Sunday, October 21, 2007

Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Readings for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Commentary:

Reading 1 Ex 17:8-13

The Israelites had just finished arguing (at the legendary Massah and Meribah) about whether the Lord was in their midst or not. In this passage, his presence is made clearly known as Moses gives them as sign of his continued support (against Amalek, leader of the indigenous people of southern Palestine).

Responsorial Psalm Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The imagery in the opening strophes reminds us of Moses in the first reading as he stood upon a high place so that the Israelites could see that God was with them. In this song of praise we are reminded of God’s continuing guidance and the salvation he provides us through His Son.

Reading II 2 Tm 3:14-4:2

St. Paul, in his instructions to St. Timothy tells him that sacred Scripture provides wisdom because it is inspired by God (Here he is speaking of the Hebrew Canon since the first Christian Canon has not yet been codified. However,
Dei Verbum from Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation quotes this passage as the Church’s view on that body of Holy Scripture as well.)

He goes on to tell his disciple that his work needs to be persistent, pointing us to the Lord’s lesson in the Gospel that follows.

Gospel Lk 18:1-8

This is the first of two parables on the need for prayer found in St. Luke’s Gospel. In this selection the Lord tells the disciples of the need for persistent prayer so they do not fall victim to apostasy. He assures them that God, the Just Judge, will listen to their prayers and come speedily to their aid in times of need.

Reflection:

Once upon a time there was a young man who lived in a small town. He was an ordinary young man but with a keen eye to what was right and wrong. He knew from his earliest years the meaning of justice. One day, in is small town, he noticed a constable taking fruit from a grocery display and, in front of the grocer, not paying for it and simply walking away. The young man saw the look of arrogance in the constable and the look suppressed anger in the grocer.

The situation, of course, was complex. Normally the young man, seeing such thievery would have reported it to the constable. In this case the constable was the thief, what should he do? He approached the grocer and said “Why don’t you report this to the local magistrate? He will surly make see justice is served.”

But the grocer was clearly afraid. “What if the Magistrate takes the side of the constable? Then it will be much worse for me. “

Seeing the fear in the grocer but still outraged at the injustice he approached other merchants in town, asking each the same question. They all had been victimized by this dishonest constable. Finally, understanding that none had the courage to plead their case to the higher authority, the young man asked for an audience himself. This was kind of difficult too, because the person who he had to ask was the constable himself.

None the less, the young man told the constable that there was an urgent matter that required him to see the Magistrate and “no thank you” the constable could not handle it. Finally, after telling the constable several times, even under threat of persecution, that the Magistrate was the only one who could help him, he was granted an appointment.

When the time came for the young man’s appointment, he was worried. What if the Magistrate did not believe him and turned him over to the constable? What if the shop keepers did not support his story out of fear? Never the less, the young man appeared before the Magistrate and, with the constable standing at his right hand, told him of the injustice being measured out to the merchants of the town.

The Magistrate was shocked. How could such a thing be happening in this small town with no one but this young man lodging a complaint? But again the young man persisted. The constable blustered, denied any wrong doing and accused the young man of all manner if misdeeds. But the Magistrate saw the sincerity of the young man and the fear in the constable caused by his accusations.

The Magistrate asked the constable why this young man should make such a claim, since he had nothing to gain from placing himself in jeopardy. When the constable made no good answer, the Magistrate launched an investigation and discovered the truth of the allegations. The constable was removed from is post and handed over to the jailors. The young man received the thanks of the merchants and would one day become a constable himself.

The moral of the story is that we cannot remain silent and hope that the Lord will see our plight and respond. The Lord tells us we must pray constantly and the Father of Justice will hear our call. We must fearlessly call out to the Father, through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that he will aid us in our pursuit of justice and truth. We do so confident that he will hear our plea and come to our aid.

Pax

[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is Christ Praying in the Garden by Marco Basaiti, 1510

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