The
Gospel is too long, and already has it’s interpretation within it. So I thought today we would look at the
second reading, from St. Paul to the Romans.
Paul begins: “Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to
the aid of our weakness;” Hmm, as an
American male – and now a resident of Texas - I don’t often talk about, or even
admit, my weakness. But in St. Paul’s
spirituality, coming to grips with your weakness is very important. Christianity is all about salvation, and you
can’t appreciate the salvation Christ brings until you realize the mess you are
in and your inability, your weakness, to escape it. Otherwise Christianity is pointless.
John
Henry Cardinal Newman, the great English churchman and writer, wrote: “This is why many in this age (and in every
age) become infidels, heretics, schismatics, disloyal despisers of the Church
.... They have never had experience of God’s power and love, because they have
never known their own weakness and need.”
This awareness of our weakness and therefore our need for God’s help
and salvation is so important that St. Paul even writes: The Lord “said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power
is made perfect in weakness." And
St. Paul comments: “I will rather boast
most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with
me. (2 Cor 12:9-10) Instead of
denying or downplaying his weaknesses as I do, St. Paul rather boasts gladly of
his weaknesses!
So
first of all we have to own up to our weakness.
And once we start looking it usually is not too long before we start
discovering some. But St. Paul assures
us, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our
weakness;”
Where
and how does the Holy Spirit come to our aid?
Perhaps the Holy Spirit prompts us to greater generosity in the face of
need, helping us to overcome our stinginess, as in today’s special second
collection. Or perhaps the Holy Spirit
fortifies us to tell the truth when it is difficult to do so. Or perhaps the Holy Spirit inspires us to say
a comforting or healing word to someone who is sorrowing. Or the Holy Spirit might strengthen us to
reach out in forgiveness, or avoid that porn site, or relinquish the bitterness
we’ve been holding on to, or give us greater patience and understanding with
co-workers, or in many other ways.
I
think the power of the Holy Spirit to stop us from saying the mean and hurtful
word, to “bite our tongue” in moments of intense emotion, is one of the most
powerful demonstrations of the strength of the Holy Spirit.
There are many, many ways the Holy Spirit
aids us in our weakness.
But
St. Paul in today’s second reading focuses on one particular way that the Holy
Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, for St. Paul states: “we do not know how to pray as we ought”.
Now
this is curious. Most of Paul’s letters
were written to Christian communities he had founded, but Romans was rather a
letter of introduction. You see, there
was already a Christian community in Rome, and Paul is sending this letter to
them before Paul arrives there, laying out Paul’s theology, by way of
introduction. So, how did St Paul know
that the Romans did not know how to pray as they ought? Were the Romans widely known as lousy
prayers? And did the Roman Christians
take umbrage at this, were they offended by Paul - who had never met them -
telling them they didn’t know how to pray properly?
Well,
if the early Roman Christians were anything like today’s Roman Catholics, they
probably agreed with Paul. For many of
us I think would agree, “we do not know
how to pray as we ought”. So, IF you are totally satisfied with the
state of your prayer life, please stand up.
(pause) OK, that is a bit hokey, but most of us
have feelings of inadequacy about our prayer.
Many of us think or feel that we should pray more, but we don’t feel
very good at praying, and so it seems like a waste of time. If we were better at it, then it would seem
more like a good thing to do.
But
St. Paul tells us there is help: “but the
Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings”, or as the New
Revised Standard Version more felicitously
translates it, “with sighs too
deep for words.” The Holy Spirit
helps us to pray in ways we cannot comprehend or even imagine.
What
is important for prayer is not the method or the technique, but rather openness
to the Holy Spirit. Prayer can use
the body, or the voice, or the imagination, or all together, or simple
stillness. There are many ways to pray
and you need to find the way that works for you. There is story about an old Polish peasant
who spent many hours in church praying.
And when he prayed he mumbled softly.
One day the pastor grew curious and snuck up to the pew behind where the
old man was sitting, to listen to his prayer, what was he saying. And the priest heard the man saying “a, b, c,
d...” until he finished the alphabet, and then started again: “a, b, c, d
...” The priest stopped him and said,
“what are you doing? That is no prayer,
reciting the alphabet!” The man
responded, “Well, I am just a simple peasant, I don’t know how to make
elaborate speeches with fancy vocabulary, so I just give God the letters, and
He makes the words.”
I
think that is openness to the Holy Spirit.
Let the Holy Spirit guide and lead you in prayer. Openness means lowering the barriers of fear,
the barrier of needing to be in charge and in control; but rather letting the
Holy Spirit guide me where the Spirit wants me to go. It means trusting that the Holy Spirit will
come to the aid of my weakness. St Paul
assures us: “And the one who searches
hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the
holy ones according to God’s will.”
No comments:
Post a Comment