32nd Week, Saturday, Nov 13
Wisdom 18:14-16; 19:6-9 / Luke 18:1-8
The sea becomes a dry road; Israel saw what God did and rejoiced.
Theologian Karl Barth likened reading the Bible to looking out the window of a tall building and seeing people down on the sidewalk looking up at something on the roof. Of course, you can't see what it is. You can only make guesses, based on the expression on the people's faces. Israel's crossing of the Red Sea, which today's reading alludes to, is a good illustration of Barth's point. Something marvellous happened at the Red Sea. We may not understand the Bible story fully, but whatever happened changed Israel forever. Their experience at the Red Sea changed them from a mob of fugitive slaves into God's people. And as far as faith is concerned, that's really all that matters.
***
How prayerfully, reverently, and imaginatively do we read
the Bible? “What you bring away from the Bible depends to some extent on what
you carry to it.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
***
Their salvation through the Red Sea and their journey
through the desert were like a new creation for the Hebrew people. God
protected them and led them to freedom. This reminds us how our passing through
the saving waters of baptism has recreated us as the People of God.
***
There is no doubt that God listens to our prayers. And God would certainly pay attention to earnest and persevering prayers, and of course, prayers made with faith. But if we think that God is not answering our prayers, then maybe we have to see what our prayers are all about.
In other words, we have to listen to our own prayers, for a change. Prayer is not about trying to change God's mind or God's will. It would be rather absurd to assume that if we say long and persistent prayers, God would finally give in and grant us what we want. Rather prayer is an act of faith and it is the source of strength that will empower us.
It is with prayer that we will continue to strive for justice and work for peace. It may mean that we come to realize and accept that some things cannot be changed immediately.
It may also mean that we put our trust in God and believe that with God, nothing is impossible. Whatever it may be, our earnest and persistent prayer should bring our wills to conform to God's will. It is God's will "to see justice done, and done speedily".
As the 1st reading assures us, God will keep His children
from all harm. With faith in our prayer, we will see amazing miracles, we will
be like horses at pasture, we will skip like lambs, singing our praises to the
Lord our deliverer.
***
Luke must have had in mind those who pray and think that God
does not act when they beg him. There is also an eschatological tone in the
words of Jesus, that the delay in the coming of the kingdom should not
discourage us. In any case, our prayer should be trustful and insistent.
***
In the parable of the widow and the judge who had neither
fear of God nor respect for anyone, Jesus not only exhorts us to pray without
discouragement but also teaches what true prayer is. First, the prayer of the
widow arose from her humble admission of helplessness; the fact that she
approached an unjust judge reveals her helpless situation. Second, her prayer
was made with total trust and confidence that she would receive what she asked
for; she believed the judge had power and would remedy her situation. Third,
her prayer came from lived experience; from the existential situation and not
something superficial. Fourth, what the widow pleaded was right and just and
not something egoistic and evil. Finally, the widow’s prayer was persistent,
which shows the intensity of her prayer. Persistent prayer purifies our
intentions; it also reveals the strength of our faith, trust and confidence in
the Lord. The prayer of the just is always rewarded by the Lord.
***
Prayer
Lord our God, we know that you are our loving Father, that
you wait for us and that you are attentive to us every moment of our lives. Let
then our prayer come to you as a breath of hope and a cry of trust coming from
the poverty of our hearts. If you have to turn us down when we ask for harmful
or useless things, give us what we really need and keep our trust alive that
you are good and loving for you love us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
