29th Sunday C

29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Exodus 17:8‑13  2 Timothy 3:14‑4:2  Luke 18:1‑8

As a teacher, I encourage my students to develop consistent study habits so that they will be able to endure the rigors of a course that stretches over a semester or a full year.  Today's readings speak of the same type of perseverance in prayer.  As we struggle to be faithful to our Christian calling, let us pray with hope the words of this Sunday's responsorial psalm: “I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;/ whence shall help come to me?/ My help is from the Lord,/ who made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:1‑2).

The Exodus reading depicts both the difficulties of persevering in faithful prayer under trying circumstances and the need for support from others in the faith community.  As the Israelites make their way out of Egypt and through the wilderness toward Mount Sinai, they are attacked by the Amalekites, a fierce tribe of desert nomads.  Israel's survival in this battle does not depend upon superior military strength or strategy, but upon Moses' continuous prayer.  As he sends Joshua into battle, Moses assures him, “I will be standing on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”  As long as Moses keeps his hands raised in prayer, Israel has the better of the fight, but when he becomes weary and let his hands rest, the Amalekites prevail.   Only with the help of Aaron and Hur, who "supported his hands," is Moses able to continue in prayer so Joshua and his men may defeat the Amalekites.

The Pauline writer’s advice to Timothy in the epistle reading continues the theme of fidelity by charging him to "remain faithful to what you have learned and believed."  The major "source of wisdom" in Timothy's struggle to be faithful is the "sacred Scriptures" which at this point would have been the Jewish Scriptures, and possibly Paul's letters and the Gospels and Acts.  In a famous line later used by St. Thomas Aquinas as a basis for the science of theology, Scripture is described as "inspired of God and useful for teaching‑‑ for reproof, correction and training in holiness so that the person of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work."  With the help of Scripture's wisdom, Paul charges Timothy to be faithful to his duty as a minister of the gospel: "preach the word, stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient-- correcting, reproving, appealing‑‑ constantly teaching and never losing patience."

In the Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge for the specific purpose of teaching his disciples "the necessity of praying always and not losing heart."  In the previous section of Luke, Jesus warns his disciples that the time will come “when you will long to see one of the days of the  Son of Man, but you will not see it” (Lk 17:22).  During the delay before Jesus' return the disciples' fidelity will be tested, like the generations of Noah and Lot.  If they want to save their lives in this time of trial, Jesus' followers must be willing to lose them in loving service (see Lk 17:23‑37).

In this context, the disciples, who will be tempted to lose heart, are to identify with the widow in the parable.  Her situation is doubly perilous.  She has virtually no power in the patriarchal Jewish society, and she is pleading with an "unjust" judge, who "respects neither God nor man."  But she can at least make a nuisance of herself and continually badger the judge until he settles the case in her favor.  This humorous example of  a corrupt judge caving in to the widow's persistent demand for  justice is the basis for an argument from the lesser case to the  greater, a favorite technique in Jesus' parables and in the teachings of the rabbis.  Jesus reasons that if a corrupt judge finally accedes to a persistent widow's demands, “Will not God then do justice to his chosen who call out to him day and night?   Will he delay long over them, do you suppose?”  He answers his own question by affirming, “I tell you he will give them swift justice.”  Jesus concludes by asking a further question to challenge his disciples: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on the earth?”  Only people of faith will have the persistence to "pray always and not lose heart."