29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle C)
Readings:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-7
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), NABRE (New American Bible Revised St. Joseph Edition), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: Perseverance in Prayer and
Scripture Study
Prayer and studying Sacred Scripture are two ways to grow
closer to God and open the way for God to communicate His divine will to us. The
First Reading and the Gospel contain examples of the power of prayer and the
necessity of persevering to deepen our relationship with God. Today's Psalm
encourages us to pray for God's protection and intervention in our lives, while
the Second Reading calls us to study the Scriptures.
In the First Reading, in the company of Aaron and Hur, Moses offered an intercessory prayer resulting in Israel's victory over the army of the pagan Amalekites. After their deliverance, the Israelites strengthened each other by praying together, their unity giving additional power to their petitions. Christians support each other similarly by praying as Jesus told us to pray in His name to the Father (Jn 14:13-14). For this reason, the Church, united in the Body of Christ, makes petitions to God in the Intercessory Prayers of the Mass.
Today's Responsorial Psalm should remind us that we are pilgrims on a journey through this life to reach the Holy City of the heavenly Jerusalem. On our life's journey, we should not only pray for ourselves but also remember to pray for God's protection for our brothers and sisters in the human family. They share the journey with us, and we should petition our Holy Father for our salvation and theirs. Speaking of God's parental protection, St. John Vianney said, "Our God never lets us out of his sight; he is like a mother who watches closely over her child as he takes his first steps ... What consolation the Christian feels to know that God is always watching over him, that he witnesses his trials and struggles, to know that God is on his side" (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Corpus Christi).
In the Second Reading, St. Paul advised St. Timothy on the necessity of studying the Old Testament Scriptures in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his faith community. St. Paul's advice is as crucial for the faithful today as it was in the first century of the Church. He emphasized the usefulness of all the Scriptures, and by "all," he meant the entirety of the sacred texts that are the word of God written down in human terms so that we might understand them and live according to their teachings.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus teaches the necessity of perseverance in prayer in the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Jesus warned His disciples of every generation to remain firm in their faith. Faith and prayer are two sides of the same coin. If you have faith in God, you will turn to Him in prayer; if you pray, you strengthen your faith in God. At the end of His teaching, Jesus asked if the professed children of God would remain patiently persistent in their faith in Him and if He would find faith on earth when He returned.
Ask yourself this same question: Do you persevere in prayer like the widow's persistence in Jesus's parable, or, if you do not immediately receive an answer to your prayer, do you lose heart, patience, and faith and then give up? Our unanswered prayers may be because we are not praying for what is good for us, or we are praying for what is not in God's divine plan for us, or He is not granting the petition at this time because He is asking us to have patience as He strengthens us spiritually through our perseverance. St. Monica prayed for her son to repent and come to faith in God for almost thirty years. If she had not persisted, the Church might have been deprived of one of her greatest theologians, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
The First Reading Exodus 17:8-13 ~ The Battle against the Amalekites
8 In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel
[at Rephidim]. 9 Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men and
tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand." 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him: he
engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with
Aaron and Hur. 11 As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the
better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of
the fight. 12 Moses' hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place
for him to sit on. Meanwhile, Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one
side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 And
Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. [...] = literal
translation, IBHE, vol. I, page 188.
In the exodus out of Egypt, with God's help, the Israelites miraculously crossed the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) to escape the advancing Egyptian army (Ex 14:5-31; 16:22). God continued to care for His people, feeding the hungry Israelites quail and manna on their journey (Ex 16:4-36). After they left the northern desert of Sin and made camp, the fierce Amalekites attacked the Israelites at Rephidim, located between the eastern branch of the Red Sea and Mt. Sinai.
The Amalekites were an ancient people first mentioned in the invasion of the kings of Mesopotamia in Genesis 14:4, during the time of Abraham (also see Num 13:29; 24:20). They occupied the northern Sinai Peninsula and the Negeb of southern Canaan, and at the time of the Israelite exodus out of Egypt, they controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt. They probably saw the opportunity to attack a vulnerable band of refugees to confiscate their flocks and herds of livestock. From the time of this attack, the Amalekites were considered Israel's perennial enemies (Dt 25:17-18, Judg 1:16; 6:3-5, 33; 12:15; 1 Sam 15:3-9; 27:8, 30:1-2, 11-20).
This event is the first mention of the great Biblical hero, Joshua, in the Biblical narrative. Originally named Hoshea, Joshua was the son of Nun (Num 13:16), a descendant of Joseph's younger son Ephraim, and a member of that half-tribe of Joseph (Num 13:8). Moses changed his name from Hoshea ("salvation") to Yahshua/Yehoshua ("Yahweh is salvation") in Numbers 13:16. Yahshua/Yehoshua is the same name the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary to name the Son of God at the Annunciation (Lk 1:31).
Joshua became Moses's trusted lieutenant (Ex 24:13), and God later appointed him as Moses's successor, divinely elected to lead the new generation of the children of Israel into the Promised Land (Dt 32:44; Josh 1:1-5). In all his years of service to the Lord, Joshua's record of obedience was perfect. His homily to the assembly of Israel before his death is a testament to his unfailing devotion to God and his fidelity to his life's mission to fulfill God's plans for Israel (Josh 24:1-24). Joshua is believed to be the inspired writer of Deuteronomy Chapter 34 and the Book of Joshua.
Aaron (Moses's brother and Israel's first high priest) and Hur assisted Moses during the battle. Hur is mentioned here and in Exodus 24:14, and he is possibly the same Hur named in the genealogies of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr 2:50; 4:1, 4). His Hebrew name (hr) probably derives from the Egyptian hr, "Horus," the Egyptian falcon-headed god (Propp, Exodus, page 617). Several of the Israelites of the Exodus generation had Egyptian names.
Obedient to Moses's command, Joshua led the Israelite men into battle against the Amalekites. At the same time, with his staff in his hand, Moses stood on a hill with his arms and hands raised and stretched out to each side as he prayed for God's intercession in Israel's victory. This posture of prayer is called the Orans or Orante position. It became the priestly stance in prayer for the priests of the Old Covenant Church and continues as a stance in prayer for the priests of the New Covenant people of God.
10 Joshua did as Moses had told him and went out to
engage Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 As
long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the advantage; when he let his
arms fall, the advantage went to Amalek.
As long as Moses continued his intercessory prayer for
Israel with his arms and hands raised, Joshua and his forces could push back
the enemy. However, whenever his arms fell, the Amalekites began to gain dominance
over Israel. To help Moses keep his arms raised, Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a
stone and supported his outstretched arms. Moses remained in that position
until sunset, when Joshua and the Israelites finally defeated the enemy.
The role of Aaron and Hur in Moses's intercessory prayer that resulted in Israel's victory over her enemy is also significant. When the faithful strengthen each other by praying together in offering their petitions to God, additional power is applied to the prayer. After Jesus's Ascension, the Apostles and disciples persevered in prayer in the presence of the Virgin Mary in the Upper Room in Jerusalem for nine days as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. They prayed with one voice and one heart, and on the tenth day, the Holy Spirit came to fill and indwell the Church of Jesus Christ on the Jewish Feast of Sukkot, which was known by the Greek name "Pentecost" (meaning 50th day in Jesus's time), 50 days after His Resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev 23:9-14; Acts 1:11-14; 2:1-4). The faithful of Jesus's Kingdom continue to support one another in prayer, which is why the Church, united in the Body of Christ, makes petitions to God in the Intercessory Prayers of the Mass.
In Moses's position, standing on the top of a hill/mountain, holding his staff in one hand and his arms outstretched, with his body thus forming a cross, and his intercessory prayer leading to victory over Israel's perennial enemy, the Amalekites, the Fathers of the Church saw a foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus prayed for the salvation of humanity on the rock of the hill/mountain top of Golgotha with His arms outstretched on the Cross. In this position, Jesus prayed and ultimately won the victory over humanity's perennial enemy, Satan. The Church Fathers saw Moses's wooden staff as a conduit for God's power in defeating Israel's enemy, just as the wooden Cross of Jesus Christ became a channel for God's power in defeating Satan (see Tertullian, Against Marcion, 3.18; Cyprian, Testimonia, 2.21; Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 2.88).
Responsorial Psalm 121:1-7 ~ A Prayer for God's Protection
The response is: "Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth."
1 I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall
help come to me? 2 My help is from the LORD [YHWH] who made heaven and earth.
Response:
3 May he not suffer your foot to slip; may he slumber not
who guards you: 4 indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel.
Response:
5 The LORD [YHWH] is your guardian; the LORD [YHWH] is
your shade; he is beside you at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not harm you
by day, nor the moon by night.
Response:
7 The LORD [YHWH] will guard you from all evil; he will
guard your life. 8 The LORD [YHWH] will guard your coming and your going, both
now and forever.
Response:
This Psalm is one of the "Songs of Ascents" that pilgrims either sang or prayed aloud on their journey up to the holy city of Jerusalem, which they could see in the distance (verse 1). The psalmist begins by expressing his profession of faith and trust in Yahweh, who made Heaven and earth (verses 2). He describes Yahweh's protection as a guard/guardian for the psalmist and his people six times (see verses 3, 4, 5, 7 twice, and 8).
Notice that in verse 3, the tense changes from first person singular (I) to second person plural (you/your). God guards the psalmist pilgrim on his journey to the holy city, just as He guards Israel on her journey through history (verses 3-8). The Lord gives His protection to the pilgrim and his countrymen and women from evil in the same way that "shade" protects the pilgrim from the scorching heat of the sun in the day (verse 5), and God guides them by the light of the moon at night (verses 6-7). The psalmist's intercessory prayer for his people is that the daily activities of the faithful ("your coming and your going" in verse 8) fall under Yahweh's divine protection.
Psalm 121 should remind us that we are also pilgrims on a journey through this life on our way to the Holy City of the heavenly Jerusalem. On our life's journey, we should not only pray for ourselves, but we should also remember to pray for God's protection for our brothers and sisters in the human family who share the journey with us, praying that we all might come to salvation. Speaking of God's parental protection, St. John Vianney said: "Our God never lets us out of his sight; he is like a mother who watches closely over her child as he takes his first steps ... What consolation the Christian feels to know that God is always watching over him, that he witnesses his trials and struggles, to know that God is on his side" (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Corpus Christi).
The Second Reading 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 ~ The Godly
Inspiration of Sacred Scripture
3:14 Remain faithful to what you have learned and
believed, because you know from whom you learned it, 15 and that from infancy
you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for
every good work. 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly
power: 2 proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
When St. Paul speaks of the Sacred Scriptures, he refers to the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures. These are the Scriptures Jesus said were fulfilled in His earthly mission in proclaiming the Kingdom of God, His sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection (Lk 24:26-27, 44-45).
Timothy was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish-Christian mother from Lystra in Asia Minor. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois (also a Jewish-Christian), taught him the Scriptures from his infancy (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim 1:5). Paul provides a gentle warning to us concerning the influence we can have over our children in teaching them the Old and New Testament Scriptures and through them the Gospel of salvation (2 Tim 3:15).
In verse 16, St. Paul emphasized the usefulness of all the Scriptures. By "all" Scripture, he means the entirety of the sacred texts that are the word of God written down in human terms so that we might understand them and live according to their teachings. When the verse says, "inspired by God," the Greek text reads, "breathed by God." Paul may also be referring to the New Testament Gospels and other apostolic letters, including his letters, which he believes are God-breathed as he says in his letter to the Christians in Thessalonica: And for this reason, we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe (1 Thess 2:13).
In 4:1-2, the tone of St. Paul's letter becomes grave. He was writing from his prison cell in Rome and believed he would soon face martyrdom. Paul "charges" Timothy, as though putting Timothy under oath, to carry out the mission of "proclaiming the word." Timothy must preach the Gospel of salvation in the apostolic tradition. He must continue to share the precious deposit of faith that Paul has received from Christ and the Apostles and which Paul has faithfully passed on to him. Timothy's responsibility is to pass on this precious trust to the next generation of believers, regardless of the obstacles he might face.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, when we complete our baptismal vows, we swear an oath to be apostles of Jesus Christ and pass on the deposit of faith we have received in Scripture and Tradition to the next generation of believers. To fulfill your sacred oath (the origin of the word "sacrament" is from the Latin word sacramentum, which means "oath" or "sacred obligation"), every Christian has an obligation to study Scripture in the Living Tradition of the Church. Is your responsibility in this regard any less than that of St. Timothy?
The Gospel of Luke 18:1-8 ~ The Parable of the Persistent
Widow
1 Then he told them a parable about the necessity for
them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, 2 "There was a judge in a
certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. 3 And a
widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me
against my adversary.' 4 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but
eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect
any human being, 5 because this widow keeps bothering me, I shall deliver a
just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'" 6 The Lord said,
"Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. 7 Will not God then secure the
rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow
to answer them? 8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them
speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus offered three parables on the power of prayer:
1 Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. In the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus prays before:
The contrast in this parable is between a persistent widow petitioning a judge to rule in her favor and a Christian being persistent in petitioning God in prayer. The persistence of the widow's petition to the judge got results in the same way a Christian's perseverance in praying to God will get results, not because God finds the Christian irritating like the judge found the widow but because God will reward a Christian's patient and faithful persistence.
8 But when
the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
The "Son of Man" is Jesus's favorite title for Himself and refers
to His humanity and the prophet Daniel's vision of the Divine Messiah (Dan 7:13-14). Verse 8 is the crux of the problem facing humanity concerning the Second
Advent of Christ. Jesus ends His teaching on the importance of perseverance in prayer
with the warning to remain firm in one's faith. Faith and prayer are two sides
of the same coin. If you have faith in God, you will go to Him in prayer; if
you pray, you strengthen your faith in God. Jesus asked: Will the professed
children of God remain patiently persistent in their faith, and will He find
faith on earth when He returns?
We should ask ourselves this same question. Do we persevere in prayer with the widow's persistence in Jesus's parable, or, if we do not immediately receive an answer to our prayer, do we lose heart, patience, and faith and give up? When God does not answer our prayers, it is because we are not praying for what is good for us or praying for what is not in God's divine plan for us, or He is not granting the petition because God is asking us to be patient and persevere as He strengthens us in faith. St. Monica prayed for her son to repent and come to believe in God for almost thirty years. If she had not persisted, the Church might have been deprived of one of her greatest theologians and Doctors of the Church, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
Catechism References (* indicated Scripture is quoted
or paraphrased in the citation):
Exodus 17:8-13 (CCC 2577*)
2 Timothy 4 (CCC 2015*), 4:1 (CCC 679*)
Luke 18:1-8 (CCC 675*), 18:1 (CCC 2098*), 18:8 (CCC 675*)
Moses and prayer of intercession (CCC 2574*, 2577*)
Prayer of petition (CCC 2629*, 2630*, 2631*, 2632*, 2633*)
The Word of God is a source of prayer (CCC 2653*, 2654)
"Thy Kingdom come" (CCC 2816, 2817*, 2818*, 2819*, 2820, 2821*)
The urgency of the preaching task (CCC 875*)
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