Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Oct. 16, 2016
The Judge and the Persistent Widow, Jan Luyken, 17th century woodcut.
Hear this call through Sunday’s readings: Place your hope in God, and even in the face of challenges, be persistent. Jeremiah again reassures Israel and Judah in exile: Yes, they fully deserved the hard times – the “sour grapes” that have befallen them. But, the prophet foretells, God will forgive the people, make with them a new covenant, and return them home, just as God led their ancestors out of slavery in Egypt.
First Reading (Track Two): Genesis 32:22-31
Hear this call through Sunday’s readings: Place your hope in God, and even in the face of challenges, be persistent. In today’s strange narrative from Genesis, Jacob fights to a draw in a night-long battle with an angel who doesn’t fight quite fairly, yet turns out to be God. This was shocking, because the mere sight of God’s face was believed to be fatal to humans. Not even Moses was allowed to see God face-to-face, but Jacob, now Israel, did.
The longest of all the Psalms, Psalm 119 devotes all of its 176 verses to a long, loving celebration of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. The ancients understood Torah as God’s “teaching,” but in translation it is usually rendered God’s “Law.” These verses speak of the people’s persistent efforts to study and learn until God’s teachings are written on their hearts in words as sweet as honey.
Psalm (Track Two): Psalm 121
This is one of the many Psalms that we love to hear when we or a loved one or friend is in trouble, afraid, looking for help, uncertain where to turn, seeking protection. The Psalmist, not afraid to call on God, cries out, “From where is my help to come?” We look upward, up to the hills, and find comfort in the sure protection of the Creator, who stands on constant watch, never sleeping, protecting us by night and day.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5
Written decades after the life of Jesus, this late New Testament letter offers hope and firm advice to a Christian community faced with persecution. It calls the people of the young church to “be persistent” about proclaiming the kingdom of God. In good times and hard times alike, they are to “convince, rebuke, and encourage” in the name of Jesus. Does this remind us of the persistent widow we meet in today’s Gospel?
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
Luke often shows us Jesus slamming the rich and powerful with parables that burn: The dishonest steward! The rich man who died too soon to enjoy his barns full of treasure! The rich young man who couldn’t give away his property, even to save his soul! The rich man who burned in hell while the poor man he wouldn’t help in life now reposes in heavenly comfort! And now we see a corrupt and scheming judge confronted by a persistent widow who will not stop demanding until he finally caves in. What does this mean to us? Jesus tells us at the beginning and the end of today’s Gospel: Pray always and do not lose heart. God will grant justice to the chosen ones who pray by day and night.