30th Sunday of Ordinary Time [C]


30TH SUNDAY, ORDINARY TIME [C]


Suppose for a moment that you are a golfer. Golfing means teeing off but never being completely satisfied with your result. You’re always looking for more distance. It’s never about less; it’s always about more. The industry understands this. They know that you are always searching for some kind of an additional edge. This would explain the arrival of “Big Bertha” back during the early 1990’s. Produced by Callaway, the Big Bertha represented something new, with its steel shaft and its oversized titanium head. From a promotional standpoint, the message was clear: use our club if you want superior distance. 


Not long afterwards, the people at Titleist would follow up with their own message: if you want superior distance, use our newly developed golf ball—the ProV1. As was the case with Big Bertha, the ProV1 reflected a new approach: the highly concentrated core generating optimal distance, and the dimpled urethane outer coating enabling optimal spin. So you will gain yardage and precision if you convert to the ProV1. Therefore, it all comes down to the purchases that you make. That’s how you find your edge. Quite simply, you obtain your edge by stocking up on ProV1’s and having a Big Bertha in your bag. 


But then again, maybe that’s not your primary concern. An edge on the golf course is all good and fine. However, you’re pursuing something of a more spiritual nature—a kind of spiritual edge. You want to be assured that your prayers are indeed traveling the full distance. Your golf ball may or may not travel the full distance. What really matters is that your prayers are traveling the full distance. So, where should you turn? Do you turn to the people at Titleist? Do you turn to the people at Callaway? Or should you be thinking about an alternative source—something less commercial? 


Actually, you’re better off turning to the Book of Sirach (35:12-18). And you would also do well to spend time in the Gospel of St. Luke (18:9-14). These passages each place a strong emphasis on the notion of disposition. You’ll be “launching” your prayers, if you can maintain a saintly disposition. Avoid the sin of pride. Avoid the sin of arrogance. Embrace the virtue of humility. Then, your prayers will sail beyond the fairway, beyond all of the hazards. Your prayers will reach where you want them to reach: the throne of God in Heaven. 


Paul was a true prayer-warrior. Imagine all of the prayers being offered up by the apostle over the course of his ministry. Finally, he can see the finish line. Call it the 19th Hole. Or the Celestial Club-House. For his part, Paul refers to it as the Kingdom of Heaven (2nd Tim. 4:18). He’s been directing a great number of prayers to that Kingdom; now he’s about to gain entry; he’s about to have a seat at the table. It’s another way of saying: you’ll go as far as your prayers take you. Live in such a way that your prayers can find their way to Heaven. By doing so, you’ll be securing a place for yourself within the abode of Heaven. Allow your prayers to be fueled by a quality way of life. Send your prayers all the way, and in the process you will be sending yourself all the way. Again, you’ll go as far as your prayers take you. 

 

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