21.10.2007 29th Sunday OT Year C
Ist Reading: Exodus 17,8-13 Psalm 121
2nd Reading: II Tim 3,14.4,2 Gospel; Luke 18,1-8
After having asked the Father for forgiveness, Jesus wants us to ask for help so as not to fall into temptation again. We are weak and fragile! Evil is powerful and so too are evil thoughts. We know that Eve fell into temptation as did the people of Israel in the desert and the great Kings Solomon and David and even Jesus' disciples. The temptation from which we ask for help is that which would separate us from the love of the Father and also from each other and destroy the unity of the Church! I do not, therefore, ask for help only for myself, but I beg the Father to protect my brothers and sisters too! My and their defeat harm that communion that makes the Church a family, the family of God. Temptation does not come from God for he does not wish us ill! When we say, "lead us not into temptation!" we do not mean that it is he who leads us into temptation. If at all, he gives us the opportunity to prove our love and our loyalty to him and his word. It is our enemy who transforms these moments into temptation, attraction to evil or disobedience or rebellion. We should not be surprised or discouraged for it is natural that on the path to perfection we will be tested and the closer we get to our goal the more our enemy will try to tempt us away from it. We should, therefore, always be on the alert for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters. If we are given wisdom and discernment we will be alert for our community and for the Church in our town and region! The Lord often uses the words and example of a single individual to awaken the awareness of many that certain thoughts, attitudes or behaviours are a temptation.
The Scriptures are a source of wisdom, a school for believers. St Paul says
that "it is inspired by God and has its use for teaching the truth and
refuting error, or for reformation of manners and discipline in right living,
so that the man of God may be capable and equipped for good work of every kind."
We should never, therefore, tire of listening to it and meditating upon it and
being inspired by it. It is the Scriptures that keep us firm in Christ, the
true and only saviour who inspires that love which makes human life beautiful
and worth living. No Christian can go without constant referral to the Scriptures.
How precious, for example, is the page in which Moses leaning against the rock
in prayer, with his arms supported by his two faithful helpers. His people are
in a difficult moment and being sorely tempted. Instead of taking the sword
to fight the enemy, Moses takes up his stick, the symbol of his obedience to
God and the power which was given to him. He remains all day with his arms raised
to heaven. For the people he is a sign that everything depends on God, even
the result of everybody's collective effort. It is an amazing image, for what
will be the result of our efforts, our struggles against evil, any kind of evil
if there is no one to intercede for us, to pray for us to remind us that everything
depends on the Father's love? Our enemy is so powerful it can overcome us at
any moment! The raised arms of those who are obedient to God and who live in
faith to him, are our support and certainty that we will win our struggles against
evil, no matter how weak we are. Now that we have learnt to pray from Jesus
it is our turn to stand on the mountain with our arms raised. Our prayers and
our obedience to God will support the world in danger! In the parable of the
gospel reading the Lord encourages us never to tire in our supplications. Our
insistence is not a sign of God's weakness, but that we have no other in whom
to hope and that our faith is real trust. It is the proof that we believe that
he has the wisdom to intervene and grant us our needs at the right time. Our
prayer is the expression and manifestation of that faith that the Father would
like to see always and in every corner of the world! "When the Son of Man
comes, will he find faith on earth?" We can answer with a resounding "yes"
for I believe and I will continue to believe and pray and hold my arms raised
with the help of my brothers and sisters so that the enemy of man will not prevail
against the Church. I will support the raised arms of others and together we
will help the world. Prayer and the Scriptures are our support. As long as there
are people who pray and listen to the Scriptures we need not and must not fear.
But I am not satisfied just to know that others are praying and listening to
the Scriptures; I too will listen to the Scriptures and pray to God with a prayer
in which God can detect the perfume of love!