💖 HOMILY - MARCH 2 💖

First Reading - Esther 4:17

Gospel - Matthew 7:7-12

Life is full of surprises; some surprises come through joyful situations and others under the guise of unpleasant situations. The prayer in our life also brings suprises for us. The readings of today invite us to dispose ourselves to God in prayers and God will bring surprises for us.

The first reading of today gives us a prayer of the queen Esther. The prayer precedes her encounter with the king of Persia, her husband, who under the evil influence of Haman, the high ranking official of the king, had issued a letter of extermination of Jews. The prayer is loaded with anxiety and fear to face the king to revert the decree against Jews. The prayer is marked by Esther's sense of unworthiness before the divine majesty of God and her complete dependence on the divine will. Her humility before God meets a favourable response from God and she succeeds to avert the impending threat to the tribe of Israel. 

The gospel passage teaches us to have an attitude of a child when we approach God in prayer. Jesus teaches us today 'to ask, seek, and knock' - petitioning God with an expectant attitude. Jesus paints the picture of God as our Heavenly Father who will certainly respond to our prayers with "good gifts" just as otherwise human fathers usually do. The good gifts include everything that pertains to seeking first His kingdom and its righteousness ( Mt. 6:33). 

Jesus makes a striking comparison of Heavenly Father with human fathers in relation to giving and providing of things; the human fathers, although occasionally prove untrustworthy and yet try to provide the needs of children, if so, how much more would the Heavenly Father provide and give who is always trustworthy! The comparison of Jesus is to invite everyone to never step back from approaching God in prayers. However, Jesus also underlines that God is always trustworthy and He responds to our prayers. All the same, he reminds us that Heavenly Father responds to the requests that He deems best at that given time.

Dear friends, prayer inheres a basic attitude of humility to approach God in faith and trust. The attitude of persistence in prayer is another side of humility which is a dominant character of the teachings of Jesus we can learn from the gospel. The key words 'ask, seek, and knock' reveal the need to have an attitude of persistence, confidence, and trust in prayers. The same attitude of trust, persistence and confidence can be seen in the prayer of Esther who accepted God's supremacy over the situation. That was indeed an attitude of humility. That's why her prayer was responded by God. We are also encouraged today to rely on God and approach God in humility and God will certainly provide us with our needs, if they are deemed best in the sight of God for us at that given time.

There are times we feel discouraged because our prayers remain unanswered and unattended. Jesus teaches us today that our prayers will be answered, provided they share God's perspective in knowing what is ultimately a good gift for us. We are especially tempted to think of the values of this world (e.g., health and wealth) as good gifts rather than spiritual values. 

Let's trust in God that He wants best for us and never distance ourselves from approaching Him in prayers.