Scripture Reflection, July 27, 2025, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Genesis 18:20-32 Colossians 2:12-14 Luke 11:1-13

It's all about prayer in today's scripture readings. From the bold bargaining between Abraham and God in the first reading to the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer in the gospel. Too much to cover adequately in this small space. Just a few thoughts.

What do you believe about prayer?

Do you believe that prayer is your opportunity to tell God something that God would not otherwise know? I assume we can all answer, No.

Do you believe that your prayer is an attempt to warm up a cold and distant God, to stoke God's love for you or others ? Again, I hope we can all answer, No.

Then why do we pray? What happens when we pray? I certainly am no expert on the subject, but this is what I have come to believe.

First, prayer does something to me. It reminds me that there is a God and it's not me. That I came into being and continue to be through a power and a love greater than my own.

Secondly, this Other, completely beyond my ability to understand, loves me, cares for me and desires a relationship with me!

This understanding lays the groundwork for my prayer. And what about my prayer for others, what we call intercessory prayer?

I am reminded of a hymn we sing often at mass, “Here I Am, Lord.” In that hymn God hears the cry of those who suffer and asks the question, "Whom shall I send “, to alleviate that suffering. The answer we give is, “Here I am, Lord.”

Now we cannot individually relieve all of our friend’s suffering. But we are not powerless. A kind word, a listening ear, a home-cooked meal, a bouquet of flowers from our garden are all ways we can help to relieve that suffering.

Even for the larger issues beyond our personal relationships, we are not powerless. We have a voice and we have a vote and we have others with whom we can make common cause and make changes that help to relieve suffering.

So, when a madman with a military-style gun walks into a school and turns it into a cemetery…when a group of people are displaced from their land because climate change has made it unable to support them… when detention camps are built to house people many of whom are guilty of nothing more than a civil offense and wearing brown skin… when innocent children succumb to diseases previously eradicated because their parents have been given misinformation … When this suffering occurs and God asks “Whom shall I send?”, instead of sending “thoughts and prayers” may we have the courage to pray…

“Send me.” by: Pat Schnee