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Homily for the twenty-ninth
Sunday of the year - Year C - Lk. 18:1-8
by
Canon Dr. Daniel Meynen
" Jesus told them a
parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose
heart. He said, «In a certain city there was a judge who neither
feared God nor regarded man; and there was a widow in that city who
kept coming to him and saying, `Vindicate me against my adversary.' For
a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither
fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will
vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.'»
And the Lord said, «Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And
will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he
delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily.
Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on
earth?» "
Homily:
" Jesus told them a
parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose
heart. "
Apparently, we don't have
to look very hard to find the topic of today's gospel. Saint Luke
himself clearly tells us: "Jesus told them a parable, to the effect
that they ought always to pray and not lose heart." Prayer: that is the
topic for today! But is that really all? Behind these words, which are
very clear in their meaning, is there not a deeper meaning for us to
discover? Let us go back to that evening when Jesus prayed very
fervently to his Father: the evening that preceded his death, when
Jesus prayed so much that he sweated drops of blood! "Having been in
agony, he was more earnestly praying, and his sweat became, as it were,
great drops of blood falling upon the ground." (Lk. 22:44)
What a terrifying thing!
Jesus sweated drops of blood! What, then, was his prayer, that he was
brought to this state? On that evening, Jesus said: "Father, if Thou be
willing, make this cup pass from me; but, not my will, but Thine be
done." (Lk. 22:42) But what reveals the entire meaning of his prayer
are the words he then addressed to his disciples: "Watch and pray..."
(Mk. 14:38) With those words, Jesus expresses the whole meaning of his
prayer, the prayer par excellence: "Watch and pray"! The prayer of
Jesus is a vigil, a waiting! The prayer of Jesus is an anticipation of
his transition from this world to his Father! When Jesus prayed on the
day before his Passion, he already saw the painful transition that
would lead him to his Father: "Father, if Thou be willing, make this
cup pass from me; but, not my will, but Thine be done."
If such was the prayer of
Jesus, why should ours be different from his? We have no better model
than Jesus! Our prayer must therefore be similar to his. Our prayer
must be an expectation of our own transition from this world to the
eternity that is to come: our prayer must be a vigil for the day of
eternity! Every day of our life could be the last that takes place here
on earth, every day could be that of our meeting with the Lord, he who
will judge us for all eternity! In his parable, doesn't Jesus speak of
"justice"? Moreover, doesn't he say, speaking of God, "I tell you, he
will vindicate them speedily"? Doesn't this tell us that he will soon
return to judge the living and the dead? The sentence that follows is
without any ambiguity: "Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will
he find faith on earth?"
" He said, «In a
certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man;
and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,
`Vindicate me against my adversary.' For a while he refused; but
afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard
man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she
will wear me out by her continual coming.'» "
The widow of whom Jesus
speaks did not weary of praying: she continued until the unrighteous
judge gave her justice. This is the human example which Jesus himself
gives us! But do we act in the same way? Do we still have enough faith
to pray in this way? If we don't, let us first ask the Lord for it!
Then we will pray for justice, in order that the righteous Judge will
finally appear and give to each person what he deserves! Let us repeat
this: do we still have enough faith to pray in such a manner? The first
Christians, with Saint Paul and Saint John, cried out: "Amen. Come,
Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20; 1 Cor. 16:22) "Marana tha!" What do we say
when we pray to our Father? "Thy kingdom come!" Therefore, watch and
pray.
" «Nevertheless, when
the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?» "
These words of the Lord can
have two meanings. The first is that, at the time of the second coming
of Christ, faith will have almost completely disappeared from the
earth, and there will only be a very small number of believers. The
second possible meaning is that faith will no longer be seen exteriorly
on earth, and that it will only exist internally, in the hearts of
believers. If this prophecy of the Lord must be fulfilled (and why
would it not be fulfilled?), then may Heaven allow the second meaning
to be the one to be fulfilled! For in that case, faith will still exist
in a great number of believers, allowing them thus to be saved.
Let us ask God for this
grace, let us ask for it through Mary, "who believed that there would
be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." (Lk. 1:45)
Let us ask for this grace especially at the moment when we shall
celebrate the great Mystery of Faith!
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