Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray: Why the Jonah Story is Also a Story about Prayer (TA)

Disclaimer: Homily Transcriptions

Please be aware that the provided transcript serves as a representation of a Homily designed for an audience and is not a literary work. It does not capture pauses or speech emphasis from the original presentation, and there may be errors within the text. We make every effort to rectify them, but our primary goal in offering this text is not to create a literary document.

Additionally, the speech is delivered in English. We have intentionally enabled the transcript for web browsers that automatically translate English into a natural or local language based on your language settings. However, it’s important to note that these translations may not always be accurate, especially in the context of religious discussions.

With these two considerations in mind, we gladly present, for a limited time, the transcript of the Gospel and Homily for all Meditation Media posts marked with the symbol (TA) at the end of the title (indicating “Transcript Available”).

Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray: Why the Jonah Story is Also a Story about Prayer

The Lord be with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke.

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 who are in debt to us.  And do not subject us to the final test.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Homily

When Jesus Christ is present, as He is at Mass; when Jesus Christ is present, two things always take place. One, God is being worshipped. And two, we are being saved. Those things are happening right now. And if we recognize that, we recognize that by extension, then Jesus is praying. And therefore, Jesus is also teaching us to pray as we gather here.

 

It is one of the great reasons why Mass is so important. It is the primary school of Christian prayer. Although we, unfortunately, rarely think of it that way. But Jesus is here. Salvation comes to us. Jesus is worshipping his Father, and our worship of God is united with his. It rises upward on his. And it’s in this context, then, that we hear those words of our readings today.

 

The readings have a very curious and important relationship. At first glance, this odd first reading from the book of Jonah seems to have very little to do with the Lord teaching us how to pray. And yet we see that as the Lord gives us the Our Father, we hear those words: Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive those who have sinned against us.

The Book of Jonah is Humorous

This is where we meet Jonah, the foolish prophet. The Book of Jonah is one of the most remarkable examples of the use of humor in all of sacred scripture. And if you are incapable of laughing when you read the Bible, you will miss the point of the book of Jonah. Because if you can’t smile and you can’t catch the humor, you won’t get the take home message.

The book is deliberately ridiculous. Jonah himself is deliberately a caricature. At first glance, a prophet, and yet a prophet who runs away when he hears the word of God. And today, at the last chapter of the book of Jonah, we find out why Jonah ran away. He preaches in the great city of Nineveh, proverbial for its wickedness and its violence.

 

And at first glance, we think he didn’t want to go there because he was afraid of what would happen to him when he got there. And then amazingly, before he even finishes his trip through the city, announcing 40 days more and Nineveh will be destroyed, the people begin repenting. The king orders even the cows to be covered with sackcloth and ashes and move their repentance toward heaven.

Jonah Speaks to the Lord

Good, you laughed. And note how it’s over the top. It’s ridiculous. And as Jonah leaves the city, seeing how successful his message was, you’d think he’d be happy. You’d think he’d be relieved no one did violence to him. You’d think he’d be thrilled that his mission was so successful. And he’s angry. And he turns to the Lord and he says, This is why I didn’t want to do it!

 

I didn’t want to succeed because I knew you’d forgive.

 

Note what he is saying. I wanted them lost. I wanted that fire from heaven to come down. Jonah was enjoying it when he was announcing it, but I’m not enjoying it now because they’ve responded. And here Jonah names the ridiculous elements of our heart. When we cling to resentment, when we cling to our frustrations, when we keep replaying and reciting those litanies of grievance that we hold against so many, which usually comes wishing they get what they deserve, as the companion piece.

 

We become as silly as Jonah. And so Jonah says, I didn’t want to do this, Lord, because I know you’re good. Because I know you’re patient. Because I know you’ll look to receive the sinner when he comes back to you. And I’d rather the sinner didn’t. At least that sinner. But the issue is still undecided. So then Jonah goes and says, Well, I’m going to watch and see what happens.

Jonah’s Prayer

And so he builds himself a hut, and he waits out those 40 days, looking down at the city. And you know every morning he’s waking up saying, One day closer to the fire. One day closer to the lightning. One day closer. I can’t wait. Oh, but I don’t know. And he’s there in the hot sun, and all he’s doing is continuing to nurse his grievance.

 

And his prayer is essentially, Lord, don’t answer their prayer.

 

Just like we can be. Just like we can be. And so while he’s there, the Lord teaches him, again, an odd lesson, because Jonah is an odd man. Miraculously, one morning, a gourd springs up out of the ground, grows, and extends its branches and leaves over Jonah and his hut. And he has shade and protection from the heat of the sun.

 

Jonah’s happy. And he’s loving how God is taking care of him. And the same way there are times we can find a certain false contentment in improperly perceived blessings in our own lives. We nurse our anger, we rest in our bitterness, and yet we still sit there and say, Yeah, but I am so blessed. And this is Jonah right now with that superficial sense of peace and contentment, but his heart is still bitter.

 

So what happens overnight? The Lord sends that worm, it kills the plant, Jonah is upset again. And so note, he begins by saying to the Lord, I’d rather be dead than see the Ninevites forgiven. Now the Lord looks at him. And Jonah’s angry about the plant. He’s bitter about this. Because when the heart begins to live in bitterness, there’s always another source of bitterness to be found.

 

And ironically, we also see the heart that’s enclosed in its bitterness is a narrowly selfish heart. It is spiteful, and it is proud, and it is self-centered. I’m the only victim. Other people have pain, but my pain’s the important pain. And this is Jonah now. So the Lord says, Are you angry? And note his answer.

Jonah is Angry

Angry enough to die. Because the plant went away. And again, we laugh. Because it’s stupid and it’s ridiculous. And it’s us. And it’s us. Jonah becomes a mirror, that God holds up to us of our own foolishness and our own pettiness. And so now the Lord looks at him. The book of Jonah is the only book in Scripture that ends with a question.

 

And it ends with a question that God asks. Not a question that we ask. God simply says to Jonah. You’re upset about the gourd plant. You did nothing to make it grow. It only lasted a day and you’re upset that it’s not with you. Well then don’t I have a right to be concerned about a race of people that I have been patient with across generations?

The Lord Says to Jonah

Do I not have a right to be concerned for them? And not just them, but even the cattle in the city. And in adding the cattle in that odd way, the Lord is saying, my concern is complete. Because you want the destruction not just of your enemy, but everything connected to him. That is not how I work. Do I not have the right?

 

Do I not even have the obligation?

 

And we don’t know Jonah’s answer to that question. And in doing that, Scripture leaves us with the question of, What about my enemy? What about those who have hurt me? What about those against whom I have retaliated in anger in some way? Shouldn’t the Lord also be concerned for them? and their well-being, whatever that is.

 

And note what we see here. The Lord is ready to forgive Nineveh. The prophet is not. Forgive us, O Lord, our sins, for we forgive those who sin against us. Note how wonderfully that mirrors and sets us up to truly appreciate that petition in the Our Father, which is the petition we probably speak about the least.

 

And why? Because it’s really hard to say I’m regularly forgiving the one who sinned against me. It’s a lot easier to hold that grudge. It’s a lot easier to live in that resentment than it is to let it go. And so here we are at Mass and we say Lord, teach us to pray. And note, and we very rarely speak about this; part of the essence of prayer is being willing to extend and desire mercy for others.

 

Forgive us, for we forgive those who have done wrong to us. And that should not really surprise us because who is the one who teaches us to pray? But the one who stretched out his arms on the cross to forgive those of us who have sinned against him. The Lord rejects resentment and chooses mercy. And he wants to take his people to that school of prayer and to that school of living.

 

Because who is this one that we name Father? It’s that one toward whom Jonah said, I didn’t want to do this because I know how good you are, and how merciful you are, and how your concern and your patience reach out to all of us. Father, who art in heaven. And that is the one to whom Christ calls out. That is the one by whom Christ was sent to us, for us, and for our salvation.

 

Note how beautiful then we see that the doing of God’s will is not some abstract idea, but it has concrete effects in our lives. That the receiving and the benefiting from the providence of God, that turning to God and asking for what we need is a good and holy thing. But that we who receive so much from God, likewise need to extend the gift, even dare I say the daily bread of mercy. . . To one another.

And how good it is that we can reflect on these things in this place. Where in just a few minutes, on top of this altar, Jesus Christ is going to be present before us in the Blessed Sacrament. Our ears will not hear his voice. Our eyes will not see his face. What we will see are bread and wine and yet the Lord is here. And here on this altar when he arrives, we will stand and the first thing we will do together is we will have the Lord teach us to pray all over again.

When You Are At Mass

Pay attention at that moment. Don’t simply close your eyes and say the Our Father. Don’t simply recite the words out of habit. Look at who is present on the altar and in what form. Because he is here in his self-giving. He is here as the bread of angels and the chalice of salvation. But he is here.

 

Silently, in a physical sense, from this altar . . .  Perfect worship rises toward heaven. Lord, teach us to pray. And silently, from this altar, perfect mercy flows outward toward all of us. Lord, teach us to pray. And in doing so, teach us how to live. Note how wonderful that is. As often as we celebrate Mass, every time that Christ is newly present on the altar, In very short order, he teaches us to pray all over again.

And so we can in all truth say, Jesus is praying at a certain place, as we hear in the gospel today. His disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. And with it all of us, learn the fullness of that great lesson. Amen.