Homily: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
Friends,
as we continue more deeply into the month of October, our liturgies begin to
shift to focus us on the coming celebration of Christ the King and the end of
the liturgical year, which means that they also begin to shift to themes surrounding
the end of time and the second coming of Christ. It’s kind of like when you’re on a commercial
airline flight and the pilot begins to descend towards the destination airport:
when that happens the flight attendant announces, “We’ve begun our descent
towards our destination, so it’s time to begin preparing for landing.” In this sense, we’ve “begun our descent”
towards the end of the liturgical year and so our liturgies are helping us to prepare
for “landing”.
Today,
that preparation takes the form of considering our dominant image of God. Is our dominant image of God that of a harsh
judge who seeks only to catch us in some sinful act so as to condemn us
(seemingly with delight)? Or is our
dominant image that of a virtuous judge who, although never neglecting justice,
seeks first not to condemn, but rather to render judgments for what is truly good? Understanding how we view God is a critical
starting point to prepare ourselves for the end of time and the final judgment. Our readings today (particularly the Gospel
reading), encourage us to consider how we view God and to ask whether our image
if God truly represents who God is.
In
the Gospel reading, Jesus presents a parable of a judge “who neither feared God
nor respected any human being”, and a widow who sought a judgment from
him. In that time, judges held a lot of
power and prominence in society and widows, excepting children, were the least
powerful and influential. Thus, we see
an analogy to our relationship with God.
God is all-powerful and we have very limited powers. Nonetheless, in that ancient Jewish society,
even the widow had the right to be justly treated and so could bring a case
before a judge. We too, so limited
before the almighty God, are given access to seek help from him in our need. This is good to notice first: that when
injustice falls upon us, we have recourse to One who has the power to judge
rightly and restore to us what was lost.
The
parable, however, invites us to consider how we see God. Divine revelation tells us that God is good
and just and that he judges justly for all, especially for those who follow his
commandments. I wonder, however, how
often we forget this lofty image and rather see God as if he is the judge in
this parable: that is, as one who has “no respect for any human being” and who
must be threatened with physical violence before he will render a just judgment
for us.
If
you’re not sure which image of God you hold, take a moment to think about a
time when you were in great distress. Maybe
you were experiencing a crisis in your life, like the loss of a job or a sudden
onset of a serious illness for you or for a loved one. Perhaps you turned to God, hoping to find the
just judge who would render justice for you or your loved one. Did God respond in the way that you
expected? If not, did your image of him
change? My guess is that it did. My guess is that, when God failed to respond
in the way that you expected, your image of him changed to that of the judge in
this parable: as one who had no regard for you and your pleas and so who isn’t
as good as his own revelation of himself claims to be. This is a lamentable, albeit natural
reaction, since we can only interact with God through our human nature, and our
fallen human nature is quick to ascribe negative intentions to one who doesn’t
seem to respond readily to us.
Jesus
has good news for us in the parable. Remember
that, at the beginning of the reading, Saint Luke tells us that the purpose of
the parable was to remind the disciples “about the necessity for them to pray
always without becoming weary”. He uses
the parable of the unvirtuous judge so as to say, “Even if your image of God is
like this unvirtuous judge, don’t stop praying; because, at some point, he will
render a just judgement. If not for justice’s sake, then at least for the sake
of putting your pleas to rest.” Jesus
goes on to encourage his disciples, however, saying, “God, who is infinitely
better than this dishonest judge, will do so much more for you if you pray
unceasingly in faith. Therefore, pray always.”
The
story of the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites is one such
example. As the Israelites were in
battle, Moses prayed to God. When he
became weary in prayer (signified by his arms dropping), the Israelites started
to fail in the battle. When he
persevered in prayer (signified by keeping his arms raised), the Israelites received
grace to overcome the Amalekites, thus winning the battle. Thus, by persisting in prayer (assisted, as
he was, by members of the community), Moses received the answer from God that
he sought.
Okay,
so the question comes back to us: “What is our dominant image of God?” Is he the unvirtuous judge who has no regard
for us, or is he the virtuous judge who will respond to us justly and in a just
time? Today the Church invites us to
embrace the latter image once again. In
his Son, Jesus, God has definitively revealed himself as the virtuous judge who
will render justice at a just time. The
proof? His Son sacrificed himself for us. Therefore, the judgment of condemnation for
which we were destined has been redeemed in Jesus’ death on the cross; and his outstretched
arms on the cross are the sign of his never-failing intercession for us in
Heaven. Therefore, we are called to have
faith that our prayers are heard by God and that his plan to bring justice to
us is happening.
Friends,
if you struggle to hold this image of God as a virtuous judge, I invite you to
take that to prayer. Meditate on the
Gospels, especially this passage from Luke’s gospel. None of us can answer definitively the
question Jesus asks at the end of the passage, “When the Son of Man comes, will
he find faith on earth?”, but we can answer it for ourselves. Therefore, as we approach the great
celebration of Christ the King through these next weeks, let us work to
strengthen our faith in Jesus and live trustingly in his word: that our just
God will not be slow to answer us in our prayer.
Given in Spanish at St. Paul Parish: Marion, IN – October 15th,
2022
Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Delphi, IN – October
16th, 2022
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