Walking with Jesus: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, October 26, 2025

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14


We pray. We are people of prayer. Our individual prayer is much varied, spontaneous, verbal — from the heart or established prayers. One distinction is that each of our prayers tends to be individual: It is mine; I do it my way and have been doing it this way for years. That’s fine. It seems to be a consistent occupation of Christians to “discover ... find new devotions ... prayers ... that others have recommended and/or we feel will bring us closer to God.” It shows the insecurity we have in “God matters” … thinking, what does God want? What each person wants in all of this is to Know The Right Way to God through prayer. There is an insecurity in each of us and a desire to please God, who is totally consumed in love for each of us. The bottom line is that God is with you and me right now — God loves you and me right now — God is helping you and me right now to get closer to heaven. Scripture brings this up consistently, as do the readings today. Lord, help us in our desire to get close to You. Amen.

The author of today’s first reading is Yeshua Ben Eleazar Ben Sira (Sirach 50:27). The book originally was entitled “Liber Ecclesiasticus” or “Church Book” since it was used extensively in presenting moral teaching to catechumens and the faithful. Then it became Sirach and more recently Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus). It is classified as being from the Wisdom tradition because its teaching addresses some of the most fundamental questions in life. The author speaks of the Lord as a “God of Justice,”  challenging our understanding of God’s justice. Justice means fairness, and God treats all fairly by being totally impartial. Our author sees no contradiction between God’s evenhandedness and His preferential inclination toward the poor, the oppressed, widows and orphans, who are particularly vulnerable. The message for our unjust times is that acting fairly and justly more fundamentally means redressing the imbalance to uplift the poor and oppressed from the injustices they suffer. Am I doing this? Or is it about me, and they deserve what they get? The Wisdom tradition and covenant theology — Jesus’ command of love — conclude irrevocably that we are all responsible for one another. The well-off are obliged to address the needs of those who suffer misfortune. This is a matter of justice, not charity. We all have far to go.

Paul has been asserting to Timothy the excellence of the holy writings (Holy Scripture) and their usefulness in the lives of Christians, insisting upon their inclusion in every aspect of his ministry. This is a good reminder since Paul and Timothy have been schooled in what we call the Old Testament. It seems the Gospels and the letters of Paul and others are so popular today that we put off the Old Testament as being too old-fashioned — but its messages are not obsolete. At the end of the passage, Paul says he has kept the faith and is envisioning his reward, which is the same reward for each of us: Heaven. God has accompanied, strengthened and rescued him, and he reminds Timothy to trust that God will support him similarly in spreading the gospel. Good words for each of us: We have been commissioned to live the Gospel, to share Jesus’ love and trust that God is loving us and leading each of us. Our love must not be hidden. 

It’s interesting that many of Jesus’ parables present a contrast. Today it's the Pharisee and the Tax Collector at opposite ends of the righteous-unrighteous spectrum. Pharisees are religious experts who are very popular and respected in Jesus’ day. The Pharisee avoids greed, dishonesty and adultery, fasting and tithing over and above what is asked for. Most classify the Tax Collector as a sinner because he coerces and forces his own Jewish people to pay exorbitant taxes and duties on behalf of Rome. The parable teaches that ONLY God determines who is in the RIGHT relationship and that GOD’S MERCY is so radical that people we don’t think deserve it, get it. As always, Jesus asks us to look PAST our prejudices toward certain groups and others we cast off as irredeemable. We seem to find it so easy to slip by God’s teachings on love, care and forgiveness and into our own thoughts on the matter. Lessons on Love all are originated by God. Am I open to these? God is speaking; am I listening? Obeying? Why not?

So I reflect on:

• The cry of the blind man, the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11, and the invocation of “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on ME, a sinner,” are special prayers. Can I say them every day? Does doing this help my relationship experiences of the day? Why not?
• Am I a sinner who needs God’s mercy AND a beloved child of the One who wants me to have that mercy?

Sacred Space 2025 states:

“Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote, ‘Unless prayer is seen as essential, it is meaningless.’ We must never give up on prayer, which is as necessary for our souls as it is for our bodies. Every prayer we make from the heart blesses us and changes us. It brings us closer to God who hears every prayer and will answer in His own way.

“The history of God’s people in the Old Testament tells us of how they again and again turned away from God and how God in His mercy brought them back through a faithful remnant. Let us pray to be among the faithful remnant through whom God will renew His church and our world.”