Fr. Roger J. Landry

Columbia Catholic Ministry, Notre Dame Church, Manhattan

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

October 16, 2022

Ex 17:8-13, Ps 121, 2 Tim 3:14-4:2; Lk 18:1-8

 

To listen to an audio recording of tonight’s homily, please click below: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/10.16.22_CCM_Homily_1.mp3

 

The following text guided the homily: 

* In today’s first reading, we have a pivotal scene from the journey of the Israelites across the desert. It happened at Rephidim, where Moses at God’s instruction had struck a rock and allowed it to gush forth water for the people to drink. A brand new well in the middle of the desert would obviously attract others who might see in the well not just the means to quench their thirst but a source of power and profit. And so unsurprisingly the fearsome Amalekites showed up. God told the Israelites not to be afraid and instructed Moses to climb a nearby mountain with the staff of God in his hand and allow Joshua and the Israelites to battle against Amalek and his soldiers. We see what happened during the fight. Whenever Moses raised his hands raised in prayer, the Israelites dominated. Whenever his hands grew tired and fell, the Israelites were pummeled. Hence Moses’ two assistants, his brother Aaron and Hur, had him sit on a rock as they from behind kept his hands raised in prayer until sunset. With the hands raised as an external sign of Moses’ constant prayer, Joshua and the Israelites ended up mowing down the Amalekites. Through this unforgettable lesson, God was teaching his people about the importance of praying always in order to persevere and be victorious in the battles of life, the battles all of us face, individually and as the people of God.

* Jesus underlines this message in the Gospel with the Parable of the Persistent Widow, which St. Luke says Jesus gave us so that we would learn about the “necessity for them to pray always without losing heart.” Notice it wasn’t about the “suggestion” of trying to find time to pray, or the “helpful tip,” but the sine qua non If this persevering widow was able eventually to get a corrupt judge to do the right thing when she was being victimized, Jesus says, how much more will God the Father, the Just Judge, “secure the rights of his chosen ones,” his beloved sons and daughters, “who call out to him day and night.” Jesus implies that God’s chosen ones do call out to him not just when convenient, not just when there’s an emergency, but night and day. His chosen ones pray always without growing weary. We seek to unite ourselves to him not just in formal times of prayer, but in our study, our work, our hobbies, even our sleep.

* At the end of the parable, however, Jesus asks a haunting question: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” At first it’s seems like a non-sequitur. Jesus is talking about prayer through a story of a persistent widow and a corrupt judge but then he turns to asking about whether he will find people faithful. What’s the connection? It’s because prayer is faith-in-action. Jesus was asking whether when he comes — and by this he certainly means the end of our life, but since he can come at any point, he also means right now, tomorrow, any time — will he find us ultimately persevering in prayer? One of the reasons why it seems God does not always answer our prayers immediately is because he wants to train us in how to pray without wearying. If we got everything we asked for immediately, we might only pray episodically, when we need something. God loves us too much for that. Pope Francis focused on this point a few years ago, explaining that Jesus’ words about the necessity of praying always without giving up lead us “to deepen a very important aspect of the faith.