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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings
First Reading: Exodus 17:8-13
Responsorial: Psalm 121:1-8
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102019.cfm
My brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us the interesting story about the widow who sought justice from an unjust judge. Jesus says, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says,” (Luke 18:6).
And what does the judge say?
“…because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me down,” (Luke 18:5).
Is his motivation really about justice? No, of course not. The motivation is clearly self-preservation at best. But the judge does give us a glimpse into something very important. His motivation is not based on his faith in the absolute truth upon which the Law based, the inspired Word of God. His comment betrays his lack of real faith. This prompts Jesus to conclude the “Parable of the Persistent Widow” with a question: But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8).
But the journey of faith can be difficult. Perhaps a life of hard work can leave a person feeling jaded or cynical. Or perhaps you’ve lived a life filled with chapters you hope are never published. Either way, it’s all too easy to distance ourselves from living a life of faith – from living a life believing in anything other than those things which we define as real for ourselves.
In contrast with this idea, we hear in the first reading the extraordinary story of Israel’s battle against Amalek. Moses believed that as long as he held his arms up holding the staff of God in his hand, Israel would win the day. Indeed, as the battle raged, whenever Moses’ hands were held up, Israel succeeded, but when his arms dropped, Israel suffered. Wow! That’s a story of faith –the belief of the army of Israel that God would stand with them as long as Moses kept his arms up.
Scripture tells us again and again the amazing things we can accomplish with faith – real, absolute, unconditional faith in the God who saves. “Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth,” we hear from our Psalmist today.
But Moses could not keep his arms up without help. Scripture tells us that Aaron and Hur each supported one side of Moses until sunset. By the end of the day, Joshua and the army had indeed defeated Amalek. In the end, their faith, Moses’ faith in God and the army’s faith in Moses and God, saved the day. But what would have happened if Moses didn’t have help?
Help. That may be the most difficult word for some of us to speak. How many of us, I wonder, go through life believing we have to do it all on our own? “…be persistent,” we hear in our second reading from 2 Timothy 4:2. Be persistent like the widow in today’s parable.
But I suggest that one idea from our readings today is a reminder that we are in fact not alone. We are part of a community of believers. So, when our arms are tired, figuratively speaking, and we perhaps desire to take the easy path, let persistence nudge us forward and open us up to ask for help. How can we do this? Well, an accountability group like a Bible study with a group of friends might benefit us greatly. Or perhaps we could turn to a spouse or close friend or family member and ask for help. Of course you may ask me for help either by clicking the contact me button on the website or sending me a prayer request from the website and I’ll gladly help.
And we can pray – pray that God will place us in contact with the right person at the right time to help support our faith. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened in my life and continues to happen – the chance meeting with a person who truly is the answer to a prayer. So, we are encouraged by today’s readings to act with faith like Moses and not with selfish motivations like the unjust judge. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, we are reminded to, “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believe…” (2 Timothy 3:14).
Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions:
- Who are your Aaron and Hur? Who are the people who support you in your faith? Thank God for them!
- How can you be an Aaron or a Hur for someone this week?
I think by doing our homework, we can better recognize how God is trying to help us in our journey and how we can help others too. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!