Exodus 17:8-13, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 and Luke 18:1-8
October 16, Sunday 2022 – Exodus 17:8-13, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 and Luke 18:1-8
God will do justice to those who cry out to him!
The liturgy of this Sunday teaches us that we must pray always, without growing weary, with faith great. Perseverance in prayer is faith in action. Jesus exhorts us to always ask, to to seek persistently, to knock because to him who asks will be given, to him who seeks will find, to him who knocks will be opened.
The first reading, taken from Exodus, speaks of the war against Amalek and his people.
The Amalekites stood between Israel and the land God had promised them. They had declared war on Israel, and Israel had no choice but to retaliate. Staff in hand, Moses stood on top of the mountain overlooking the battlefield praying fervently for Israel with his arms raised and outstretched. Because he grew weary, Aaron and Hur, made him sit on a rock and supported his arms until Israel defeated Amalek because when Moses held his hands up, Israel prevailed in the battle, but when he dropped them, Amalek prevailed.
In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 121), the psalmist reminds us that the Lord God, the “keeper of Israel,” in caring for His people “neither slumbers nor sleeps.” Clearly, our trust in Him should be as boundless as His love for us.
In the second reading, Paul recommends to Timothy perseverance in prayer, in the study of the Scriptures, in the practice of faith, and in the preaching of God’s word. He further advises him, “Announce the word, insist at the proper and untimely time, admonish, rebuke, exhort, with all magnanimity and teaching.” That is, Timothy is to persevere in his ministry despite the obstacles he will encounter.
The gospel contains an important teaching: “The need to pray always, never tiring” (v. 1). This is not a matter of praying whenever, sometimes, when I feel like it. No, Luke presents the parable with the following sentence, “At that time, Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray always, without tiring.” The recommendation to “pray without tiring” appears many times in the New Testament (1 Thess. 5:17; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; etc.). and is a characteristic of the spirituality of the early Christian communities.
In the parable we find two characters: a widow and a judge
The judge is unjust, unscrupulous, disregarding the Law, doing what he wants, according to his own interest. At one point, however, he grants the widow justice, not because he is moved by mercy, nor because his conscience requires him to do so; he simply admits, “Since this widow is bothering me, I will do her justice so that she will not come continually to bother me” (v. 5). Here is a fact of everyday life that Jesus uses to teach how to pray.
Widows, along with orphans and foreigners, were the weakest groups in society. The rights assured to them by the Law could easily be trampled upon because, being lonely and defenseless people, they could hardly assert themselves: a poor widow, there, alone, no one defended her, they ignored her, and did not do her justice. Faced with the judge’s indifference, the widow resorted to her only weapon: persistently continuing to importune him, presenting her request for justice. And it is precisely through this insistence and persistence that she achieves her goal.
If the widow succeeds in bending the dishonest judge with her insistent demands, how much more will God, who is a good and righteous Father, “do justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night”; and moreover, he will not “keep them waiting long,” but will act “promptly” (vv. 7-8).
If Jesus had not said this, we would not have had the courage to compare Jesus to a dishonest judge! Finally, Jesus expresses a doubt: “But will the Son of Man when he comes find faith on earth?” That is, will we have the courage to hope, to be patient, even if God delays in doing what we ask?
When we read this parable about perseverance, we usually think of it in these terms: God is the judge and we are the widow. It means that we must persevere in tormenting God until we are given what we want.
But, what if we change the roles and say that we are the judge and God is the widow?
We, like the judge, are fundamentally unjust. Sometimes we also do not fear God; that is, we do not allow God to create some problems or difficulties for us so that we can be more good. Likewise, like the judge, we persistently refuse to listen to the cries of the poor around us.
But God is the persistent widow who will not go away. God continues to torment us, refusing to accept our no to love as final. God will persist until we have rendered righteous judgment, that is, until we have acted with goodness, until we learn to love. In Genesis we are told that we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Perhaps our prayer could be: Dear Persevering God, make us more like you!
Life messages
We all experience moments of weariness and discouragement, especially when our prayer seems ineffective. But Jesus assures us: unlike the dishonest judge, God readily hears his children, even if it does not mean that he does so in the times and ways we would like.
Prayer is not a magic wand!
a) Prayer helps us keep faith in God to trust Him even when we do not understand His will.
b) In prayer what matters first of all is the relationship with the Father for that, striving to adapt our requests according to the will of God who is merciful love, we will find ourselves in all our reality and humility.
Fr Joby Kavungal RCJ
San Lorenzo Parish, TREZZANO SUL NAVIGLIO – MILAN