October 16, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 16, 2016

29th Sunday Ordinary Time

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

The story is told about a lawyer and a doctor who were courting the same woman. One day, the lawyer had to be away on a trip for a week. To make sure that he will not be at a disadvantage while he was gone, the lawyer sent seven apples to the woman with a note: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Today’s readings remind us to be persistent in prayer because a prayer each day keeps the enemy away. Today is the month of the Holy Rosary. We can also say a rosary each day keeps the enemy away. How regular is our prayer life?  How persistent are we in prayer? How can we grow deeper in prayer?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER HAPPENS ONLY WHEN THERE IS FAITH.  One of the wrong impressions we have of prayer is to consider it as mere repetition of prayers from books. Because of this, prayer becomes burdensome.  But prayer is not just about mouthing out words or venting out our frustrations.  Prayer is an act of faith. Faith enables us to continue praying to God no matter what. This is the stubbornness and persistence of people with faith. They will not give up prayer easily even if people say, “There is no point in praying. God never listens to you.”

Look at the faith of Moses in the first reading. When the Israelites engaged in battle, they brought with them not only soldiers and weapons. They also had faith as a powerful tool. When Moses lifted up his hands in prayer, the Israelites would win the battle. But the moment he stopped praying, they got beaten by the enemy. Moses would then go back to prayer again. When his hands got tired, Aaron and Hur put rocks beside him and encouraged him to persevere and to be persistent in prayer until they prevailed over the enemy.

Unlike the corrupt judge in the gospel, our God, who is all good, is never annoyed to listen to our prayers. He never feels coerced to listen to us. He loves to listen to our persistent prayers. Persistence in prayer happens only when there is faith.

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER ALSO INCLUDES LISTENING TO GOD.  Prayer is not a monologue where we do all the talking and God listens.  Sometimes when we run out of words, we think our prayer is already finished.  But silence and listening is also an important part of prayer. Paul reminded Timothy in the second reading that he acquired his faith by listening to the Word of God. Paul also tells us that we can use the Word of God as material for prayer. We can meditate and reflect on it in silence so that we can somehow listen to what God is trying to tell us. If we are persistent in presenting our petitions to the Lord, we should also be persistent in listening to God.

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER MOLDS OUR HEARTS TO OBEY GOD’S WILL. I remember this story about a mother and her child who were strolling along the mall one Sunday afternoon. Passing by a makeup store, the child requested the mother, “Mom, can you buy me a lipstick? Some of my friends are already wearing one?” The mother said quickly, “No.” After a few meters, they passed by a shoe store. “Can you buy me those high heel shoes, some of my friends use it at certain occasions.” The mother said again, “No, I will not.” Then they passed by a dress store. The child told the mother, “Mom I want to try one of those dresses, can I?” The mother finally said, “Junior, will you stop it or else your father will get mad at you!”

The point of this story is that sometimes in prayer, we are like the child who asks God for things that are not for our own good. God is like a parent who knows what is good for us. When we ask for things that may not be good for us, out of God’s love, God will not give it because God wants the best for us. This tells us that every time we pray, we are not the ones influencing God to give us what we want. When we pray, God influences us. Persistent prayer does not change God. Persistent prayer rather changes us. God molds our hearts to obey His will.

Our Silver Jubilee theme reminds us of our desire to grow deeper in prayer. In this mass let us pray for the grace to be persistent in prayer, persistent in listening to God and persistent in obeying His will. May our patron St James assist us with his prayers.  Amen.