TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
20 OCTOBER 2019
In
a culture dominated by men, widows had absolutely no social standing, no power,
and no source of income. For that
reason, the Law of Moses commanded special care and concern for widows. The judge in today’s parable is a member of
God’s Chosen People who should have been concerned about the welfare of
widows. He is also a judge – responsible
for implementing the law. He does not
follow the Biblical norms for the behavior of judges. He does not care about the plight of this
poor widow. He neither fears God nor
respects any human being.
The widow
may not have any power. But she is
persistent. In her own spunky way, she
keeps pestering the judge, demanding that he render a just decision against her
adversary. He eventually delivers a just
judgment, not because he cares about her plight, and not because she has made a
good case, but because he is afraid that she will strike him. Jesus has a great sense of humor, inviting us
to imagine a powerful judge living in fear of a little old lady beating him up!
The
disciples must have dropped their jaws when they heard this parable. Is Jesus comparing God to an unjust
judge? Do we have to pester God to
consider giving us justice? And the
answer is “no.” God is not like that
judge. If a corrupt judge can be worn
down by persistent pleadings from a helpless widow, how much more will the God
who loves us and knows what we need respond to our needs in our helplessness? The disciples need to hear this message as
Jesus speaks of his fate when they reach Jerusalem. The early Church needed to hear this message as
they face persecution and rejection in living the Gospel message.
We also need
to hear this message as we walk together in faith to the New and Eternal
Jerusalem. Yes, God loves us and knows
our needs, even before we express them.
But, we need to be persistent in expressing those needs in prayer, but
not to convince God to conform his will to ours. Instead, we need to be persistent in our
prayers to remain in union with God and come to know his will for us and trust
that his will can ultimately bring peace and happiness.
Trusting
that God walks with us at every step can be difficult. The Amalekites in the first reading are
symbols of obstacles standing in our way as we journey to the New and Eternal
Jerusalem, just as they stood in the way of the Israelites on their journey to
the Promised Land. Those obstacles are
many. We might pray for causes that are
right and just. We might pray intensely
for a loved one afflicted with cancer or for healing of a relationship. We can pray for success in our work to
support our family or an end to hatred and racism and war. Those prayers are sometimes not
answered. Not too long ago, I was
getting ready to celebrate Mass at one of our nursing homes. The volunteers from the parish brought in a
relatively young man in a wheel chair and asked if he is Catholic. He responded:
“I used to be, until this happened to me!” He sat angrily in his chair, glaring at the
rest of us, and refused to participate in any way. At least he remained at Mass, and we prayed
that this might be a first step in regaining hope.
That is why
persistence in prayer is so important.
Rooted in this central prayer of the Church – the Eucharist – persistent
prayer reminds us that God is walking with us, even if we do not feel his
presence. Persistent prayer keeps us
connected with the one who knows our needs and will not abandon us. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus is persistent
in his prayer, even though he knows that his journey will end at the cross,
because he trusts in the resurrection.
At the
beginning his Gospel, Luke introduces us to Anna, the old woman who has waited
her entire life to see the Messiah. If
we imitate her persistent prayer, there will be faith on earth when the Son of
Man comes. We can take Paul’s advice and
be persistent, whether convenient or inconvenient, convincing, reprimanding,
and encouraging all to trust in God’s love.
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