29th Sunday Ordinary Time October 19, 2025

Readings: Exodus 17:8-13 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2   Luke 18:1-8

The Book of Exodus has lots of stories of killing others who get in our way. This was fairly accepted manner of getting more territory, or accumulating wealth, of gaining power. We humans, even today, never seem totally comfortable just staying at home and not getting involved with others. As soon as we get involved with others, then the challenge of social ethics confronts us: how to relate to others. As Christians, the questions of relationships to others is guided by the teachings of Christ.

It is a long road from the Book of Exodus to the teachings of Christ. On the other hand, the teaching about prayer remains basically the same: prayer without becoming weary and learn to support one another in prayer. The challenge at times is to choose what to pray for. We are no longer free to choose to pray for harm to our enemies. We can pray that God help us find a way to live in peace and harmony with our enemies. The image of Moses holding his hands up in prayer and then becoming weak is a striking image. Only with the help of two others is he able to continue in prayer. We can recognize that having others pray with us, supporting us in prayer, can make an enormous difference in our praying. Praying aloud in the presence of others and inviting them to pray with us can be a very humbling experience.

The Gospel of Luke gives us the image of a widow insisting with an unjust judge that he must give a just decision for her. Perhaps we also think of an old widow, an old woman, but the image simply refers to a widow. However old she is, she has learned to insist on what is right and just. Most of us give up far too easily when we ask for things from others. We accept a negative answer and believe that we can do nothing more. In prayer, if God does not give us what we are asking for almost immediately, we presume that His answer is “no” or that God simply does not care.

If we look at the history of prayers, the history of saints who pray, we find that many saints prayed for decades before finally being given what they had prayed for. Even though today’s Gospel insists that God will be quicker than the unjust judge, we also know that if we continue to ask for something, God continues to listen. Today let us renew our commitment to pray, to pray without getting weary and pray, supporting one another in prayer. We can form wonderful human communities based on prayer and love. Let us pray!

                 Fr. Terry.