Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In 2019, preaching my homily on the same scripture readings we have today, I began by saying, “I would like to take 2019 and just throw it somewhere.” Dad had passed away in January 2019; in June 2019, Dayton was hit by tornadoes; in September 2019 Dayton experienced the Oregon District Mass Shootings; in the same month Fr. Dave passed away; and around the same time several people dear to me, including a three-month-old baby, were teetering between life and death. I had grown weary of 2019.
In January 2020, I headed to India for my usual visit home. It seemed like 2020 was going to be better. How wrong I was! That January when I travelled back from India wearing a N-95 mask. I had never heard of an N-95 mask. A global pandemic was in full swing. Suddenly, 2020 and 2021 made 2019 look like child’s play.
Along came 2022. We could have recovered well from the global effects of the pandemic except for Russia’s senseless invasion of Ukraine. The war has impacted energy costs, food prices, and the already precarious global supply chain. A more widespread war with tactical use of nuclear weapons is not unimaginable these days. To make it worse, we are in an election season. If you are not as weary as I am, would you take me out for a drink, please?
In this context, today’s scripture seems timely and appropriate. Rarely do scripture readings give us the purpose of a parable in the way today’s gospel passage does. Luke says, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk 18:1). Since the theme is given to us, let us reflect on the “necessity to pray without becoming weary.”
Here are my three practical implications:
Prayer is Breath, Breath is Prayer
Even though today’s gospel is about the necessity to pray without getting weary, I would like to spend a little time on talking about prayer itself.
Prayer is an all-encompassing reality. There is no monolithic definition of prayer or one way to pray. Any attempt to have a relationship with God – formal prayer, devotional practices, scripture/spiritual reading, meditation, contemplation, the liturgy – is prayer. Different people pray differently. And no matter how anyone approaches prayer, it is precious to God.
For me, the word that best describes the need for prayer is breath. Breath is instinctive to us. We do not consciously think about our breathing, nor do we have to remind ourselves to breathe. Breath is almost synonymous with life. We can say that breath is life and life is breath. This is also true of prayer.
Prayer is life and life is prayer – only the life we are talking about here is the life of God. Prayer is the breath that makes God’s life and our life one. They key, however, is that prayer becomes so instinctive to us that we do not even have to think about it – like our breath. And just like breath and life depend on each other – if life is not prayer and prayer is not life, we die.
Praying Without Getting Weary
In my second point I would like to reflect on praying without getting weary. Moses’ story in today’s first reading invites us to think of life, God, and prayer as seamless realities. In one sense, the scene is comical. Moses was on the top of the mountain with his hands held up as the Israelites fought the Amalekites. When Moses hands got weary and they went down, the Amalakites gained advantage. When his hands stayed up the Israelites had the advantage. So much so that they got two people to hold Moses’ arm up for him. Now, this is not a strategy that one would find in any war manual.
The point of the story is that God was with the people fighting their battle and leading them to victory. This story is a great analogy for prayer. God is in our life - like breath. This does not mean that life will be a smooth sailing. God does not promise us a life with no battles, difficulties, and complexities. Rather Moses’ story tells us that when we get weary, God does not abandon us. We can find God in the very midst of our struggles - like breath.
Hands Lifted Up in Prayer
Meanwhile, there is a gesture that is very useful as we go through life – ‘hands lifted up in prayer’. Like Moses, with hands lifted in prayer, we invite God into the very midst of our life. Day in and day out, like Moses, we invite God not only to fight our battles but simply to be an inalienable part of our daily existence… like breath.
The gospel parable of the judge and the persistent widow (Lk 18:1-8) can also be interpreted similarly. This parable can he misinterpreted to mean that God is like the mean judge who made the poor widow come to him numerous times before he would rule in her favor, and that the judge eventually ruled in her favor not because he cared about her but simply because he wanted her to stop bothering him.
The point of the parable is the exact opposite. Jesus 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? (Lk 18:7-8). Jesus’ point is that God is unlike the judge in the parable. In other words, Like the widow, we too must approach God with confidence. We too must invite God to be as much part of our lives – like each breath we take. This indeed is prayer. This is the meaning of “praying without growing weary.”
The last few years have been difficult years. But God is in our midst. We come here to lift our hands up like Moses did. And as we head back home, to work, and the rest of life, we realize that God is already there waiting for us. Life is breath and breath is life. Life is Prayer and Prayer is life.
- Fr. Satish Joseph