17th Sunday-C

17th Sunday in ordinary time-C
I was telling some people that we who believe in Christ should not think about becoming first in everything because second is the best for us.  The second Adam Christ is the best; The second birth called baptism is the best and the second coming of Christ is the best. Then one lady asked me, "And that is why my husband always understands better the second time". I said, "I am making a spiritual statement and don't want to involve in family fued".
Once a little boy climed in a tall tree and refused to come down. So the fire fighters, police and all other tried their best to make the boy get down but nothing helped. The parents finally thought of the their priest and asked him to do something. The priest came and looked at the boy in the tree and he made a sign of the cross and there the boy immediately came down. The fame of the priest spread everywhere. Then a man who became a fan of the priest asked, "O Father, you are a holy man and with a sign of Cross, you made the boy come down from the tree". The priest looked at him and said, " I didn't make the sign of the cross. All I did was I just looked at the boy and said, "If you don't come down and I will cut the tree down".
Once a teenege girl prayed to God saying, "God, make me thin and if you don't, make my friends fat"
Once a little boy said, "My mom alwasys does her prayers for me at night?' What kind of prayers does she do? The boy said, "She says, "Thank God, he is in bed".
In today's gospel, the apostles are asking Christ saying, "We heard all other rabbis teaching prayers and different methods of spiritual worship to approach God, please help us to pray. We see you often going to lonely and deserted places and mountain tops to pray and please teach us to pray. The apostles witnessed how Christ whole persona changed as he was praying to God. They witnessed the transfiguration of the Lord, His face shining like the sun and His closths dazzing white. They witnessed before and after miracles and wonders, Christ did His prayers. Then Jesus taught them the most powerful, meaningful and amazing prayer called the Lord's prayer.
Once a mother noticed her son praying to God and often saying, "Tokyo...Tokyo".  Then she asked why, the son said, "Mom, I have just now finished my exam and I ask God to make Tokyo the capital of France.
What is prayer? Suppose if you have a friend and knock at his door at mightnight and though in the beginning he refuses to give you what you want, because of your persistence, he will certainly give you anything. That is called prayer. The word 'Persistence' is also translated as boldness or shamlessness.
Prayer is  more like having  a conversation with your friend. God answers all our prayers. Sometimes He says, "Yes" to our prayers. Sometimes He says, "No" to our prayers and sometimes He says, "you got to be kidding".
God loves us so much and He answers all our prayers. Christ says when a son asks his dad for a fish, the dad is never going to give him a snake or for an egg, a scorpion. Imagine a man who is evil in nature knows how to give good things to his son and how much more your heavenly father will to those who ask Him the Holy Spirit. And God knows how to bless us all differently.
I remeber when I was in the seminary, we sent to help the students in the home for blind. One day as I was helping a blindstudent, the electricity went off and since it was mansoon, we knew the power  was not going to come back that soon and as I was struggling to get out of the place. The blind boy said, "I can take you out from here". I said, "it is so dark". He said, "I am used to darkness and I thank God for that..." I was so amazed to hear his positive approach over his blindness and in everything there is life and even a dead clock shows correct time twice a day. God is good and let's put our complete trust and thank Him for everything  not like that boy who thanked God saying,  "Thank God for my baby brother but I asked for a puppy...." Amen.