October 16, 2016

 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time C Exodus 17: 8-13; 2 Timothy 3: 14-4:2; Luke 18: 1-8 How is your prayer life? When I go for my monthly visit to my spiritual director, we talk about this. When people come to me for spiritual direction we do the same. It is a good question for each of us to ask: How is my prayer life? The readings today concentrate on just this point telling us there are times when we need help…there are times when everything is easy…there are times when we feel forgotten…there are times we are called on to share. From the Scriptures today we see that even Moses which Exodus 33:11 says was the only man to talk with God ‘face to face’ needed help in prayer. Aaron and Hur had to hold Moses arms up so he wouldn’t tire so that Joshua could continue to mow “down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” [It is good to read the entire 33rd chapter of Exodus…it helps us with the relationship Moses had with God.] Moses needed help, do we admit to Go that we need help in praying? Sometimes prayer just becomes a ritual; we don’t even remember praying or what we said. So often we say so many routine prayers or devotions that they are just words without any conscious effort to ‘pray’ them versus to ‘say’ them. When this happens we need the help of those around us to persuade us to continue to persist in our prayers. We need God’s help all the time. ‘Lord, I’m having difficulty concentrating, can you help me with this? In today’s scene the fight goes on until sunset and finally Joshua’s army completely defeats the enemy. But the people relied on the ‘staff of God’ that Moses held which reveals, in a sense, the weak condition of their faith. In time, they won’t need the staff, they will be able to turn to God in prayer themselves. [Numbers 21: 1-3 gives an example of this.] Paul is writing his last will and testament to Timothy giving him all the tools he needs to teach and guide his community as being true followers of Christ. The prime task is to remain faithful. Am I faithful with my prayer life? Is my main task ‘to ask for something’? Am I expressing my gratitude and my praise to God? Is it all about ‘me’ in my prayer life? Do I give God a chance anytime in my prayer period to say a word? Almost everyone has had the experience of being trapped in a conversation with someone who just talked on and on and didn’t hardly listen at all. We wanted to share our thoughts but seldom could get a word in edgewise. We were frustrated and probably turned the person off. When I pray to God, do I dominate the conversation; if I do, I will have a hard time in listening. God never abandons us and is always waiting to be heard. Developing the practice and the art of listening is a wonderful habit to get into because we will see how eager God is to speak. It is always a two way relationship with God…do I let it happen? A great way to do this is to start our prayer by just slowing down and enjoying the stillness and quiet and be grateful, then pray. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us the need to be persistent and to persevere in our prayers. It is interesting to note that Luke wrote to a largely Gentile community. They didn’t have a long tradition in prayer as did the Jewish community of Matthew. The widow is asking for a just decision by the judge. It was their law that only the surviving sons could inherit the father’s estate. Luke tells us that the judge didn’t care about justice, he just wanted the nagging from the widow to stop. We can see two messages from Jesus: God will grant justice to those who are oppressed and that we should be persistent. The conclusion is very interesting…it almost seems that Luke adds this last sentence and it has little relationship with Jesus’ teaching. “But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Do I have faith in God? This is a question that I have to keep reflecting on in my life, especially when times are tough and it seems that God is ‘far away.’ There is a wonderful commentary set of books on the four gospels edited by Leo Zanchettin published by the Word Among Us. Today’s analysis from Luke, A Devotional Commentary is especially helpful. “What is your view of God? Do you think of Him as an unjust judge? Do you think you must cajole Him into caring for you? How easy it is for us to misunderstand the way God works! How quickly we develop false perceptions based on the way we interpret the events in our lives. Yet, the truth still stands that our God is loving and just. We can count on Him to give us all that we need. The judge in this parable was unscrupulous. According to Jewish Law (see Deuteronomy 24: 17-11), the widow had every right to ask for help. In fact, the judge should have given her request priority. Instead, however, he refused her again and again and made her beg for justice. In contrast, God is just, faithful, and loving. While we may not see immediate answers to our prayers, we should not despair. There are times when He delays so that He can teach us about trust. There are also times when the answer we think is best might actually hurt us. It can be difficult to abandon our cares to God. We cannot expect to understand why and how God chooses to answer our prayers—we do not know His divine purposes. But we can look to Jesus to show us the way to trust and obedience. Jesus fully turned His life over to God. In the midst of tremendous physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, He embraced God’s will. As a result, He was raised up and exalted to the highest place in heaven. We can all know the love of God that Jesus knew. Let us pray persistently and wait to see how God will respond to us in love. God loves us. When something doesn’t work out the way we had planned, let us not despair or begin blaming God. Let us reflect on Jesus’ example and abandon our lives to God. The Father had the best in mind for Jesus and He has the best in mind for us—even through the most difficult circumstances. We can trust God. His love always prevails. ‘Father, forgive us when we entertain thoughts that You are unjust or unloving towards us. We are weak and cannot understand Your ways. Help us in our weakness—strengthen us as we persist in our prayer.’” So I reflect on these questions from The Pocket Guide to Prayer by Gary Egeberg from the Chapter Listening for God’s voice. • “God often communicates with us through other people. Recall some specific times in your life when someone’s words or actions meant a great deal to you. • Sometimes it can be very helpful to write a letter to yourself in God’s voice. Allow the indwelling Spirit of God to write you a letter of love, acceptance, encouragement, hope, or whatever God desires to say to you in this letter. You might also consider writing a dialogue between you and God or between you and Jesus. • Many spiritual advisors encourage us to listen to our own inner voice, to our own intuitions. How carefully do you listen to, honor, and act upon your inner voice and intuitions? Can we truly listen to God if we don’t listen to ourselves? How can listening to God and listening to ourselves be complementary? The wisdom from Sacred Space 2016 “Lord, You puzzle me. I hear You telling me to persist in prayer, to entreat God until He is weary of me. You say He will quickly grant justice. But then I think of good people suffering famine, AIDS, loss of children, sickness, and death though they pray to God. I think of the Jews in Auschwitz, still singing the psalms as they walked into the gas chambers. Surely there are times when You delay in helping us? At times like this I turn to the memory of Your Passion and Your agonized prayer in the Garden. You have faced a dark and apparently empty heaven yet stayed faithful. Keep me with You. Our persistence own prayer does not change God’s mind. Instead it prepares our own heart by strengthening our desire for God! Jesus wishes us to pray always and not lose heart. Help me to be constant, Lord. Renew my failing confidence when Your answer is, ‘Wait…wait…wait a little longer.’”