Happy St. Patrick’s day. In today’s first reading we hear about Queen Esther, who was so seized by mortal anguish and guilt,that she laid before the lord in prayer, prostrated on the ground, together with her handmaids, from morning until evening.Unfortunately today, being St. Patrick’s day, has become a day for some, known for drinking green beer… I assume there will be many people prostrated on the ground for other reasons: Passed out drunk from their early start of kegs n’ eggs and pre-drinking before the parade. So I think it is important to remember that in the season of lent we are to model Queen Esther… prostrating on the ground, not passed out drunk, but in prayer. It is a time to call to mind our moral anguish, or sins, and our failings. It’s true we all have them whether we want to admit them or not. What was so beautiful is that this queen spent the entire day from morning until evening, prostrated in prayer, lying on the ground before God. What a humble, moving, beautiful prayer posture that is to have before God.
There’s a popular website that has gained a lot of attention and publicity called: Do Nothing for 2 minutes. So if you just do a search, Google or whatever, for “Do nothing for two minutes” you’ll get to this web page. http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/ On the web page is an ocean scene and sounds of waves come from your speaker. And then in the middle is a two minute timer. All you have to do is sit there and relax for two minutes. Most people don’t make it for 45 seconds. It’s hard for us to do nothing. But often times that is a wonderful description of prayer. Do nothing, waste your time with God, and lay before him.
So if we can blow off a day of work and go to the parade chances are that we can blow off some time today, doing nothing constructive, just wasting time with God. Go ahead stop what you are doing for two minutes prostrate on the ground, lay down before God in prayer all of your worries, your guilt, your anxieties lay yourself down before God… It will be a wonderful moment… and them someday maybe you’ll do it from morning until evening. Make this St. Patrick’s day a prayerful one.
