19th Sunday after Pentecost C Proper 24
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 16, 2022
Genesis 32:22-31 • 2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5 • Luke 18:1-8
I have gotten about ten phone calls in the last two weeks from a company claiming that I purchased a Keto health product from them in June of 2020. I never did. I even looked back at my credit card statements. I recognized the voice of one man after I mistakenly took calls which said potential spam. They kept claiming to have my credit card number but yet said they could not send me a bill. But I have to hand it to this group, they are persistent. And that ties in to today’s gospel: the persistent widow and the unjust judge. I have always liked the humor in this parable. The widow comes to him in the night and wakes him up. The judge finally says I’ll give her what she wants before she drives me crazy. I can see how people fell for this Keto scam, maybe just to get them to stop calling.
The true message of Jesus for us today is don’t give up. Persevere. Keep trying. There is a lovely prayer attributed to Therese of Lisieux. “Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing affright thee; patient endurance attaineth to all things. Who has God wants for nothing.”
We are all called to pray without ceasing according to the Gospels. This sounds like an impossible task, but I think we need to examine what it exactly means. Obviously we cannot say prayers 24/7 or even all the waking hours we have. Over the centuries people have tried to think of ways to pray without ceasing. The rosary was developed and, especially, the Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Even the Divine Office or liturgy of the hours was developed so people could pray morning, noon and night.
One way of approaching the words of Jesus is to make a morning prayer with the intention of being united in faith throughout the day. Then have a few times that you normally check in with God. For example, take some quiet time during your lunch break. I often meditate and pray during my lengthy drive to Saratoga every day. We can each find some time during the day to focus on our spiritual growth and our facility with prayer.
As we are in our stewardship season, I think it’s good to connect Jesus’ instruction to pray always with how we live our lives. Praying is not only saying prayers or even meditating. It also involves the way we live our lives. When we treat others with love, when we give of ourselves, we are also praying without ceasing.
To conclude, sometime today recite the Lord’s Prayer very slowly; take each phrase and savor it. Jesus taught us to pray with the Our Father, let us really feel what it means and not just recite it. God bless us everyone!