20210225 PRAYER AND FASTING STRENGTHEN COMMITMENT
25 February, 2021, Thursday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading | Esther 4:17 © |
I am alone, Lord, and have no-one but you
Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:
‘My Lord, our King, the only one,
come to my help, for I am alone
and have no helper but you
and am about to take my life in my hands.
‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family,
that you, Lord, chose
Israel out of all the nations
and our ancestors out of all the people of old times
to be your heritage for ever;
and that you have treated them as you promised.
‘Remember, Lord; reveal yourself
in the time of our distress.
‘As for me, give me courage,
King of gods and master of all power.
Put persuasive words into my mouth
when I face the lion;
change his feeling into hatred for our enemy,
that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand,
and come to my help, for I am alone
and have no one but you, Lord.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8 © |
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.
On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Joel2:12-13 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Or: | Ps50:12,14 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
A pure heart create for me, O God,
and give me again the joy of your help.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel | Matthew 7:7-12 © |
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’
PRAYER AND FASTING STRENGTHEN COMMITMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Est 4:17; Ps 138:1-3,7-8; Mt 7:7-12]
What is the key to effective and efficacious prayer? For many believers, we are called simply to trust and believe in God who hears our prayers. There are apparently biblical justifications for this approach. We have read that Abraham’s faith in God was the answer to the promises God had made to him. Earlier on, Jesus told the disciples, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Mt 6:31f) He assured us, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (Jn 14:13f)
Then there are those who believe that prayer complemented by fasting will bring down blessings from God. Fasting guarantees our prayers to be answered. But how does this work? Why does God want us to fast for our petitions to be answered? Must He see us suffer and be deprived first before His heart is softened and then give in to our hunger just like those who fast for political and social causes? Fasting in this case is to invoke sympathy and create social consciousness. It is to get attention from the public more than God because God does not need us to suffer before He grants our prayers.
But God is not like that. In the gospel, Jesus made it clear that the Heavenly Father will look after us more than we can imagine. As the Lord said, “Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” What kind of God will make fun of us when we are hungry, by giving us a stone that resembles bread, or an eel that resembles fish, as eel is a forbidden food for the Jews?
Whilst faith in God’s divine providence and His power to give us what we need is a pre-requisite, it would be irresponsible to think that we are not required to do anything but just to “let go and let God take over.” This would be too simplistic in the way we expect God to answer our prayers. This explains why Jesus asked us to pray and to fast. He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.”
The underlying principle of prayer and fasting is that it leads to a greater commitment to God, recognizing His sovereignty. When the Lord instructed us to ask, it is because asking calls for humility on our part, just like Esther in today’s first reading. Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words: ‘My Lord, our King, the only one, come to my help, for I am alone and have no helper but you and am about to take my life in my hands.” Her people were in danger of being exterminated by their enemies. And the one who ordered her people to be annihilated was the second most powerful man in the Kingdom, Haman. With the permission of the King, he ordered the massacre of the entire Jewish population. So in prayer, the first step is a sincere recognition of our nothingness. When we know our place in life, our fragility and we are humble to accept our limitations, only then God will show us His face. This is why the proud and arrogant will never be able to see God. We must be like little children before God our mighty and loving Father. God will only reveal Himself to little children who know they can only depend on God totally. (Mt 11:25)
The second step in prayer is searching. This implies commitment to self and others. Searching requires effort and co-responsibility. It is not enough to ask without cooperating with the grace of God. We are children before God, and even if we are handicapped in some ways, as we see in many physically and mentally challenged people, they still can make great achievements in their life. Some have become great architects, lawyers, scientists and sportsmen even! Having faith in God’s assistance does not mean that we leave everything to Him and we do nothing ourselves. God has given us intellect and will. He wants us to use them and whatever resources we have. Grace means efforts-plus or nature-plus. The super-natural assistance comes over and above the natural gifts the Lord has already graced us with in our humanity.
This we see clearly in the example of Queen Esther. She did not simply pray and fast. She took control of the situation. When she was told by her adopted Father, Mordecai the intention of Haman to destroy the Jews, she was initially reluctant because to approach the king for help without being called to see him would mean death for her. But morally pressured by Mordecai who said, “if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14) She decided to act by instructing Mordecai to gather all the Jews to fact on her behalf, “neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do.” (Esther 4:16)
Only then did she go and meet the King at the risk of breaking the law and the punishment of death. She said, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16) This shows how prayer and fasting is manifested in her commitment to her fellowmen and such a commitment could cost her life. She was ready for martyrdom after her prayer and fasting. She would do what it takes to see the King and make the request. She was not sure of the outcome but she was ready for it, regardless. She could only surrender her life to the Lord saying, “As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and come to my help, for I am alone and have no one but you, Lord.”
The third step in prayer is perseverance. Jesus says, “knock, and the door will be opened to you.” We must keep on knocking and knocking until the door opens just like the Lord who keeps knocking on our door. “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:20) Perseverance again is a sign of commitment. This is true even in human relationships, especially friendship, marriage and even work. Fair-weather friends are not friends. True friends are those who stick with each other, thick and thin, never giving up on each other, but ever ready to start again when there is a quarrel or misunderstanding. Those without perseverance are those who are not ready for any real commitment. Indeed, many so-called friends will abandon us when things get rough.
Perseverance requires courage. The Lord will give to us the fortitude to persevere. This was what Esther prayed to the Lord. “As for me, give me courage, King of Gods and master of all power. Put persuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion; change his feeling into hatred for our enemy that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.” In the face of trials and difficulties, we need courage to continue persevering.
Indeed, when we pray and fast rightly, our commitment to the Lord will grow and become stronger because our faith in Him will increase. But most of all, we become more identified with our brothers and sisters who are suffering the same or similar struggles as us. This will strengthen our commitment to help them, to manifest our prayer and fasting in acts of charity and mercy. When we continue to pray and not give up hope, God will transform our hearts, strengthen our faith, and our desire. Such prayers will always be answered regardless, because we trust in His wisdom even if not according to our wishes.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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