumb to the petition of a helpless widow, our God who is awesomely good and faithful will definitely secure the rights of his children who call out to him day and night. If the widow’s persistence was able to secure her justice from a wicked judge, our persistence in prayer to our gracious Father in heaven can even do far more. The means to God is prayer. The traveling road to divine favor is prayer. The pathway to countless blessings is prayer. The access to divine hospital, divine bank, divine drugstore, divine food store, divine protection, divine shelter is prayer. The Fountain of Life can only be approached through prayer. And according to Jesus, prayer must be said “day and night.” One of the greatest Fathers of prayer, St. Alphonsus Liguori, the Founder of my religious Congregation once said, “If you pray, you will certainly be saved, if you do not pray, you will certainly be lost.” Make prayer, he said “our most delightful occupation” and “the exercise of our whole life.”

Today’s parable does not liken God to an unjust judge; it rather contrasts God to such a person: “If in the end, an unjust judge can yield to a widow’s persistence, then our compassionate and loving God can do far more for his children. The image of God portrayed in today’s gospel by Jesus is that of a Father who answers every prayer. Yes, God answers every prayer. But God’s answer to our prayers may not necessarily be exactly what we asked for. When we pray, his response may be “yes;” or “not yet; or “no, I have something else better for you.” We should not expect to get whatever we pray for. Sometimes, a loving and caring father will refuse the request of his child because he knows that what the child asks for would in the end hurt rather than help. That is how God is like. God knows yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He knows the past, the present and the future. Only God knows what is good for us in the long run. That is why Jesus urged us not to be discouraged in prayer, especially when we don’t receive what we asked for. That is why he wondered if he will find faith in us when our petition is not granted the way we want it.

Prayer is not an information. When we pray, we are not informing God about what he doesn’t know already. We serve an all-knowing God. When we are ill, God knows we need healing. God knows that we need a roof over our heads. God knows we need good jobs. God knows we need safe journey when we travel. God knows we need his strength and protection when we are vulnerable. God knows that that single mother needs some help. He knows that that widow needs some love and companion. God knows that we need to start putting money away for our retirement. God knows and understands our fears. He knows about them all and expects us to lean on him for solution and survival. Prayer is not about getting the Lord to change his plans. It’s about opening ourselves up to see the world through God’s eyes, from God’s perspective. When we pray, we open ourselves more to the Fountain of life, and see through his light; as the Psalmist says, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9).

Making requests is part of prayer but not all about prayer. We also pray to know God  more and more, to encounter him everyday and everywhere and to form a deep friendship with him. It is in prayer that we know Jesus personally. It is in prayer that we encounter him in a special way. It is in prayer that our friendship with him is deepened. Prayer strengthens us too. It enhances our relationship with him and moves us into intimacy with him. Even when we make requests in prayer, we should do so bearing in mind that God would only give us what’s best for us. And guess what? We will never be tired in prayer and our faith will never wobble if, after we have made our request to God, we add the beautiful prayer of Jesus, “Thy will be done.” In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.” His prayer was persistent and also trusting. Although it did not save Jesus from the cross, but it did lead to resurrection. If we can pray with Jesus’ faith, we will never lose heart. If God’s will is done, then it is victory for us because God’s will is the best for us. With that we can say that our prayer is surely answered.