Fr Kevin Kilgore

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I hate traffic.

Sometimes you’re stuck in it so long, it feels like we’ve entered the ninth circle of Dante’s hell! That stop and go… stop and go… can feel like an eternity.

Perhaps the reason why I – and I’m sure all of us – despise traffic is because it causes us to be delayed.

We’ve got somewhere to go, and those three hundred cars in front of us are all that’s preventing our arrival. 

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In the Gospel, Martha cries at the feet of Jesus, because he was delayed in his arrival. 

“If you had been here, Lord,” she says, “my brother would not have died.”

Martha’s brother, Lazarus, has been dead for two days, wrapped inside a tomb. What made his death so heartbreaking for her was the fact that she believed Jesus could’ve healed him.

“If you had been here, Lord…If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

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How many of us have said something similar to Jesus? “If you had been here, Lord…if you had been here.”

We pray for an open door, a job, healing, a spouse, inner peace…but it feels like Jesus is stuck in a traffic jam.

He’s delayed.

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We must remember the other half of the story.

Although delayed, Jesus arrives – he pulls up and raises Lazarus from the dead. He answers Martha’s prayer.

If we’re still waiting on the Lord to respond, have faith.

Jesus never deserts his flock.

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For today’s Mass readings, go to:

www.usccb.org

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Some years ago, an extensive study was done on religion in America. Among other things, the study found that 92% of Americans believe in the existence of God. 

On the surface, that’s pretty impressive… 92%!

But we all know statistics can be deceiving. There’s a huge difference between a person who believes God exists… and a person of faith.

For example, how many people believe in the existence of God like they believe in the existence of Mars, Saturn, or Pluto? 

They’re all out there somewhere, but none of them have an impact on my daily life. 

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What would be a much more revealing – and important – statistic is the number of Americans who pray.

Do I pray? And if so, how often?

At times our prayer may be as simple as saying, “Good morning, God. I love you and I give you this day.” 

Other times, our prayer may be much more intense. Perhaps there’s been a moment when we poured our hearts out to God, hoping he’d cure cancer, open a door, help us find a partner, or a job.

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That’s where we find Abraham in our first reading.

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Abraham’s torn with grief. He knows the Lord is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the peoples’ sinful, unrepentant behavior.

But he begs the Lord for mercy because his nephew, Lot, and his family are living there. Like the other residents, Lot has done terrible things, but Abraham intercedes on his behalf.

“Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city,” he says. “Would you wipe out the place rather than spare it?”

And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty innocent people, I will spare it.”

“What about forty-five?”Abraham says. “Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten?”

Look at what Abraham’s doing – he’s wrestling with God! Verse by verse, he keeps pushing and pushing until he gets what he wants. His prayer isn’t long and drawn out; it’s simple.

But it’s filled with faith and hope. 

As it turns out his nephew, Lot, is saved.

Perhaps that’s something we could all do – pray for those we love who are distant from God. Like Abraham, our prayers may help bring them back.

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We must be careful, however. 

Prayer isn’t magic – and we don’t always get what we want. If, for example, we prayed for a new Mercedes today and got it tomorrow, then everyone would pray!

But that’s not prayer – that’s just wishful thinking. Prayer is our conversation with God; it’s the time we spend asking for what we want or need.

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And this is where it gets tough.

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Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find.” He doesn’t say, “Ask and you shall receive whatever what you want.”

Rather, ask and you shall receive… something. At times that “something” isn’t exactly what we want… But other times it is!

What’s something I want from God?

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Maybe we’re hoping for healing in our marriage, the remission of cancer, a job, renewal in our Church, or inner peace.

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“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says, “seek and you will find.”

Who knows, we may get exactly what we’re looking for.

But if we never ask, we’ll never know.

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Can you say that in my good ear, Lord?

I thought I just heard you predict your own death. 

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For the last three years, the disciples have watched Jesus exercise power over demons, heal the sick, and develop a cult-like following.

Many want to crown him king. 

Understandably, the disciples believe that they, too, have a bright future ahead. As friends of Jesus, surely they’ll have important titles and people under their rule.

But now Jesus tells them this won’t be happening; his life and ministry are coming crashing to an end. 

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The disciples must have been stunned and terribly disappointed. This isn’t what they planned. Can any good come out this?

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If they’re to find out, then they must hang on and trust.

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Like the disciples, maybe our plans haven’t turned out the way we’d hoped – our marriage is awash in difficulty, our prayers go unanswered, we have fewer friends than we want, our work is unrewarding.

Sudden changes or turns in the road of life that leave us dazed and confused.

In these moments, we, too, must trust that Jesus can lead us forward to new life because he is God; as the Psalmist says, “even the winds and the sea obey him.”