Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121:1-8; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8
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The other day Walmart was packed. I tend to avoid those self-checkout lines, so I picked a check-out aisle with a relatively short line and waited patiently. I soon realized my mistake. I was behind a pregnant mom with two little ones, maybe 4 and 6 years old. Standing next to mom, holding onto the cart, the two children weren’t as patient as the deacon. The older one, a boy, began to poke his sister. She started screaming, looking to her mother for justice. The line behind us grew, people were getting antsy.
It was then that brother and sister simultaneously
realized two things: First, the nearby shelves in the check-out aisle held candy
and small toys; and second, they had their mom in a highly vulnerable position.
They went on the attack. The boy grabbed a toy and began to beg just as his
sister, cleverly grabbed a bag of M&Ms off the opposite shelf.
I was impressed. It was as if they had worked it
all out in advance. This battle of wills went on for maybe a half-minute, and like
any parent I pulled for Mom. She was tough. She got the toy back on the shelf
but then noticed her daughter had opened the M&Ms and was eating them. Instantly,
all was lost. Mom had to buy the candy, and to keep the peace, retrieved the
toy and tossed it on the counter as she pulled out her credit card. The kids
looked pleased. Mom simply looked relieved.
Now you might find this hard to believe, but as I
watched the three of them head for the exit, I found myself thinking about
today’s Gospel reading. Do you see what Bible Study does? It leads us to find echoes
of Scripture in our everyday lives.
Like the widow in the parable, the children knew their persistence would eventually pay off. And like the judge, the young mom just wanted some peace and to avoid what could turn into a public embarrassment.
In
Jesus’ parable, the corrupt judge had absolute authority to settle cases before
him however he chose. The young mom at Walmart had both parental authority and the
credit card. And the widow and the children? They seemed to be virtually
powerless, and yet actually possessed real power. But any power we possess exists only
to the extent that it is recognized, accepted, and exercised.
Years ago, I used to teach a course on negotiation
for corporate clients. One small element addressed something I called “the
power of no power.” Centuries of martyrs have shown this to the world’s
powerful. They willingly suffered death, driven by an unseen power, a power their
enemies couldn’t comprehend.
Today’s Gospel passage is really a lesson on God’s
power and how, through His love, He has given us the ability to tap into it. Jesus
revealed to His disciples that the Father gives us access to His power through prayer. We are called to be persistent, just like the widow, and not lose heart.
Right before He related this parable, Jesus had described
the time of tribulation, trials, persecutions, martyrdom, even a final failure
of faith. Hearing this, the disciples were afraid. How could they endure such
trials? How could they remain faithful to the end? Don’t be anxious, Jesus
told them, don’t lose heart, for the power of the Holy Spirit will be with you.
Then God will come and establish His kingdom in justice. He will right all
wrongs. He will deliver men and women from sin and death.
20 centuries of Christian martyrs all the way back
to St. Stephen, give testimony to the power God grants to those who believe in
His love. In the face of a worldly power that ultimately took their lives, a
power they rejected, these saints persisted in their faith. They didn’t lose
heart.
One common trait shared by all the saints and martyrs is prayer. Through prayer we gain access to God, and to the divine power He desires to share with us.
Prayer gives us strength; it helps us do things we
could otherwise never do. Through prayer God invites us into His world, one
very different from ours. How did Jesus put it as He prayed in the presence of His apostles the night before He died?
“I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.” (Jn 17:14)
We are called to live in the world, but not be of
the world. Hard stuff when the world surrounds us and calls to us constantly. Prayer,
then, takes us from the world and lets us go beyond human hopes, human reasons,
human fears, human desires.
Recall Jesus in the garden the night before He
died. Wracked by human fears and the vision of the world’s sinfulness, He fell
prostrate in prayer to the Father. Jesus turned His eyes to the Power of His
shared divinity and found the strength He needed from the Father: “Thy will
be done!”
The very next day, Jesus was nailed to the Cross
with arms outstretched. Did anyone witnessing the crucifixion see the image of Moses,
with his arms also outstretched and “the staff of God in his hand” until
the battle was won?
Moses’ prayer formed a channel for God’s power. But
even then, Moses couldn’t do it himself, could he? Without Aaron and Hur holding
up his arms, those pesky Amalekites would have defeated Joshua and his army,
changing the course of human history.
But who helped Jesus on the Cross? What did the
witnesses scream at Him?
“If you are the Son of God,
come down from that cross.” (Mt 27:40)
But Jesus would not, not until the battle was won,
until He had conquered sin and death, until He had made death merely a thing of
this world, a thing of time, but one that led to eternal life.
And we shouldn’t overlook that Moses needed Aaron and Hur, just as we need each other. God calls us to communion, Communion with Him in His Eucharistic Presence, and communion with each other on our journey to eternal life. Yes, we need each other. As I like to tell married couples, your primary task is to help the other get to heaven.
Although, as Christians, we continue to wage
spiritual warfare against the powers of this world, Jesus has already won the
decisive battle for us…and the outcome is assured. But prayer gives us more
than the strength to fight these daily battles. It gives us the insight
necessary to accept God’s will in our lives.
Prayer also connects us to the power of God’s love. Prayer, driven by the Holy Spirit, focuses our attention on the needs of others instead of our own.
And without prayer, our faith will wither and die.
Mother Teresa put it beautifully, “Prayer is the oil that keeps the lamp of
faith burning brightly.”
How brightly does our faith burn? Did not Jesus ask:
“But when the Son of Man
comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Will we have lost heart because we’ve trapped
ourselves in our world, and lost sight of God’s?
Sometimes
we excuse ourselves by saying we haven’t the time to pray. And yet we manage to
find the time to eat, to study, to work, to play. We nourish our bodies and our
minds. We fill our lives with activity, but we starve our souls and deprive our
lives of their fruitfulness.
St.
Paul instructs us to “pray without ceasing,” because he knew our lives
must be a continual prayer. Like breathing, prayer is a necessity. For only
through prayer can we receive the help and strength we need to get safely
through this life to our true home in heaven.
One pressing problem is that we just love to tell God what to do. We pray only for what we want, never considering what we need…and then we expect instant results.
Sisters and brothers, we can tell God nothing He doesn’t already know. He won’t refuse what’s good for us, and grants what we ask in His time, not ours.
But always remember, it's His will, not ours, that will bring peace and goodness. When we get our prayer right, it’s always a prayer that God’s Will be done, in our lives and in the world. Then all will fall into place.
It doesn’t matter if we’re
joyful, depressed, or angry. It doesn’t matter if we’re confused or aimless, if
we’re giving thanks or need forgiveness. It doesn’t matter if we’re ashamed of
how we’ve lived and sinned. When we pray, we’re in the presence of a dear friend
who understands and forgives, a dear divine friend who shares in our humanity.
God, in His Love, always listens. For love calls for love in return, and prayer is an act of love. So maybe we can keep all of this before us and rouse ourselves to love our merciful God – Father, Son, and Spirit – through prayer. Don’t lose heart, brothers and sisters. Believe in His love. Believe in the power of your prayer.
Oh…and
please pray for that mom in Walmart. I think she needs lots of prayers.
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