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Saturday, July 27, 2013

17th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 28.07.2013

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

It is certainly more convenient to watch a movie at home than at the cinema.

With TV screens that are 40” and more, and with Blue Ray format and with home theatre systems, we may not feel the need to go to the cinemas.

Even with a laptop, we won’t miss much when watching a movie like “Despicable Me 2”.

We don’t need to see those cute yellow minions on a big screen. 

They are so cute and small they will fit into any screen size.

And we don’t need great sound effects to listen to their minion language to try to understand it.

Because it may be obvious enough. Especially when one of the minions has alarm lights on its head, and goes around with "Bee Doo…Bee Doo…" (Either it’s a fire engine or an ambulance).

But some movies have to be seen on the big screen – in fact, the bigger the better.

One movie that I can think of is “Pacific Rim”, a science fiction movie in which action movie stars manned giant robots that fight against gigantic alien monsters. 

If you watch that movie on a laptop, then it’s going to be a waste, because you won’t be able to see clearly who’s who when the monsters and the robots clash.

And of course, the sound is much more explosive and pounding when you watch it in a cinema.

Yes, size does matter, and when we watch a movie in the cinema, we will get big picture and big sound. 

Yes, we will watch the movie in “big size”.

Yet, a number of us will say that we have not gone to the cinemas to watch a movie for quite some time already.

The reasons are that we are busy, we don’t have the time, the movie tickets are expensive, it is also inconvenient, because at the climax of the movie, we will also feel the urge to go to the toilet (and miss the best part!).

So, we settle for home theatre systems and we are contented with a “down-sized” movie.

Somehow, our movie watching experience may be similar to our prayer experience.

We downsize  our prayers when we are praying to God, the Almighty.

In the gospel, Jesus gave a teaching on prayer, and He also pointed out something about our prayer.

Jesus taught us a prayer – the “Our Father”, or the Lord’s Prayer.

He also told us to pray with persistence. In other words, we must be thick-skinned, we must not be ashamed to pray, to ask, to knock on heaven’s door.

We must not be shy or even ashamed to pray for small things, because we must believe that prayer changes things, even small things.

We may remember what Jesus said about small things. He said that if we can be faithful in small things, then we will be faithful in big things.

So, it also means that when we offer small things to God in prayer, then there is nothing too big that God will not answer.

Praying for a parking lot might seem like a small thing.

Once I went with a friend to the hospital to anoint his father who was critically ill.

When we reached the hospital car park it was full and it seemed like it was going to be a long wait for a parking lot.

Then my friend suggested that we pray the prayer for a parking space. He said that it was his father who taught him the prayer and it always worked.

So, I asked him what was that prayer and he said this: Hail Mary, full of grace, help me find a parking space.

I squirmed a bit when I heard that prayer, so I told him that he can say that prayer if he wants.

But he retorted that since I am the priest I should be the one saying the prayer!

Since I didn’t intend to sit in the car and waste time, I sheepishly and quite unwillingly said the prayer – Hail Mary, full of grace, help us find a parking space.

And then, almost immediately, a man came into the carpark, went into a car in front of us and drove out of the lot. And my friend rubbed it in by saying: See, it always works! Especially, when a priest says it.

Yes, we must not be shy. We must not hesitate, we must not be ashamed to offer up all things to God in prayer, yes, all things big and small.

But maybe that is where the crisis is. We may have neglected small things as well as big things and we choose to turn to our own reserves which inevitably will fail us.

Like the minion in the movie wearing the alarm lights and going “Bee Doo… Bee Doo…” our prayer life may be in crisis.

We may think that our prayer is some kind of minion language that God does not bother to reply.

But let us also remember that out of the mouths of children and babes (Psalm 8), out of simple and humble prayers, God will give us strength to foil our enemies and the monster problems that we face in life.

In all things, big or small, we must pray, for prayer changes things.
I want to share with you a poem about prayer and it’s called “The Difference”.


The Difference
I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn't take time to pray.
Problems just tumbled around me,
And heavier came each task;
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered.
He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty-
But the day toiled on, grey and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me,
He said, "But you didn't seek."
I tried to come into God's presence,
I used all my keys at the lock;
God gently and lovingly chided:
"My child, you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning
And paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.