Sunday 24 July 2022 in the year of our Lord
| Lk 11:1-13 | Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον 11:1-13 |
| Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" |
1Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐν τόπῳ τινὶ προσευχόμενον, ὡς ἐπαύσατο, εἶπέν τις τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτόν· κύριε, δίδαξον ἡμᾶς προσεύχεσθαι, καθὼς καὶ Ἰωάννης ἐδίδαξεν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ. 2εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς· ὅταν προσεύχησθε λέγετε· Πάτερ, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου· ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου· 3τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθ’ ἡμέραν· 4καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ἀφίομεν παντὶ ὀφείλοντι ἡμῖν· καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν. 5Καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἕξει φίλον καὶ πορεύσεται πρὸς αὐτὸν μεσονυκτίου καὶ εἴπῃ αὐτῷ· φίλε, χρῆσόν μοι τρεῖς ἄρτους, 6ἐπειδὴ φίλος μου παρεγένετο ἐξ ὁδοῦ πρός με καὶ οὐκ ἔχω ὃ παραθήσω αὐτῷ· 7κἀκεῖνος ἔσωθεν ἀποκριθεὶς εἴπῃ· μή μοι κόπους πάρεχε· ἤδη ἡ θύρα κέκλεισται καὶ τὰ παιδία μου μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἰς τὴν κοίτην εἰσίν· οὐ δύναμαι ἀναστὰς δοῦναί σοι. 8λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ καὶ οὐ δώσει αὐτῷ ἀναστὰς διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ, διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς δώσει αὐτῷ ὅσων χρῄζει. 9Κἀγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, αἰτεῖτε καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν, ζητεῖτε καὶ εὑρήσετε, κρούετε καὶ ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν· 10πᾶς γὰρ ὁ αἰτῶν λαμβάνει καὶ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρίσκει καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγ[ήσ]εται. 11τίνα δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν τὸν πατέρα αἰτήσει ὁ υἱὸς ἰχθύν, καὶ ἀντὶ ἰχθύος ὄφιν αὐτῷ ἐπιδώσει; 12ἢ καὶ αἰτήσει ᾠόν, ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ σκορπίον; 13εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς πονηροὶ ὑπάρχοντες οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ πατὴρ [ὁ] ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δώσει πνεῦμα ἅγιον τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν αὐτόν. |
Fr John Lankeit's homily :
The theme running through the Scripture Readings for this Mass is the importance of persistent prayer. We will consider the subject of perseverance in prayer more deeply in a few minutes.
For now, let’s focus on a particular question that Jesus posed in today’s Gospel, because the answer to that question helps us figure out what we can do in response to all the turmoil in our Church today—not only the issues of sexual sin and cover-up; but the equally troubling—and severely damaging—absentee fatherhood at the upper levels of the Church hierarchy.
Jesus posed this question to his listeners in today’s Gospel:
What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? (Lk 11:11)
In another translation of this same verse, Jesus’ question reads this way:
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? (Lk 11:11, RSVCE)
This latter translation holds an important key to a deeper reflection on today’s Readings—particularly in light of the current disorder in the Church—and it all boils down to one word:
Serpent.
The first mention of a serpent in the Bible is in the very first book of the Bible—the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. (Gen 3:1)
In the very next verses in this Chapter of Genesis, the serpent turns his subtlety on Eve, convincing her to mistrust her true Father and to shift her trust to him—the Father of Lies.
The way Jesus worded his question in the Gospel for this Mass is particularly relevant for us, because his question exposes just how subtle the Father of Lies is. Listen again to Jesus’ words:
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? (Lk 11:11)
The Devil’s initial tactic with Adam and Eve was to approach them as a serpent and to convince them to transfer their trust from God to him.
Today, the Devil’s tactic is essentially the same, but in reverse—to get false fathers—corrupt cardinals, bishops and priests—to hand their spiritual sons and daughters a serpent (a symbol for lies) when they ask for a fish (a symbol of Jesus Christ). He convinces cowardly clergy to mislead their people, instead of leading them to the truth—Jesus.
So, the answer to Jesus question—What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?—is:
Any member of the Church hierarchy who deliberately hands on false teaching disguised as “compassion”; who responds with silence when clarification of his confused teaching is requested; and who offers worldly solutions to spiritual problems while ignoring their root causes—namely...
Disobedience...dissent...and sin.
Such false fathers are more prominent, much bolder and more influential in the Church today than I have ever seen in my lifetime. And their duplicity causes many Catholics to question...and some to even lose...their faith.
Here’s the easiest way to spot one of these serpentine shepherds.
When confronted with the issue of sexual abuse of adolescents, for example, serpentine shepherds are the cardinals, bishops and priests who blame clericalism and celibacy.
Real spiritual fathers confront the real problem—infidelity to priestly vows rooted in deep-seated dissent from God’s commandments.
When confronted by the shortage of clergy, serpentine shepherds are the cardinals, bishops and priests who push for married priests and promote the ordination of women.
Real spiritual fathers confront the real problem—a cultural attitude that reviles authentic masculinity—in society at large, and in the Church in particular—thus depriving boys of masculine examples of authentic, self-sacrificial love.
The answer to Jesus’ question— What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? —the answer to that question is:
Any cardinal, bishop or priest who subtly seeks to convince the faithful to put their trust in the Father of Lies, instead of their Father in Heaven; to trust the Prince of this World instead of the Prince of Peace; to provide human solutions to supernatural problems by putting forth politically correct policies instead of condemning sin.
When it appears to many of the faithful that the Church is being destroyed from the inside by those who actively dismantle her teachings, we do well to take a cue from Abraham in his “back-and-forth” with God in our 1st Reading from Genesis.
God said to Abraham: The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down to see whether or not their actions are as bad as the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out. (Gen 18:20-21)
What sin was so grave that God was prepared to destroy the city of Sodom?
The sin named after this shameful city:
Sodomy!
Even though sodomy is quite obviously and unequivocally condemned by God in the Sacred Scriptures, serpentine shepherds in the Church today nevertheless attempt to bait and switch the faithful with the bald-faced lie that it was actually something other than sexual perversion that raised God’s ire to the boiling point against the city of Sodom.
You can spot snake-oil salesmen posing as fathers on bookselling tours and speaking engagements, twisting God’s laws to suggest that he—God—now approves of...and even blesses...the very same sins...that once roused him to rain down fire on a city awash in sexual depravity.
The “god” of the celebrity clergy...the bishops without backbone...and the cardinals who conceal sin is definitely not the God of the Sacred Scriptures.
Good clergy are nevertheless reticent to call out these false shepherds for fear of being labeled divisive or uncharitable. Far better for these faithful fathers to recall Jesus’ words to his first evangelization strike force:
Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. (Lk 10:19)
Returning now to our 1st Reading:
How did Abraham respond to God’s threat to destroy Sodom for its sexual deviancy?
By appealing to God’s mercy!
Why did Abraham negotiate with God to spare Sodom?
Because he had loved ones—his nephew, Lot, and his family—who lived there.
Here was Abraham’s opening salvo in his haggling session with God:
“Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?” (Gen 18:23-25)
Abraham suspected—quite correctly—that there were nowhere near 50 righteous people in Sodom...but skilled bargainer he was, he had to start somewhere and then negotiate his way toward a final point of agreement. He eventually persuaded God to spare the city if only ten righteous people dwelt there.
God later visited Sodom and could not even find ten righteous people. Yet, he spared Lot and his family, leading them out of the city before he destroyed it.
We may feel like Abraham these days when it comes to the moral corruption that has slithered into the City of God—the Church. We scour the ranks of the hierarchy looking for 50...30...20...or even 10 genuine spiritual fathers—hoping against hope that the faithful flock will be spared for the sake of a few sincere shepherds.
But, perhaps it’s neither Abraham-style negotiating that will appease the Lord’s wrath against the corruption in the Church, nor the search for “saviors” among the Church’s cardinals, bishops and priests.
A better plan is to put all our trust in the Lord—not asking him to give us saints, but, rather, begging him—persistently...every day—to make us saints. After all, throughout Christian history, whenever corruption threatened to consume the Church from within, courageous saints arose out of the mire to lead the City of God back into friendship with Our Father.
We could ask God on behalf of the City of God what Abraham asked of God on behalf of the City of Sodom:
What if only a few righteous people—a small remnant of the faithful—can be found in the Church today. Lord, will you not spare the whole Church for the sake of the few?
But, instead of haggling about the precise number of righteous in the Church needed to stem God’s righteous anger—we would do well to pray for the grace of God so that we might be one of the righteous and thus become conduits of grace who win God’s forbearance—not only for the Church—but, also, for the entire world.
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