29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C
Our readings today speak of the dimension of persist; it adds how we understand perseverance and persistence. We could speak here with the culture or resistance hope, that which is holding in tension.
The first reading and the gospel shows us two examples of people who pray, one without tiring and the other with determination. Both achieve their goals, salvation for the people of Israel and justice for the widow.
That necessarily adds to our understanding of perseverance in prayer. It makes clear that any form of hope must include the communal aspect, not just for myself, what I can do on my strength it is the hope that includes the community.
This is presented when Moses raises his hands for the good of the Israelites community; the Israelites are fighting against the communal hopelessness. Moses keeps his arms out tranche with his own arm being supported by Aaron and Hur. There is a resistance against any hopelessness.
It is interesting that in the gospel Jesus does not pull out the example of Moses rather he turns to a poor widow who has not seen manna falling from heaven, nor saw in the wilderness water gushing out of stone nor ever witness the Israelites defeating forces against them. The poor widow, rather, who desires justice done for her and her daily life in the smallest way of her life.
This is the example that Jesus puts out, which relates to us or people we know and love speaking of hope, persistence and resistance. The poor widow must have used these three things.
She must have resisted the self-doubt. That must have been an inner temptation that said to her, I have no body, no one will ever listen to me, that should maybe do with what I have for justice to be done; but she must resist the tempting thoughts that say nothing can change that the heart of the judge will never change. That her problems will never be listened to, that justice will never actually be done.
This is indeed very tempting thought that must be resisted because there must be a sense of hope that something can change. That the heart of this judge could be touched somehow possibly. Things can look different; she had to persist in this.
The poor window speaks to us about a need to have a persistent hope against placing God in a box that will be far too small for our God. Any form of that box is of seeing God as the fixer of problems.
We have to resist that because indeed we will have a small God. Resisting that looks like resisting the one who at first runs out hope. To the one who breathes resistant hope, the one who sees the broken and he is there holding hope is indeed a great thing something to live to, sometimes requires some persistence, because the scripture promises us that indeed hope does not disappoint.
Let the people of God be complete, equipped for every good work.