HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY SEVENTH WEEK IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR C
BY REV FR EKESHIRI JUDE EMEKA CSSP.
(Malachi 3:13-20, Psalm 1:1-4,6, Luke 11:5-13 ).
Dear friends, friendship is an important part of human relationship. It gives one assurance that he or she is not alone in the journey of life.
Today in the gospel, Jesus uses the friendship analogy to teach us about persistence in prayer and the need of familiarity. No good friend would be reluctant to help another friend, except he or she is not a friend.
In prayer, we create a relationship with God as our father and our friend. God is not interested in what He gets from us but what He can offer us. Prayer is not a ‘once-and-for-all’ act; it is constant, never ceasing.
This is what Jesus teaches us in today’s parable of the friend at midnight. True friends never let each other down, whatever the consequences or the risks involved. Jesus emphasizes this in his parable. One must pay importance to the fact that it is midnight, the door is shut and the friend who is already in bed is initially reluctant to get up and respond. Jesus tells us, “for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”
God always hears our prayers; He may not always give us what we ask for but certainly what is best for us! We ought not to give up, but to ask with faith and patience and God will give us. Peace be with you.
