OCTOBER 20^th 2013. TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL                   Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. 'There was a judge in a certain town' he said 'who had neither fear of God nor respect for man. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, "I want justice from you against my enemy!" For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, "Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death".'

And the Lord said 'You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?'

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Does Jesus seem a little extreme when he asks us to pray unceasingly? Are we expected to grit our teeth and force ourselves to pray every moment of the day? The point that Jesus wishes to make is completely different. In the parable, a widow pleads for justice night and day. She does so because she knows that if she does not defeat her enemy, then he will defeat her. Our problem is that we are not aware that we are being pursued by an enemy who is devouring us on a daily basis! If we knew how necessary prayer was to maintain our relationship with God and protect us from the snares of Satan, then we would pray unceasingly just like the widow! Jesus’ exhortation to pray is not an exhortation to do an optional extra that might lead to sainthood. It is an exhortation to do what is basically necessary to maintain a meaningful relationship with him. We have been made in the image and likeness of God. We are asked to bear that image in the world. We must pray continually if we are to have any hope of realizing the wonderful dignity to which we are called.

Why does Jesus ask us to pray continually?

The parable in this week’s Gospel exhorts us to pray without ever losing heart. How can we be expected to pray continually without becoming weary or bored? But Jesus is not asking us to have the moral strength to pray unceasingly! He is not asking us to grit our teeth and force ourselves to pray against our will. What he is saying is something much more basic and fundamental, as we shall see when we begin to reflect on the parable of the widow.

Why does the widow ask persistently? Because she has no other choice!

In Israel at the time of Jesus, the widow was someone who existed at the very margins of society. Only men had the right to inherit property. Widows regularly found themselves with no means of income and often ended up as beggars. In Hebrew the same word is used for “husband” and for “support”. The widow was someone who had no support whatsoever. In the parable, a widow goes to an unjust judge, a judge who has no regard for whether things are done justly or unjustly. This lazy, dishonest judge represents the chaotic and uncaring reality that surrounds all of us as we go through life. Despite the callousness of the judge, the widow refuses to give up. Why does she never give up? Because she acts out of necessity. This is the simple and stark point that is contained in the parable! Unless the widow obtains what she is looking for from the judge she is finished. She must pester him until he gives her what is absolutely necessary for her to survive. Who is it that manages to unceasingly “cry day and night to the Lord”? He who realizes that it is absolutely necessary to have a relationship with God. He who appreciates that without that relationship we are finished.

The widow prays continually because she sees her enemy and knows that he will crush her if she does not defeat him first. Our problem is that we have lost sight of our enemy. We forget that he is near and that prayer is absolutely essential if we are to avoid destruction.

Many of the readers of this reflection probably do not feel all of this urgent necessity to pray unceasingly. Even people who live lives consecrated to God do not always appreciate the vital necessity of constant prayer. Is it really true that prayer is a basic, fundamental, need? Is it true that we need to be in constant relationship with God? Things become clearer if we consider another aspect of the readings for Sunday. In the first reading, Moses stands on the mountain and keeps his hands raised towards God whilst the people of Israel are in battle. If he allows his arms to fall, then the people begin to lose the battle. As long as he keeps his arms raised, the people of Israel are successful. Why does Moses keep his arms raised? Because he sees defeat as soon as he lets them drop! What is it that makes the widow in the parable persevere? Like Moses, she sees her enemy in front of her and knows that she will be crushed if she does not persevere in the battle. If someone is being chased by a tiger but then forgets that there is a tiger behind them, then it is only a matter of time before they are eaten up. Sometimes we forget that we are being chased by a tiger. We think the tiger is merely a cat and we end up living with things that are unhealthy and dangerous for us.

Sometimes people turn to prayer only in moments of grave necessity. We fail to realize that every moment is a moment of grave necessity!

The exhortation to pray continually has nothing to do with an act of the will in which we cajole ourselves to engage in every prayer and act of devotion possible. The central point is that we have an enemy – Satan – and this enemy must be combated on a continual basis. If a couple fails, on a daily basis, to base their relationship on that which is the foundation of their marriage, then their bond is in serious danger. If we continually eat junk food, then we begin to lose the awareness of the value and nature of healthy nourishment; we fail to realize the damage we are doing to ourselves. But if we can manage to recall the flavour and scent of good food, then, perhaps, we might begin to realize that we are living in an unhealthy state; we might start to become aware of the fact that we have given ourselves over to a way of life that ought to be abandoned. It is a fact of life that we tend to lose sight of the things that are truly necessary. When we are in a desperate situation, we have no problem praying. Sometimes we hear the complaint that people only pray in situations of grave necessity. But this is not the problem. The problem is that we do not realize that every moment is a moment of grave necessity! The problem is that we often think that we are not in need and that we can stand on our own two feet. This is one of the most insidious deceptions of our culture. For centuries humanity has been deceiving itself that it is autonomous and self-sufficient. For centuries we have deluded ourselves into thinking that our enemy is weak and that our own capacities are more than enough to overcome him.

If we are to live up to the dignity to which we are called, then continuous prayer is an absolute necessity

I am called to bear the image and likeness of God in the world. I am called to bear witness to the beauty of love. I am asked to bring to fruition in everyday things the novelty, truth and profundity of the Christian vision of life. I am called to go beyond administering mere justice to people and venture instead into the territory of love. When I consider the dignity to which I am called, then I cannot but be aware of the enormous necessity to pray. In order to resemble Jesus, prayer is not an optional extra for any of us. If we are to become as beautiful as he is, then we need to pray. We need to pray earnestly every morning when we wake up. We need to place ourselves before God, acknowledging that we cannot respond to his great call by depending on our own resources. Every evening when the day is over we need to offer our lives to God anew. In every instant we need to dialogue with him untiringly because that which we ask from him is so beautiful.