July 18, 2010: 16th Sunday Ordinary (C)

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The other day I was at the Women's Hospital making a visit to a young mother who just gave birth to her first son. He arrived a little early, so he had to be placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). First I visited the mother of the baby, and she was doing okay. Then I went over to the NICU to see the baby. The previous two times that I have been into the NICU at Women's Hospital, I was baptizing the babies as they were dying. So I had a flash back to those moments as I washed my hands to go and see the baby. This time, though, the baby was healthy and was breathing on his own. And the prognosis was good. Surrounding him were numerous screens that beeped and chirped and showed the vital signs. The nurses were lovingly looking over the babies in the incubators. The father of the baby was beaming with a smile, proud being a dad for the first time. He was hoping that his son will soon join him at home rather than living in an incubator.

Most of us don't remember much of our time spent in the maternity ward with our moms after our birth. We don't remember being held, 'coo'ed, fed, and we especially don't remember all the agonies that our mom and dad went through when our vital signs weren't so good. My sister's latest baby, Pio, probably do not remember the few days that he spent with his mom alone in hospital in Washington DC during 'Snowpocalypse' last year when snow stopped everything in DC. It's the hope of the parents many times when their kids are acting up or being unappreciative, that the kids would some how remember all the things that parents did for them. But that would have to wait until they themselves grow up, marry, and have their own kids to experience the forgotten memories for which they should be grateful for.

In today's First Reading, we read about Abraham and Sarah who had to wait many years of agony for the birth of their very first son, Isaac. How many years do you think Abraham and Sarah had to wait before God gave them Isaac? Around 25 years! How many of us would have given up on God if we had to wait for a prayer to be answered 25 years. These days I text on my phone frequently. And I've been accustomed to receiving a reply in less than 15 minutes. And many of us have been accustomed to expect an answer for our prayer to God in minutes--if it prolongs beyond few days or several weeks we get antsy. But if the delay goes beyond weeks or even a year, forget it. We'll look somewhere else for business. Many people who visit United States marvel at the orderliness of the checkout lines at groceries and banks. Believe me, I have stood in line at Walmart at 11PM at night, and beyond 5 minutes wait, we Americans become impatient and irate just as any other person in the world.

But let's look at this another way. We often complain that God is not answering our prayers promptly, and that we have the right to be impatient with Him. Yet how many times has He asked us for something, and we have not replied back. When was the last time that He asked us to spend some time with Him in silence and we actually did that. When was the last time He asked us to get cleaned up in Confession and we have actually did that. Believe me, I have plenty of people telling me, "Bless me Father for I have sinned, it's been 10 years since my last Confession."

Sometimes we can be impatient with the Lord like Martha who complained to Jesus for showing up at her house and causing her anxiety and worry in fixing up the house and preparing a meal for Him. She said, ""Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?" I wonder if Martha is grumbling about Jesus even showing up at her house! Yet to Mary who sat by His feet and listened intently at his words Jesus said, "There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

A premature baby at NICU will not remember all the agony that his parents went through worrying about his health and vital signs. While he was in the incubator sleeping, his parents stood by many hours with hope and desperation that he will grow to be a healthy boy one day to be able to say "daddy" and "mommy". That's what Heavenly Father hopes for us. He provides everything, unbeknownst to our awareness, and He hopes that one day we will say to him "Abba", "Father," and "daddy." For us, 25 years that Abraham waited for his prayer to be answered seems long. But the number of years that Heavenly Father waited for us to recognize Him and to love Him has been even longer. It really speaks of God's incredible patience with us, doesn't it? How do we answer Father's prayer for us? It is to sit before Jesus in the Eucharist like Mary, for Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father."