17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
‘Lord, teach us to pray.’
O God, protector of those who hope in you,
without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy,
bestow in abundance your mercy upon us
and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may use the good things that pass in such a way
as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure.
As this Sunday’s Gospel Acclamation reminds us, ‘The Word was made flesh and lived among us; to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.’ Today’s readings also reveal a parent God who cares for us. We are his children, the ‘works of his hands’.
Though we have fallen short (First Reading), God finds the good in us and is ever ready to respond with faithfulness and compassion (Psalm). The Lord answers our call through his eternal love.
St Paul’s letter to the Colossians (Second Reading) shows the extent of that eternal love. God is willing to go even to the cross in order that we might be brought to new life.
The opening section of today’s Gospel gives us the shorter form of the Lord’s Prayer, and this is followed by the parable of the friend who comes by night. This teaches perseverance in prayer and shows that God’s parental love far surpasses any human love.
This week, let us be confident that the One who brings us to life will continue to love us with an infinite love and will give us all the good things we need.
