29th Sunday OT, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
War. We are at war. Like Moses in the desert against Amalek, the people of God, the Catholic Church, all faithful Christians must realize that they will never have authentic peace in this world. As Christ says in John 16:33: “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble…” But, we have to live in this world, so what do we do about it?
Especially with the election looming, we want to wish for a great candidate, a talented lawyer, or perhaps a few great Supreme Court Justices who can help us survive the battle we find ourselves in. We want to look for people who have the skill and resources to turn the tide. This is not a bad desire and finding those people would be a great help. Joshua in the first reading was careful to have well-trained soldiers, to devise a wise battle-plan, and to do his best in fighting against their enemy. But Scripture isn’t even partly concerned with that; it doesn’t even bother to tell us how many men are fighting or how many died that day. We know that “scripture is useful for teaching,” so what is it teaching us today? It is teaching us about prayer. From the perspective of God’s revelation, the deciding factor of the battle is not who has the better warriors, but whether or not Moses is praying. “Raising up” your hands is a form of prayer, especially for the ancient Israelites. We still have a similar understanding when I tell you all to “lift up your hearts” at the beginning of the preface and Eucharistic Prayer.
What decides the battle is whether or not Moses is praying, and praying without stopping for even a moment. He was even allowed to sit down and to get help, just so long as he kept up his prayer. This is still true for us today, and even more so. It even still applies to major battles. Just do some research about the battle of New Orleans or the Battle of Lepanto to see examples where prayer made a difference in a fight.
But today, even more importantly, the liturgy it trying to tell us about the importance of prayer in all of our battles and struggles. Paul tells us to pray constantly. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton tells us that we must “pray without ceasing.” I could fill this whole homily and whole collections of books just with quotes from saints about the importance and power of prayer.
Over and above all of that, I can give you Christ’s own words in the Gospel today. He gives us this odd parable about an old woman who literally annoys a judge until he gives her what he wants. And then, he compares that situation to us and God. Seriously, he is telling us to annoy God with how much and how often we pray. If you are tired of the mess this world is in, then pray about it. Yes, we will have to vote and there will always be disagreement about politics, economics, and other social issues, but relying on our own power and reason will always fail us in the end if we are not constantly supported by prayer.
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Why does Jesus suddenly ask this question after teaching us about prayer? What is the connection between faith and prayer? The two seem so closely connected that most of us will think it’s obvious, but how do we explain it? There are a few different dimensions to consider. First of all, it takes faith that there is a God before you can pray to him. You have to believe both that he exists and that he can hear you before you can pray to him. Notice that we say the creed right before we offer our universal prayers. Secondly, the word “faith” also means “fidelity.” Prayer, the kind of prayer that Jesus tells us to practice, is a prayer of persistence. You have to be faithful to the act of praying. Thirdly, prayer allows our faith, our belief and trust in God to grow, even when we don’t get the answer we want. The very fact that you are spending time and energy talking to God, listening to him, and wanting him to be involved in your life opens a little window in your heart, mind, and soul that allows his grace to increase your faith.
Speaking of talking and listening – what is your understanding of prayer? Is prayer always and only when you tell God what you want like a Christmas wish list? You know that answer – it is not just a wish list. There is also thanksgiving, reflection on scripture, contemplation, and, best of all, simply listening to and being with God. But I don’t want to dismiss the idea of asking God for things. After all, Christ gives that very example here. St. Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church and one of the greatest theologians to have ever lived, teaches that we should not be afraid to ask God for anything, anything. Even when we ask for things that are bad for us, we benefit from the fact that we treat God like he is both real enough and powerful enough to have an impact on our lives.
True, Christ tells us that God “will see to it that justice is done” for those who pray. This means that he probably won’t give you a new Ferrari or help you rob a bank, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we shouldn’t ask. Even if we want what is bad, taking God seriously enough to pray to him about it will change us. Besides, God already knows everything we want anyway. He already knows what we’re planning, so it’s not like it helps to hide it from him. In fact, that’s exactly why praying to God can make such a difference. It gives him permission to be a part of our lives. We make him a part of our inner conversation, give him a place at the table, and treat him as though we care that he knows. Praying, even praying badly, helps us to develop the habit of acknowledging God in our lives, it allows him to be present to us – and God’s presence is powerful. With enough exposure to him, even with mixed motives, God’s presence in our prayer life will change us.
The only thing we need to worry about in asking God for something, is that we are actually asking Him and not merely talking to ourselves, or worse, to a false God. Sometimes we let our imagination take over and create our own version of God. Sometimes, evil spirits will subtly influence our thoughts and feelings to give us a false impression of what God is saying to us. That is why St. Paul tells us to “remain faithful to what you have learned and believed because you know from whom you learned it.” Knowing where an idea came from is important. We have Scripture and Church Teaching to guide us and we know that it comes from God. When our prayers seem to be answered in ways that contradict these, we can know that they came from somewhere other than God. It’s like an external guide to help us sort through the interior confusion we often have.
This is all the more reason to pray with confidence! We are not alone even in prayer. So, be honest with yourself about all the concerns you have with politics, with your family life, with the people in Church. Pray to God about all of these. Be persistent in prayer – for Christians, perseverance is the name of the game. Ask God for grace to pray better. Pray, my dear people. Pray in your thoughts as you go through your day. Commit to a half hour of dedicated prayer every day. Work your way up to an hour. I don’t know how else to stress it’s importance, so I leave you with Padre Pio’s words: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”