Tuesday of the First Week in Lent

Lectionary: 225​

Jesus said to his disciples: 

"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, 

who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 

Do not be like them. 

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Sometimes we should begin our reflections on prayer with that negative word, "Do not babble like the pagans." Unfortunately I don't know many pagans who babble their prayers. They don't pray at all! It's just not the thing anymore. But we should get the point about not babbling. 

In my life in the Catholic Church and occasional visits to Orthodox and Protestant churches I have seen many different forms of prayer. Sometimes it seemed like they were just babbling. I didn't mean to judge and when I allowed for my own expectations of prayer, what I suppose "good prayer" might be, I realized I could not judge.

I attended a Baptist Christmas ceremony that seemed very starched and pretentious. I have attended other Baptist ceremonies that, I thought, could use a bit more starch. But they had their own forms and expectations of what good prayer should be and they certainly seemed satisfied with the experience.

To quote a famous person in a different context, "Who am I to judge?"

Perhaps the more important part of Jesus' admonition is the second line, "...who think that they will be heard because of their many words." Sometimes we go through the motions of prayer and suppose we touched all the bases, that should be good enough. 

My colleagues in the VA, the Protestant chaplains, sometimes ask me."How was your Mass?"  What on earth can they mean by that question? It was perfect, of course!

The Protestant Reformation represents Jesus' challenge to the Church. Are we babbling like pagans or allowing our desperation to speak in God's august presence? Are we allowing our hearts to be changed by our prayer? Are we letting it challenge those dark places in our hearts that seem impenetrable? 

My personal solution to the problem, if I can use the word personal or solution is to try to pay attention to each word and each sentence as I pray; or at least as I pray our liturgical prayers. (That's clearly not expected of the rosary,though it would be a good effort once in a while.) 

I notice, for instance, as I say the Mass, when I have elided over a syllable. I want to touch on every the, of and a. I want them to be clearly heard by the congregation. I am, after all, reciting these prayers in their hearing and they rely on me to understand and enunciate each word. If I am not paying attention I don't know how they might be paying attention. And yet our words are God's Word; a priestly people prays in persona Christi. 

Here we are in the Supreme Temple of God the Father, and these words are Jesus' address to his Beloved Father. They are animated and empowered by their Holy Spirit, even as Hosts of Angels fly about us shouting "Holy, Holy, Holy!" 

I should at least pay attention! 

The same kind of thing can happen in ordinary conversation. They tell the story of the fellow who suddenly looks up at his wife and says, "I'm sorry, honey, what were you saying?" And, after a baffled silence, she says, "I don't know!" It happens a lot, and not just between married couples. 

So we hear the Lord's injunction, "Don't babble like the pagans!" in our conversation with God or with one another. Pay attention. Let your words mean what they say. Listen to your own words of prayer and hear the Word of the Lord.