Homily – October 16, 2016 (29th Sunday in Ordinary Time- C)When it comes to matters of faith, (me being the most guilty) we make too many analogies, we summarize too much, and we over simplify at times. Our Faith is a real thing, and the faith that we profess is truly a living, breathing and growing reality in our lives. It’s not LIKE anything, it cannot be reduced to a few words, and it is certainly anything but simple.
Our relationship with the God who loves us, and speaks to us, and guides us on this journey is one that demands our involvement. Faith is a life lived WITH and FOR the Lord, so that when He comes to greet us, that faith and our trust will truly be evident.
Our Lord Cares
In our first reading, Joshua and his army are sent forth by Moses to help continue to their journey through the wilderness towards the Promise Land. In this case the Israelites have made their way out of bondage, and into the desert. They have the Law, and the assurance of God’s place in their hearts, yet they have felt and acted upon the many temptations to give up, or turn against Him, wondering aloud to Moses if this isn’t all a waste of time. God heard their cry and sent them Manna from heaven, and water from a rock. Today’s reading bring us to a place on our journey where Joshua must fight an enemy. In particular, war is waged against them, and the southern route to and from Egypt, controlled by the Amalekites, is at stake.
Moses, [says] to Joshua, “Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” And so he did. As the battle ensued, Joshua and his army could look up on that hill and see their Moses with his arms outstretched, staff in hand, showing his compassion for God’s people. The God of Abraham, Issac and now Moses cares for His people, and this visible sign is designed to continue to energize and guide us here today. We are not alone in our facing the challenges of life. He is with us, He loves us, and He cares.
Our Lord Listens
With that reality of God’s love and support as our basis, we must know that the Good News today is that through prayer, we can deepen our relationship with God, for He hears our prayer… The cries of the poor, the celebration of thankful hearts, the pleas of a people journeying in darkness, and the many questions that come with our knowing the presence of Christ in our midst. Today’s Psalm speaks to this directly: “I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; [asking where shall my help come from?] My help [shall come] from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
The Psalm sings that God will never fail us! Our guardian, if you will, will protect us and shade us from the dangers of this world, always with us and easily accessible. Our very life is in the hands of the One who created us to be, and look upon His mountain with trust.
But where is this mountain? Where shall we look to find the Lord and direct our prayers? Do we just close our eyes and imagine Him on a white sandy beach, or on a secluded forrest trail? Do we drop to our knees and place our hands together like this? Do we shake our fist towards the storm and stretch out our own arms towards the clear blue sky? Certainly all of the above are welcome as prayer enables us develop a deeper knowledge of God, who initiates and maintains an eternal relationship with us, ever-ready to be there in our comings and goings. God listens to OUR prayers! He hears OUR cries and knows our thankful hearts! With so many forms and styles in place, there are infinite ways to pray… But don’t let me over simplify things and tell you that you can just utter your needs as you drift off to sleep. Rather, consider immersing yourself within opportunities of organized time. Plan to pray, and come to pray, and be in prayer. Let that prayer have a beginning, middle and end time, for when we take the time, it is time well spent.
Today’s second reading has Paul telling Timothy and us that looking into the Scripture might be a good idea as well! “Beloved: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Paul continues to remind us that ALL Scripture in inspired from God, and challenges us to reflect upon and “proclaim the word; [being] persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient…” Prayers that involve using the Scripture are found in styles and traditions like Lectio Divino which asks you to reflect on a short verse from Scripture, or The Liturgy of the Hours, which is a very organized compilation of Scripture readings and prayers that guide you through a day, or even the Rosary itself, which calls us to reflect upon Mysteries rooted in very specific moments in Scripture. But no matter the style or tradition you choose, all prayer should be rooted in the Scripture, for God does indeed hear us as we pray, but he also has a response to give!
Our Lord Always Responds
So God’s love and support for His people, and our prayers, and His hearing those prayers, all converge in today’s Gospel Parable. Luke sets the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in the context of advising us to be persistent in our prayer. If an uncaring and fearless judge, with zero compassion, can eventually render a just decision because of a widow’s persistence, then just think what can come from our loving and compassionate God? Jesus uses the widow’s persistent demand for justice as a model for a disciple’s prayer posture towards and attentive and loving God.
Prayer can open our hearts to God, enabling us to turn to Him who hears us. However, the response comes on God’s timeline, not ours. We are asked to trust and know that God will respond, and do so with our best intentions in mind. While this may take time and patience, and be convenient or inconvenient to our own plans, God’s response will be one that calls us to PROGRESS on our journey with Him. The answer may be YES, NO, or even MAYBE, but His response will be His and it will come from the very source of what LOVE is and is not.
Today, we disciples are called to continue to allow God into our lives to “convince [us], reprimand [us], encourage [us], [and especially love us] through all patience and teaching. He is your God, high upon the hill with outstretched arms. He loves you, and will never leave you, especially in the midst of challenge!
And so we pray…
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