16 Oct 2016
29th Sunday in Ordinary
Time, Year C
Everybody was gathered around the table. The candles were all lit on the birthday
cake, and they’d just finished singing “Happy Birthday.” And somebody said, “Ok, now make a wish and
blow out your candles!” Of course, it
was a “silent wish,” because you’re not supposed to say it out loud. And all the candles were blown out in a
single breath, and the smoke floated up as the party continued on. But whatever happened to that wish?
About five years ago, Saint Clare Parish did some long-range
planning. And, in that, there was a lot
of focus on wishes and dreams. There
were dreams of unity in the parish.
There were wishes for a new, single worship site; there were also wishes
of keeping our church buildings. There
were dreams of more meaningful, engaging celebrations of Mass; there were
wishes for innovation, there were dreams of respecting tradition. There were dreams of a new sense of community
and collaboration.
There were a lot of wishes and dreams five years ago. Whatever happened to them? When the smoke cleared from Saint Clare’s
birthday cake, where did the dreams go? Did
they die? Are they just on hold? Are they still in play? And, of course, we could ask that question
about any dreams we have or any wishes we make; especially the ones that just
seem to disappear with the birthday candle smoke.
In all our readings from Scripture today, there’s a constant
theme of “persistence;” especially persistence in prayer. And I suppose one message we could take away
from that is: Persistence will get you what you’re looking for. In the gospel, there’s the widow who returns
again and again to the dishonest judge, demanding a just judgment from
him. As we heard, that judge eventually
caves in because of the widow’s persistence.
And in Genesis, Moses’ ability to keep his arms raised—even when he just
can’t do it anymore—his steadfastness wins the battle against the Amalekites.
So, I suppose we could say that persistence (in prayer) will
get us justice and victory. And those
are both good things. But what about
when our faithfulness to prayer—our persistence in asking God for what we
need—what happens when that doesn’t bring any returns? Well, then I suppose we would hear the voice
of Saint Paul chime in and say, “Be persistent whether it is convenient or
inconvenient;” whether it is fruitful or not.
In other words, he’s saying: Remain hopeful and positive in our prayers
and wishes.
But there’s a piece missing in this whole picture. We know what our dreams and wishes are. But what about God’s? After all, God is pretty big dreamer; I mean,
just look at all the variety and intricacy there is in the created world! You have to have a pretty big imagination to dream
up (and make) everything that’s “visible and invisible.”
I imagine most of us have been in a situation where somebody
just keeps talking and talking and talking.
And that other person just won’t let you get a word in. And even if they do, somehow they manage to
turn it around so that, before you know it, the conversation is centered on
them again. Of course, that’s what we
call a “monologue,” not a “dialogue.”
When we think about our dreams and wishes—whether as a parish or as
individuals and families—we have to ask: Are we engaged in a monologue with God
listening, or in a dialogue where God also has a voice? That’s is so often the missing piece when it
comes to persistence in prayer. We’re
persistent in voicing our wishes, our dreams.
But we’re not persistent in asking God what his dreams and wishes
are. And we know he has them.
When Jesus says, “Pray always,” he’s saying, “Be in dialogue
with God always.” The original Greek word
in the gospel [proseúxomai] we translate as “pray” means more literally to “exchange
wishes.” It means to “interact with the Lord by exchanging our human
wishes with his divine wishes.” In a
nutshell, that’s what it means to pray.
Now, we use all sorts of words to describe that
exchange. We talk about being in “conversation”
with the Lord, or being in “dialogue” with the Lord. We talk about prayer as a “sharing” with God,
or as “walking humbly with our God.”
And, of course, we all hear about being “in relationship” with God.
But this isn’t just a casual relationship. It isn’t an exchange that happens when we’re “in
the mood.” Jesus says, “Pray always.”
And, again, Saint Paul says, “Be persistent whether it’s convenient or
inconvenient.” And this is where the
story of the widow comes in.
In the gospel we hear the dishonest judge say, “Because this
widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally
come and strike me.” And, again, the
original Greek word is helpful. It shows
that the widow wasn’t just “bothering” the judge, she was “beating him down.” The original Greek means, literally, to punch
somebody in the face just below the eye.
It means “to give someone intolerable annoyance;” to beat somebody down,
to wear somebody out by asking and asking and asking and asking.
And that’s what Jesus puts out there as the model for praying
to God. We’re supposed to be like a
congregation of 3-year olds who will just not stop asking God questions! That’s the sort of exchange Jesus has in mind
when he says, “Pray always.” But, here
again, it’s not persistence in a monologue; it’s persistence in a dialogue, in
an exchange between our wishes, our desires, and God’s wishes, God’s desires.
Jesus asks one of those questions that sort of lingers
through the centuries. He asks, “When
the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” So Jesus was talking about prayer, and then
about persistence in prayer, and now he’s asking about faith. “Will he find faith on earth?” And there are several definitions of “faith”
(all related). But the “faith” he’s
talking about in the gospel today is that “persistence in prayer,” that “persistence
in the exchange between God and us.” But
faith isn’t merely a conversation with God; it’s letting God’s wishes and
dreams take priority over our own—by trusting that God’s will is real and good.
And so the models of faith Jesus puts out there for us are
people like Moses. In the midst of the
battle with the Amalekites, Moses kept up his persistent exchange of thoughts
and desires with God—and let God take the lead, whether it was convenient or
inconvenient. We can even look to the
widow as an example of faith. She’s
someone who would beat on God’s door incessantly, shouting out, “God, what’s
your will!? How is this supposed to go!? I’ll do what you want, but you gotta make it
clear to me! Speak, Lord, your servant
is listening!”
Faith is that incessant exchange between God and us, where we’re
like that congregation of 3-year olds who will just not stop asking God what
his wishes are! It’s about letting God
persuade us that his way is a good way, and letting his wishes and dreams
become ours.
There were a lot of wishes and dreams five years ago when
Saint Clare Parish did its long-range planning.
When the smoke cleared from Saint Clare’s birthday cake, the dreams and
wishes didn’t go anywhere; they’re still around. They’re still in people’s hearts and minds;
they’re still on paper; they’re still in discussion. But until they’re brought into conversation—and
exchange—with what God has in mind for us, they’ll only be what we want.
And we won’t have acted with as much faith
as we could have.
And so, with this “call to faith,” this call to an “incessant
exchange between God and us,” and letting God persuade us with his dreams and wishes—with this call in
mind, the parish will go into a time of more intense prayer and faith to
discern what is God’s will for
us. What are God’s wishes for us? What does he
have in mind?
Over the next three months, until around the end of January,
we’ll be working on this with God’s help.
God so oftentimes reveals his will through the course of human
history. And so, starting today, we’re
going to work on writing a parish history.
Where did St. Mary Greenleaf, St. Patrick Askeaton, and St. Paul
Wrightstown come from? What are the
stories of the people of those former parishes?
How was God working (or not working) in the lives of our not-so-distant
ancestors?
And what’s been the history of St. Clare Parish these past
eight and a half years? How has God been
working (or not working) in our lives as a parish? It’s an important question to consider—our parish
and God’s will—because, of course, it’s his parish; it’s his church. How has God worked in the past, in the
present, and what is his will for us for the future? Look for more information about this
important project of writing our parish history.
And then in Advent, there’ll be a parish-wide retreat: eight
days of considering what God’s wishes are for each of us as: individuals,
families, youth, elderly. More
information to come on that. And then,
at the close of January and the start of February, our new picture directory
will come out, our parish history will have started in a big way, we’ll
hopefully have become more focused on the will of God, and we’ll put the wishes
of God in exchange with wishes and make some of those important decisions about
our direction and identity as a parish. But
that direction won’t come without first answering the Lord’s call to
faith.
Jesus asked, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith
on earth?” Will he find incessant faith
right in this parish? Well, let’s hope
so! Let’s be like a congregation of
3-year olds who just won’t stop asking God all those questions of faith: “God,
what is your will? What do you want? Well, how does that work, God? Here’s what I think . . . what do you think? Ok, that sounds good.” Let’s be a parish of incessant prayer and
exchange with our God. Let’s be a people
of real faith.
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