“Be Silent”
Polycarp: Matt. 6:7-8-“When you are praying, do not heap phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” The best prayer is to be silent. Jesus own prayer hints at what feeds prayer–an attitude of praising God, desiring the reign of love, peace, and justice to come on earth, trying to unite our desires with the desires of God for us and for the world, and to rest in our efforts to forgive others. I was in the Haight last night doing outreach. The young one’s were happy just to receive some food and socks and blanket, planning their next trip or just hanging out. I come back to Polk and I see the result of age. People struggling, demanding more, really a darkness of failure and foreboding. I have people who come down trying to “help” people, trying to get them to “change”, not understanding that many of these guys began this journey years ago, and as the years past they wind up in a position where it is difficult, if not impossible to change their way of life, and for many the middle class way of life is not what they want. The other point with people who have so much is they live in an environment in which they have so much, not understanding this is not the standard way of life in most of the world or even in this one–they have a guilt that goes with having money and comfort. For me it is the sin we all have to deal with in the Spiritual Excercises–the sin of being selfish. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!
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