HOMILY FOR 29 SUNDAY YEAR C – 2016
My dear
brothers and sisters,
The message of our Readings today remind us of one of the basics
yet also one of the most important aspects of our faith - prayer.
Why do we need
to pray? We need to pray because we need God
whether we acknowledge him or not. We need to pray because only God can satisfy
all our needs. No amount of worldly wealth can make us happy forever. We need
to pray because our human flourishing could not only be achieved through human
relationships. In fact, we can attain the fullness of our humanity also in relationship with God – a real and a personal one. It is in
relationship with God that our lives can get its full meaning and
significance and purpose.
One more thing, we need to prayer because
we are little people. Recognizing that reality we turn to God. The Bible says
that Moses was meek, the meekest man on the earth. (Num 12:3) As we see today
Moses' power comes from his humility, his dependence on God.
In
today’s first reading, God demonstrated to the Israelites that he was the one
in charge of their lives, history and circumstances. Of course, their success
depended totally on Him. Moses the great prophet and intercessor did what he
knew how to do best, unceasing intercession for his people. Through his action
and intercession, he gave credence to this popular saying that: “Prayer is the
master key to success.”
As
long as Moses’ hands were lifted up to God in prayers, the Israelites soldiers
were victorious in battle. This reading reminds us that our victory in life
depends much on God. It also reminds us that the solution to our daily battles
and struggles are both have both a spiritual and the physical dimension.
In the same manner, Jesus
in our Gospel today would invite us to practice this certain discipline in our
prayers and that is “To pray continually and never lose heart.” This
means persistence, perseverance, and patience. This is one point of the parable
that Jesus tells us in our Gospel today. By telling us the parable of the unjust judge and the needy
widow, Jesus is telling us that we must persist in our prayers, even if they
are not answered immediately or even if the answers are not the answers we are
expecting or we are wanting. All our prayers get to God, though not all are
answered according to what we want.
Finally,
we must never be tired of praying because God is never tired of listening to
us. He might take time to open the door like the judge in today’s parable.
However, if we do not quit, He will surely hear, and answer us. Amen
