Isaiah 53:10-11 / Hebrews 4:14-16 / Mark 10:35-45
By a simple definition, Christians are disciples of Jesus. And connected to that, Christians are a people of prayer.
The Church is often called a House of Prayer. At the same time, Christians gathered and united in prayer are also called the Church.
So, whether we are called Church or Christians, the fundamental denominator is prayer.
So, as Church and as Christians, what is it that we do at prayer? There are four movements in prayer and it can be expressed in the acronym ACTS.
A is for adoration - We praise and worship the Lord our God.
C is for contrition - We confess our guilt and ask for forgiveness.
T is for thanksgiving - We give thanks to God for His blessings and we also want to see everything as a blessing.
S is for supplication - We offer our needs and petitions to the Lord.
So, when we pray and when we follow that format of the acronym ACTS, then our prayer will be focused and directed towards God.
But when we have urgent and pressing needs, then we tend to forget that ACTS format and go straight to supplication.
Undoubtedly, when our needs are urgent, then our needs would come first and we “storm heaven” for our needs.
But the acronym ACTS reminds us of the first things first, and that is Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication.
In the gospel, we heard of James and John approaching Jesus and saying, “Master, we want you to do us a favor.” So James and John jumped straight into a request or petition.
When Jesus asked them what was it that they wanted, they asked to be seated in glory at His right and left.
And Jesus told them this: You do not know what you are asking.
In other words, Jesus is telling James and John that what they are asking for is only for themselves and not for the good of others.
And that also made the others feel indignant with James and John.
But Jesus also went on to teach His disciples what to pray for, and that is, to be a servant for others.
Because He Himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to even give His life as a ransom for many.
And as disciples of Jesus, we the Church, will have to follow our Master, and to offer our prayers for others and our lives in service of others.
This weekend, the local Churches all over the world, celebrate the inauguration of the Synod that was begun by Pope Francis in Rome last weekend.
There is this phrase, “to keep an ear to the ground”. If we remember watching those old western movies, the Native Americans would go down on their hands and knees and put their ears to the ground to listen for movements in the area.
In a sense, the Synod is a process in which the whole Church goes down on her hands and knees and listen the voices on the ground.
But the Church can only listen clearly when her knees are knelt in prayer and her hands reach out in humble service to the poor and the lowly.
So, in our prayer, we put aside our needs and we pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance in the Synod process, and also for those in need of God's help.
That is also our service to others. When we pray for others in their need, God will also grant us what we need.
When we do God's work, God will also help us to accomplish our own work.
As the Church and as disciples of Jesus, let us fulfil our calling as Christians.
Let us lead the world in adoration of the one true God.
Let us acknowledge that we are sinners and we pray for the conversion of sinners.
Let us give thanks always for God's blessings so that we can be humble and grateful.
Let that be our prayer and God will help us to take care of the rest.