Exodus17:8-13
Psalm 120. R. v. 2
Luke 18:1-8
Theme: PERSISTENT PRAYER PROTECTS AND PRESERVES FAITH
1. Today is the 29th Sunday of the year. The readings today tell us about prayer. The gospel today tells us something very important about prayer. We often hear that we must pray with faith and God will answer our prayer, but the gospel today tells us something more important, than that, that is, if we do not pray, we will lose our faith and we will lose our God! If we pray, we will keep our faith and we will keep our God! It is important to pray with faith so that God will answer our prayer, but it is more important to pray persistently, especially in times of trials and tribulations, so that we will not lose our faith and our God! Faith and God is much more important than all the answers and blessings that God gives to us in answer to our prayers!
The gospel today is taken from Luke 8:1-8 and it is closely connected to what precedes it, that is, Luke 17:20-37. Luke’s gospel was written in the year A.D. 80 when the early Christians were being persecuted for their faith, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was delayed. For these reasons the early Christians were losing their faith, and Luke wrote this gospel to tell them to pray persistently, so that they will not lose their faith in times of persecution! That is why the gospel ends with these defining words, “But when the Son of Man comes (Second Coming), will he find any faith on earth?”
The problem here is not whether God will answer our prayers or not, the problem here is not with God, but the problem here is with us, that is, will we lose our faith or not, especially in times of persecution and the delayed Second Coming of Jesus Christ!
The gospel today is very clear, God will certainly answer our prayers, as the unjust judge answered the prayer of the poor widow, but the question is, will we lose our faith in times of persecution and in the delayed Second Coming of Jesus Christ, like the early Christians! “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”
Today we may not lose our faith because of religious persecution, but today we may lose our faith for one of the following reasons: Materialism, Science and Secularism, Subtle Religious Persecution/Pressure, Suffering and Pain in spite of our prayers, etc.!
Today the reasons for losing our faith may be different from the early Christians in A.D. 80, but the gospel solution is the same, that is, “pray continually and never lose heart”! In other words, pray persistently, especially in times of “persecution”, and you will not lose your faith and your God! Yes, God’s blessings are important, but God Himself is more important than His blessings! Pray therefore, not only for God’s blessings, but also and especially that you may not lose your faith and your God!
In my experience, seminarians who leave the seminary and priest who leave the priesthood lose their faith because they do not pray! To lose one’s vocation and to lose one’s priesthood is bad, but to lose one’s faith and to lose one’s God is even worse! I know of seminarians and priests who not only lost their vocations and their priesthood, but they also lost their faith and their God!
“Prayer is faith breathing” (Fr. John Reilly)! When we stop praying, our faith stops breathing and our faith dies! We must therefore pray persistently to protect and preserve our faith! “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth”?
2. The first reading from the book of Exodus also tells us about prayer. The first reading tells us that when Moses raised his arms in prayer (JBC) the Israelites won the battle against the Amalekites, but when Moses grew tired and lowered his arms, the Amalekites won the battle! The battle with the Amalekites (an aboriginal people of southern Palestine and the Sinai peninsula, Cf Nm 24, 20.) was significant because it was the first battle and the first victory of the Israelites after they left Egypt in the Exodus!
Today we Catholics do not fight wars with human beings, but we fight spiritual wars with the Devil, with sin and Sin, and with evil! And Like Moses we will win our wars when we raise our arms in prayer, and we will lose our wars when we are tired of prayer and lower our arms! Again, pray continually and not lose heart that we may win our wars against the Devil, against sin and Sin, and against evil!
3. The Psalm today like the first reading also tells us about prayer. The Psalm tells us that when we pray, God the Creator of heaven and earth will be our protector. The Psalm also tells us that God never sleeps! He protects us 24 hours a day! He will not allow us to fall! He will protect us from the sun in the morning (desert sun) and from the moon at night! The ancient believed that the moon had harmful effects! He will guard us from evil and protect our souls! He will protect our going and coming (pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and for us to the heavenly Jerusalem) now and forever! Again, pray continually and not lose heart, that God will protect us in our journey to the heavenly Jerusalem!
4. Today, here and now, we are going to say the perfect prayer of the Eucharist! We are going to celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and eat his body and drink his blood, and our Risen Lord will give us his Holy Spirit! He will give us His faith! He will strengthen our faith, so that when he comes again a second time, at the end of time, he will find faith on earth!
Amen!
Fr. Nicholas Ong, Holy Trinity Church, Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia.
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