TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2025)
Readings:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalms 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8
Like the Israelites in our first reading, and the widow in today’s Gospel, we face opposition and injustice—at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.
We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains—to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.
We could end right there, and you all could brag that Fr. Christopher gave the shortest homily he has ever given in his near 50 years of priesthood, but that would do serious damage to the readings which are in need of “being broken open” and explored in the fullest of ways. The priests’ role as homilist is an extraordinarily important and essential role at every Eucharist, which is why priests who spend far too little time on preparing a homily, or who use ‘canned’ homilies which lack any contemporary reference to what is happening in the world around us, deliberately shortchange their parishioners and leave them wondering why any time was spent on the Old Testament readings.
And speaking of “the world around us” – there is a misunderstanding by many that priests are banned from speaking about politics in the pulpit. They are not banned from speaking about things that are considered political, as Pope Leo’s admonition to the American bishops attests. What is banned, in an election year especially, is the endorsement of a particular candidate. It does not mean that government officials who hold opinions or make policies that are completely contrary to the teachings of Jesus cannot be criticized. It was rare, but it made me so proud, when in the sixties, at the front of marches meant to heal the racial divides in this country, there were fully-habited nuns and collared priests, visible and standing up for what is right for all to see. So if at times any of my homilies drift into what you think is political, know that it comes with my priestly territory, and is not the result of being wed to any particular party.
In spite of the fact that Amalek was the grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob, what Amalek wants now is territory, and there is only one way to get that territory – wage war. (Sort of similar to Israel and Gaza today, who both see Abraham as their patriarch.) In the books of the Old Testament, wars are not uncommon, and they are so frequently about land. So Moses told Joshua to prepare for battle, and he would “be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God” in his hand, the staff that represented Moses’ chosen status, and which in the previous chapter produced water from a rock (albeit, not without some difficulty). Moses eventually grew tired watching the battle, so Aaron and Hur got him a rock to sit on. If Moses allowed his hands to rest, things would go poorly in battle; if he kept his hands and staff raised, the battle favored the Israelites. When Moses’ strength ran out, Aaron and Hur came to the rescue and held his arms up, “and Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” What a great battle!
But the story is not just about a battle, for it is a battle of God’s favored people. God listened to Moses’ prayers from the hilltop, and when Moses became too tired to fulfill his role, his friends and confidents came to his aid, holding his arms up to the heavens from where he got his strength. Who among those listening to me this morning don’t realize the need for others in our lives, brothers and sisters in the Lord who will be there to help when times get heavy, when the weight of the world weighs us down. Sometimes the echos of Carole King and James Taylor’s song are not as loud as they could be, but “we’ve got a friend” in Jesus, who are in the shape of ordinary friends, who help us get through the most troubling of times (think “Prayer Warriors”!)
I have preached on today’s gospel several times, and for the last nine years I have likened myself to this simple widow who could not count on kindness, generosity, or goodness to solve her problems, but had to rely on sheer persistence to satisfy her needs. I might add, that the kind of persistence manifested by this widow is not the kind of persistence appreciated in Rome. It is the kind of persistence recommended by St. Paul in our second reading: “be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” Infrequently done, but Jesus tells His disciples right away what the next parable is all about: “the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” In that way the gospel picks up the thread of the first reading from Exodus. There are only two figures in the gospel parable: a judge, which could be a bishop, for “he had neither fear for God nor respect for any human being,” and a widow, see simple priest, “who wanted justice against an unnamed adversary.” One has the sense that the woman has been looking for justice a considerable amount of time, and the Law entitled her to justice. Indeed, were Canon Law around during the time of Jesus, it would have entitled her to justice.
The evil judge no doubt held out as long as he could, but the widow “wore him out,” a Greek expression often translated “to ruin one’s reputation.” The God we worship is nothing like the wicked judge. Indeed, God is more generous than we could ever imagine, and He not only respects the rights of those He created, He is “eager to secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to him day and night.” (That is why I will never give up hope!)
Which brings us back to the phrase with which we began this discourse:
Like the Israelites in our first reading, and the widow in today’s Gospel, we face opposition and injustice—at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.
We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains—to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.
The years of frightening instability the woman faced for being a widow, surely seemed insignificant with the justice she finally received. Those years were her personal Calvary, and she could unite her sufferings with the suffering of a Savior who never tires of extending His arms to us, offering us a place free from the cares of this world, offering us a place where we are smothered with unconditional love, and where justice reigns supreme.
parishionersforjustice.com 