The Gospel of the Day – 2016.07.24
The Prayer of Jesus
Once
Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished one of his
disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He
said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:
“Father,
may your name be held holy,
your
kingdom come;
give
us each day our daily bread,
and
forgive us our sins,
for
we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And
do not put us to the test.”’
He
also said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the
middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend
of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer
him”; and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is
bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.”
I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake,
persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.
‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given
to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the
one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. What father among you
would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead
of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are
evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
(NJB)
Pray
Christians all around the
world pray a version of this prayer, every day, every week, every time they are
in church. At every hour of every day this prayer is said, in churches around
the world. It is quite possible that not a minute goes by without it being said
somewhere.
God, creator of the
universe; God you are the creator of all that is, of everyone who is, who ever
was, and who ever will be.
God, you are not a king,
you are not a lord, or a prince but we pray for your will to be the measure of
our lives.
We thank you for this
life, and the foods that sustain us, as it is your will, we work toward a time
when no person will be hungry.
It is our desire to
repent; God, in turn we will forgive those by whom we have been hurt, love
them, and work toward reconciliation.
God, we ask of you that
you make this task easy on us, and be forgiving toward us as we fail (knowing
that we will).
This is the path of
holiness and the way of Jesus.
Treat all people as if
they were your own beloved child, your own dear family, your greatest friend.
Treat them as you would like to be treated; whether your days are lean or full
of plenty.
17th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
