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Gospel Reflection 20071021

The more we pray, the more we become aware of the presence of God in our lives.
God communicates with us all the time, but it is easy to miss those messages. When we pray words over and over again, they can lose meaning. When we focus on what the words are actually saying, the words fill with power and meaning!
By intentionally placing yourself in a prayer posture and genuinely listening to the words you are saying, you allow yourself to become aware of God's presence. God "speaks" to you. You become a better receiver of insights from God.

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Persist in Prayer
October 21, 2007


Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Gospel
Lk 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"





Christ uses the image of the widow because he has compassion on the person who is needy. Everyone is needy in his own way. Everyone has virtues he needs to acquire, and sins and vices that need to be cast out. It takes a humble person to realize his inability to acquire these virtues on his own and to resort to begging our Lord for his grace. Do I see my need for Christ in the battle for virtue, or do I work as if he played no role? We were created to have a personal relationship with Christ, to seek his will, and then to put it into action. Everything we say, think, and do should flow from our continual friendship with him. God wants us to realize we are completely dependent on him. He knows what we need before we ask. However, he waits until we turn to him in prayer and in this way increases our desire for what we request.

How many of you have seen this painting of an old burnt-down mountain shack? All that remains is the chimney - the charred debris of what was that family's sole possession. In front of the destroyed home stands an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his dressing-gown with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. The child is crying. Beneath the picture are written the words which the old man is speaking to the boy. They are simple words, yet they represent a profound sense of faith and hope. The words are, "Hush child, God ain't dead!" The man or woman of faith knows that there are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about their situations. Today's gospel presents us with another example, that of a woman of faith, a widow, and urges us never to grow hopeless about any situation in which we find ourselves, no matter how hopeless it may seem.
In ancient Jewish society a woman depended on her husband for sustenance and social status. To lose a husband meant to be poor and defenseless, especially where the widow had no grownup son. That was as close to a hopeless situation as one could ever get. The greatness of the widow in the parable lies in her refusal to accept the oppressive and abusive situation in which she found herself in the pretext that "That's the way things are." Some other less courageous, pious woman would even have told her to submit to the oppression as being God's will. But she knew better. She kept her hope in final justice alive and did everything in her power to right the wrongs inflicted on her by her oppressive neighbors. Finally her dogged determination paid off and she was vindicated. There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about their situations.
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl; / The one was wise, and a cheery soul.
The other one took a gloomy view / And bade his friend a sad adieu.
Said the other frog with a merry grin, / "I can't get out, but I won't give in;
I'll swim around till my strength is spent, / Then I will die the more content."
And as he swam, though ever it seemed, / His struggling began to churn the cream
Until on top of pure butter he stopped, / And out of the bowl he quickly hopped.
The early Christians found themselves in such an apparently hopeless predicament. Soon after Jesus left them they found themselves persecuted and oppressed by the Jewish religious hierarchy. What encouraged them to endure the persecution was their belief that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus was soon to take place. They believed it would coincide with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. But when in AD 70 Jerusalem fell and the Temple was destroyed yet Jesus was nowhere to be seen, the Christians found themselves in a big crisis of faith. Have they hoped in vain? Will the Lord ever come back to reestablish justice, to vindicate the innocent and put their enemies to shame? Should they continue hoping and resisting the injustice of their oppressors or should they just join them since they can't beat them? In other words, the early Christians found themselves in the situation of this widow who, without her husband, her lord, had to wage a campaign of passive resistance against injustice and oppression without knowing when it might come to an end. That is why the parable ends with the words of reassurance and a probing question:
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:7-8)
The practical implication of the parable for daily Christian living is given, namely that we "ought always to pray and not lose heart" (verse 1). Prayer expresses our hope and nourishes our faith. Let us ask God today to make us strong in our faith, unwavering in our hope, and persistent in our prayer.

Consider gambling. I think the odds are always stacked against us. However, there is a saying in the lotteries that goes like this, "You can't win unless you buy a ticket." Well, they don't tell you that even it you buy a ticket your chances can be a couple of million to one that you won't win.
It's not that way with our God. We win every time. All our troubles may not go away, life will not become a bowl of cherries but, like the woman in today's readings, if we persevere, if we continue to ask Him for His help, it will come. But we must take the initiative. Ask Him for help in one particular situation in which you find yourself. Be specific. And then, don't just wait for a bolt of lighting to change everything. Do everything you can to help yourself but put Him in the equation. That's what He asks us to do. He will not disappoint us.


Several years ago there was book and a movie called "Catch 22". The phrase "Catch 22" eventually became an often-used expression for a situation that is hopeless.
An example of "Catch 22" is the person who is told that he could not get a job unless he belonged to the union-only to find out that he can't join the union without a job.
Well, the woman in today's Gospel was in a real "Catch 22" situation. She was the helpless victim of an absolutely corrupt system. Most likely, she wanted the unjust judge to help her get the inheritance that her husband had left her. Her adversary was probably a lawyer who was holding back the money that was rightfully hers.
The "Catch 22" was that, in order to get a hearing with the judge to get her money, she needed a bribe to pay him off. Since she didn't have any money to bribe him with, she couldn't get a hearing to get her money.
In Jesus' time in Israel, women had absolutely no rights of their own. Their rights came through their husbands. So, if a widow didn't have a family to take care of her, she was really up against it, especially if she had small children.
So, in this impossible situation, the poor widow uses the only means open to her. Faithful to the old adage that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, she comes to court every day and makes a scene. How many mothers and fathers right here in the assembly today wouldn't do exactly the same thing, if their children were in dire need?!! For the sake of his personal peace of mind, the judge finally gives her what is rightfully hers.
You know, most of Jesus' parables involve a similarity between the main character and God. Here, however, the point of the story is the difference between the corrupt judge and God. It's a story of contrasts.

Though her situation appeared hopeless, the woman never gave up. With God, however, Jesus is saying that our situation (whatever it is) is never hopeless. God is not like the corrupt judge. He doesn't have to be bought off before He'll answer our prayers. God is always approachable.
Are there people here today who think that God doesn't hear their prayers? If there are, then today's Gospel story is for them. God wants all of us to come before Him with all of our needs and concerns. And the needs and concerns of others too. He always answers our prayers, although the answers may not be exactly what we'd like them to be.
Perhaps you're wondering; "What's the point of praying, if God already knows what we want"? Or, "Why bother praying because, whatever I ask for never seems to happen"? Maybe these questions occur because, down deep, we have a sneaking suspicion that God is just like the unjust judge-hard-hearted and uncaring. Maybe that's why Jesus used this particular type of judge in the story.
But, we have to persist in our prayers, regardless of outcome-not because God is hard-hearted, but because we may be.
When we ask God for something, are we trying to get Him to change His mind? That would make God just like the unjust judge. And, the point of the story, as we have just seen, is that God is not like the corrupt judge. No, our prayers don't change God-they change us. They open us up to God working in our lives.
Prayer reminds us of our need for God. How easy it is to forget our need for Him, when things are going well for us. It's precisely at these times-when the sun is shining on us-that we start to think that we can make it on our own. We think that we can get by; by our cleverness, by our hard work, by luck, by knowing the right people, even by trying to be so good that God will have to grant our requests!

I think that one of our problems with our prayers not being answered is that we're not praying for the right things. Our prayers are too small and too self-centered. And, God certainly knows that I'm probably more guilty of this than anyone here today.
When I say that our prayers are too small, I mean that God wants us to ask (and ask and ask again) for eternal things. Don't get me wrong. I'm not putting down asking God for good health and peace and creature comforts. To God, because He loves us so much, the most important prayers are prayers relating to our salvation. He loves us so much that He wants us to be with Him for eternity.
Jesus wants to answer our prayers. He won't keep us waiting until we bid high enough for the things we need. But, He does ask us: "Do we believe in a God who answers prayers? Do we really trust Him? Or, is our real trust somewhere else; in our own cleverness, our good looks, our good luck, the strings we can pull or the bribes we try to offer God, in the form of prayers and good works?
God won't give us everything we want when we want it. But, He will hear us and answer us-if we'll only let Him. It's up to us to discern and appreciate the answers we receive, even if the answers are "no".
Our trust in Him will be based on our faith in Him. If we truly believe that Jesus is God, the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, and that He cannot lie, then we will trust Him in everything and with everything-ourselves, our businesses, our loved ones, our health, everything. And this trust will give us the confidence to pray unceasingly. Our very lives will be a prayer to the Lord.


Today’s gospel is about perseverance. I learned about what perseverance means, first hand. There’s been a commercial on television for the past few years, a commercial for a type of knife. According to the commercial, with this knife you can cut anything. It will cut nails or tin cans as easily as it will cut sticks of butter and ripe tomatoes... smooth, clean and quick. The commercial continues and displays all of these functions and then explains you can have this knife, and many like it, if you buy one immediately for just $19.95. You have an option of three sizes of butcher knives, a paring knife and 6 steak knives. Also, if you call within 30 minutes of hearing the commercial, you can get a second set of knives for a mere $1.00.
This commercial has been on television for many years. I have watched it, I’ve turned it off or switched channels while it was airing. I’ve laughed about it, made jokes about it and wondered whether the knives really could do what the commercial promised. But, I would never even think about buying one. However, a few years ago I was at home on a Saturday night and I was watching TV. Nothing else was happening, I hadn’t talked to anyone since late that afternoon and I was just relaxing. Suddenly, the commercial was being aired again. In a very weak moment, I made the phone call. Not only did I order the butcher knife and the paring knife and the 6 steak knives but, yes, I added a dollar and received a second set of knives. After all of those years, I got my knives! After all those years, they finally got me! Think a moment... has this ever happened to you? That night I learned first hand what perseverance is really all about.
Jesus tells this gospel story so that we can learn about perseverance. He asks us to be steadfast in prayer, He asks us to persevere in our faith. This is not an easy thing to do. There are a lot of things to distract us from being faithful, faith filled and prayerful. There are things that happen day in and day out that make it hard to be loving or forgiving and understanding. Jesus asks us to be wary of all of these situations.


In the Gospel reading (Lk 18:1-8), the Unjust Judge yields to the widow who was nagging him-she was complaining about her adversary, probably a rich influential man. The widow was too poor to bribe either the judge or his assistant; and these officials did not wish to alienate important citizens. Jesus encourages us to pray unceasingly. Pray, never lose heart We cry to the Lord, we want justice. But it does not happen. What to do? When we see what is unjust and absurd in life, we view God as a judge who does not care about his people. But if we pray, much of what seems to be absurd will disappear. We shall come to recognize the face of the God who loves us in daily events. When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Jesus confirms an opinion already found among the Jews of his days. In the last days before Judgment, the power of evil will be so great that in much love will grow cold (Mt 24:12). Can men sustain their confidence in God while they carry their crosses to the darkness of Calvary? God will see justice done to them, even if he seems to delay to help them. Through the parable of the Unjust Judge and the nagging widow, Jesus wishes to encourage people to pray continuously, without losing heart, even when they do not get immediate results. God will certainly come to our aid in his own time and way -- because he is a God who loves us.
The message of the Gospel passage is that victory is the result of a combination of action and prayer. We must always make our efforts and also seek God's help. We need people who will venture out into action and also people who will pray for the success of the action. The unceasing prayer of a person or a community never goes unheeded.
How do we pray? There are people who give up prayer when they do not get what they ask for. They will quote what Jesus said on one occasion: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Mt 7:7). "How many times I asked for this and that, but nothing has happened. What is the use of praying? I wonder whether God listens at all"--some lament this way. Why is it that some of our prayers are not answered? It is because we do not pray enough and with faith. How much time do you set aside for prayer? And how do you pray? Often our prayers are limited to certain formulas. We recite them without putting our heart into them. Even our attendance at Church is sometimes only a ritual we go through -- without being involved personally.



We are challenged in today’s scripture to ask ourselves if our relationship with God is a surface acquaintance or does it run deeper? Relationships with those we love are developed through knowing them and spending time with them. How well do we know God? How much time do we spend with Him? Louis Everly, author of “That Man is You,” wrote “We can commune with God everyday. He is there everyday waiting, waiting to speak to us in the scriptures.”
We get frustrated and wonder if God listens to our prayers when we meet resistance, hostility and even ridicule from those around us, especially those close to us. Sometimes we wonder if it is all worth the effort. Today’s reading encourages us to see beyond the despair, anger and evil we encounter and realize that we can persevere secure in the knowledge that what God tells us, He will do.
The key is perseverance. Those of us who are parents know about perseverance because we don’t quit loving our children or being there for them when they get in trouble or live in ways which we find in conflict with our values. If we can be there in the times trouble for those we love, how much more God is there for us in our darkest nights, in the pit of our deepest despair, in our most painful experiences of abandonment and betrayal.
Our deepest awareness of His presence is most often experienced in prayer. Talking with God in prayer is essential to our relationship with Him. If we don’t talk much during the week, a Sunday God is a stranger. It is in the depth of prayer we build a relationship that is alive and growing. It takes practice, a quiet place, an attitude of readiness and openness. Praying is about life, we pray best when we get close to our center and the way into our center is through our daily experiences. In other words, what is in our life belongs in our prayer. There is no need to pretend with God, no reason to hide.
Everly wrote, “Some people have never met God either in prayer or in the written word or in forgiveness or in faith or in their neighbor or in their lives and yet fondly hope to meet Him in heaven.” He concludes, “ If we haven’t found God on earth we won’t find Him in heaven.”
It is not easy to persevere in prayer. The distractions and busyness of everyday life fatigue us and dull our spirits and best intentions. Many of us are good at praying but not very good at making ourselves available to God. Often we may feel that God did not answer our prayers. Perhaps God is saying to us “You did not listen.” Can we hear the prayer of God going on within us?
The “missing” in most prayer is the listening. It is the same reason for many of the difficulties in relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children. Do we really listen to one another? Do we listen to God? I believe that is the message of today’s scripture. If you and I persevere in the listening aspect of prayer as much as in the talking aspect we will discover God present within us and the answer to our prayers.
Jesus tell us in the Gospel, “Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to him day and night?” Scripture and prayer are the building blocks of our relationship with God.
It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to know Him through prayer and scripture and to proclaim Him to the world by our words and actions. It does make a difference to the world and to us whether or not the vision of Jesus is shared. None of us can follow who we do not know or love who we do not speak with or listen to. How well do we know God? How much time do we spend with Him in prayer?
It has been suggested that in these difficult and dangerous times we Pray for Wisdom, Listen with Humility and Respond in Faith. I think these three aspects of prayer are always good guidelines for us to follow.

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We have heard about the great Doctor of the Church, St.Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (Aurelius Augustine, 354-430 CE.). Born in Tagaste in North Africa of a pagan father and Christian mother, after a good education at Carthage, Augustine abandoned himself to physical pleasure. At seventeen he had a mistress and at eighteen a son, Adeodatus. In 373 Augustine became associated with Manicheism. He was praying, "Make me chaste and continent, O Lord, but not yet" (see his Confessions, no.8). After nine years as a Manichean, he became a skeptic. He was leading an unsettled life-both in his thinking and his moral behaviour. Full of questions and doubts, he was groping for solutions, searching the Truth. He left Carthage to teach Rhetoric in Rome, he was also reaching for a new philosophy of life, Neoplatonism, which he continued to study in Victorinus' translations of Plotinus (205-270 CE.) and Porphyry (233-304CE.). Disappointed in his teaching in Rome, Augustine accepted in 384 a government appointment to teach rhetoric in Milan, where he met Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. In a state of self-condemnation, he rushed into a garden where he heard a voice telling him to "take up and read" (Tolle, lege). He opened his Bible at random to Rm 13:13 and read: "Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires". His character was miraculously transformed; he became a "new man". In the following year 387, on Easter eve, Augustine was baptized by the bishop Ambrose at Milan. From his traumatic experience, he gave deep psychological insights regarding grace and spiritual life. The credit goes to St. Monica, the mother of Augustine, who was praying unceasingly to God for her son's conversion, and died in 388 CE. "It is impossible that the son of such tears should perish!"-- was the remark made by one of the bishops, when Monica asked his help to persuade her son to come to the Catholic faith.

posted by Mike Young @ 8:01 AM