30th week in Ordinary Time, Year 2, November 3,2006

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-11. Psam 111:2-6. Luke 14:1-6

Paul, our Epistle Saint, is an amazing person. I like him more and more as I age. Today he is helping me to pray and it is easy to pray with Paul. Usually, his immediate words right after addressing a community or person are what I am experiencing as prayer. They are called the "Thanksgiving" part of his writings and usually are quite personal and warm. Today's excerpt is probably the best of his prayers for it is so inclusive and warm that you feel his relationship to you and to the Lord. He is sharing what I call "faith of the heart." Just imagine yourself as one of the Philippian readers and you will be on target with this friendly letter. A learned Scripture scholar, Fr. David M. Stanley, S.J., wrote a book called "Boasting in the Lord". This gets into what I am talking about as the prayer of Paul. For Stanley, the title of the book demonstrates Paul at prayer. So whenever you or I or at a loss as how to pray, if we are not feeling or wanting to pray, take up the first chapter of any of his epistles and you will be at prayer with Paul; you will be "boasting in the Lord." Paul prays often and even ends some of his ideas to the community with a Jewish doxology or conclusion. Paul is a saint who prays and shares his prayer with us in the Scriptures.

Our Psalm is an easy follow-up on this "boasting in the Lord". The response reads "The works of the Lord are great" and the rest of the Psalm goes on to continue the praise of God for saving actions in the world and among God's people. The theme of the Psalm is the glorification of God for his loving-kindness and mercy seen in these saving acts.

In the Gospel, Jesus is again curing someone on a sabbath, but it must be near evening for now they are at table and the complaint comes from the owner of the house. Jesus gives the same response and cures the man with dropsy just as we have seen this same type of miracle performed on the woman who was bent over for eighteen years. So no matter where or when Jesus sees a person in need, he does something about their situation. There are no rules against the love of neighbor and certainly healing a person is an act of love performed only by those who are in direct contact with God on a higher level than any human institution. The healing can be spiritual as well as physical.

I am led to pray, "Lord Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me a sinner. I trust in your healing power and your loving-kindness and forgiveness. Have mercy on all of us! Amen."