Today's Message: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Exodus 17: 8-13; 2 Timothy 3: 14-4:2; Luke 18: 1-8

What is my prayer life like?  Am I satisfied with it?  I tell people who come to me that the way they are praying right now is the right way for them to be praying.  But do I listen to my own advice?  I find myself trying to ‘dicker’ with my approach to prayer.  I have a tendency to add prayers, but the question is do I ever eliminate some prayers?  I can keep on adding and adding, which means more time spent in ‘saying words’ which takes away from me being still before the Lord.  Is this healthy?  Could it be the devil is distracting me away from quiet prayer?  Jesus is telling me today to “pray always.”  How can I possibly do this with my hectic schedule?  Perhaps it’s a good idea to take time and revisit what prayer means to me…this is the content of todays scripture passages.

Exodus continues the Israelites journey to Mt. Sinai where God enters a covenant with them:  ‘I will be your God, you will be My people.’ They have already experienced God’s love and care and will continue to do so.  But they have to learn how to rely upon God and not themselves.  The age old temptation  from the devil that is somehow emblazoned in their minds and mine, ‘I do what I want to do because I want to do it.’  Moses is teaching them that if they want to make any spiritual progress they have to remain faithful to the Lord.  God continues to take care of them and today God is protecting them on the battlefield.  King Amalek wants to conquer this riffraff group and make a name for himself.  The battle proceeds.  Moses has used his ‘famous miracle staff’, today he holds it up so the soldiers can see it.  As long as they can do this they are successful in battle, but it is hard holding it up.  When Moses rests his arms, his soldiers are losing.  Aaron and Hur come and hold up his arms.  The Israelites are victorious.  They make a vow to the Lord to continue to ‘be His people’ and be loyal and faithful to their God.

Paul is urging Timothy to remember what he has learned and discovered about God.  God has always been in his life.  From infancy we have known stories from and the purpose of the Sacred Scriptures.  This is God’s encounter down through the ages of God’s plan for all to be united in love and that all will experience this love forever in heaven.  “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful…”  Do I take time to read and reflect on it or do I consider it ‘old stuff’ and don’t spend time to receive insight from their faith stories?  Do I realize that placing myself in a Scripture scene makes God’s presence alive in me?

Next we come to the Gospel and Jesus’ parable on the necessity to pray all the time “without becoming weary.”  Luke was a gentile and writing to the gentile community.  They do not have a history of prayer in the Christian sense, since they never knew Jesus and more than likely never saw Him but just heard stories about Him.  Today’s first story is about the corrupt judge who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.  The widow is persistent and won’t give in.  The judge is just plain tired of her and wants to get rid of her so he decides in her favor.  This has nothing to do with the rule of law.  The point is that God just will not abandon any of His people.  He is always present and views each of His people special, important and loved.  He doesn’t ever give up on us; do I give up on God?  Pray and leave the rest to God. 

When we look at our prayers we’re asking God to grant or give or make something possible.  This is called a prayer of petition because I’m asking something for myself.  Intercessory prayer is when we’re praying for someone else.  When things are going well, all is fine but when disruptions happen we wonder where God is…why isn’t He listening…doesn’t He care about me…when will He answer?

These prayers are ‘me’ talking…do I give God a chance to talk?  Do I realize that the purpose of prayer is to deepen my relationship with God who has always loved me?  Not only that, but there isn’t anything that I can do that will change God’s attitude of love for me.  So prayer is a way to discover this loving God who is in love with me.  Do I still sin…yes…does God forgive me…yes if I ask…what is God best at…His mercy.  I am a loved, forgiven, redeemed sinner.  What a beautiful way to start this deepened relationship with God. 

Prayer is more than what I was taught as a youth.  I ‘spoke to God’…’now I lay me down to sleep’…I pray for mommy, daddy…and a whole list of people.  I felt that the more people I prayed for could delay my going to bed.  I knew that God listened.  I remember praying to get a pony…that never happened.  I prayed for a new bike…that came.  What image was being placed in my mind about God…maybe that He could do anything for me…and it all depended on what I wanted?  If this was so, was I really able to listen to God or have a relationship?  My prayer life was stifled.  Msgr. Stephen Rossetti in his wonderful book, Fire on the Earth, Daily Living in the Kingdom of God tells this wonderful story.  “After a worship service an older woman said that she is constantly aware of God’s presence; it is almost palpable.  When I asked her what it felt like, she said, ‘Well it is hard to describe.  I have a great sense of peace.  I can feel that God is with me.  At times, this presence becomes so strong, I am filled with joy and people tell me that my face seems to radiate His presence.’ ‘Has it changed your perspective of the world?’  I asked her. ‘Yes,’ she responded, ‘it is as if the world has a new dimension to it, a deeper dimension.  I did not realize it before, but my vision of the world used to be two dimensional —flat.  Now, everything is intense and alive.  All creation sparkles with life!’“ This peace is all around and within me unless I turn it away or overthrow it.  This woman had a great awareness of God.  She knew God is present.  He is and He cares.  God isn’t hidden, He’s present all the time.  Look around at the beauties in creation…in people…in love that is showered upon you and people in dire need.  These ‘faith’ stories abound all over all the time.  Prayer is finding that quite space in my heart and sharing my love and my life with this God who is always ‘crazy in love me all the time.’  And, as Msgr Chet Michael said all the time:  “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude…and more gratitude.”

So I reflect on:

•     Am I consistently persistent in prayer?  Give examples to this…

•     How do I respond when God seems absent or my prayer seems useless?

•     Do I realize that God will always answer my prayer?  When I don’t receive an answer in the way I want, do I search to discover how God is answering me?

•     How can I learn to trust God more?  Is trust part of persistence? 

Sacred Space 2019 states:

   “‘Will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?’  I join those crying for justice, bringing to my prayer some situation of deep-seated conflict or injustice I know well.

   The persistence of my prayer indicates the depth of my need.  Even if I find myself asking for what I need or desire.  I take time to see how God may already be offering me some answer.”