Wednesday 06 October 2021 – THE LORD OF GREAT DEEDS

27 Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Lk 11: 1-4

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.”

THE LORD OF GREAT DEEDS: From the first reading we see that the Lord is a God of great deeds. Furthermore, he is merciful to His people. When the people of Nineveh repented, God was merciful to them and did not carry out the punishment. Jonah became angry but God told him that Nineveh had many people who needed to be taught to know what is righteous. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. He taught them a prayer that they will address God as ‘Father’. It is therefore evident that God is our Father and will be merciful to us. He is our provider and will always lead us away from evil as the Lord’s Prayer states. As Christians, we must know that God does mighty deeds in our lives and we must always let His will be done.

PRAYER: Lord, let me believe in you and see all the great things you have done in my life.

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GOD IS FATHER, WE ARE FAMILY: The key word in Jesus’ prayer is “Father.” It summarizes how he felt towards God and, at the same time, how Jesus understood his relations with other people. The way we pray shows who is God for us and how we relate with others. Praying like Jesus addressing God as “Father,” affirms that we are a family. God created as one family and wants to save us as one family. We are a family and we belong to one another because we all belong to the Father. God challenged Jonah reminding him that his love is universal; nobody is excluded from God’s love. Can we pray saying Father and not loving others as brothers and sisters? (cf. 1Jn 4: 20-21). The one who loves without boundaries, knows the Father and the Father lives in him. Those who pray calling ‘Father,’ should also have the sentiments of a family.