Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 147
Reading 1
In those days, Amalek came and waged war
against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said 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."
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses'hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.
Responsorial Psalm
R.(cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
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.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Reading 2
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.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the
dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
]
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Being persistent in our faith and consistent are two very important things. If we are to truly benefit from a close relationship with God, then we must know God and trust God. This takes practice and a familiarity that can only come through repetition and dedication to Him. When we learn something new, (physical, mental or spiritual), whatever it is feels like it takes a long time to implement. This can be anything from taking a new road to a place where we are going to a new process at work. There is a challenge that comes with learning the process and, because our mind is not familiar with it, the time to complete these things appears to be longer. Something new usually feels like it is difficult to do. Once we become familiar with it, then the time that elapses feels shorter. The situation is the same with our relationship with God. Through constant contact with Him and a consistent prayer life, we will become more familiar with Him and our relationship will deepen. It will also be strengthened through a commitment to consistent worship and a consistent pursuit of wisdom through the understanding of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church. To become good at something, there always has to be an amount of practice and repetition. This goes the same with our faith. Repetition brings about familiarity; familiarity leads to comfortability. And finally, comfortability leads to a deeper understanding and readiness to apply our faith to all aspects of our lives.
Without consistency, we are in danger of being unable to be persistent. If we know that something we do will bear positive results if we continue to pursue it, we must be comfortable in doing so or we will naturally turn away from it the first time we receive either resistance or an unfulfillment of our expectations. What if Moses let his arms relax because he was tired? What if he gave up the first time he faced some sort of physical barrier. He knew that, if he kept his hands raised, the battle with Amalek would be won. This did not make it any easier, yet he persisted in keeping his arms raised above his head, recruiting the help of Aaron and Hur to do so. Because of his relationship with God, through a consistent engagement with Him, he had an expectation of what things would happen if he persisted in his prayers and his actions. His faith never wavered, and he did everything he could to keep his hands raised.
The Apostle Paul tells Timothy in his letter to remain faithful in what he has learned and what he believes. He also reminds him of the source of everything he has learned and is currently teaching: God. With that understanding, there should be a certain level of confidence in what he is teaching and, because of that, there should be no lack of persistence in what he is sharing and evangelizing. We should be more ready to approach our faith-life with the same confidence and belief that the Apostle Paul challenged Timothy to have. Just as things become easier through practice, so will our reliance on our faith and the way we implement it. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord and that we furthermore believe in the presence of God in our lives, then the practice required should be easily forthcoming.
Jesus said:
"Pay attention to what the unjust judge says.
Will God not protect the rights of his chosen ones
who cry out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?"
There are those who do what is right to avoid being bothered or because it is convenient for them, as happened to the judge in today's parable. However, God always answers those who call upon him out of his love. We have that guarantee. It is up to us to ask and have the faith to know that, no matter what happens, we will be better off because God is with us and hears us. So, how do we become his chosen ones so that he hears us? This comes down to listening to God and being persistent and constant in our faith. The definition of faith is "believing in what is unseen." If we truly believe in God, we should not doubt that when we ask for something, it will be granted. If we don't have that full trust, the fault for not being heard is ours, not God's, for it is we who hinder the process of a relationship with God, His listening, and our persistence and constancy in what we do and in our daily lives. Our behavior and our lack of faith become the defining characteristics of our relationship with God. This must be avoided if we wish to live a joyful and fruitful life, surrounded by our Creator. The focus must always be on God first, which will make our lives much easier, because He will be there to help us bear the burden when things go wrong. He will also be there when things go well, to celebrate with us when there is cause for joy.
Deacon Tom
