“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” This is a very well known scripture verse in the second reading for mass today and it would be easy to overlook, because of all of the drama in the first reading for mass, and the famous story in the gospel reading today. But, this is an awesome passage too and should not be overlooked because of the excellent advice it offers to all of us. The reading goes on to say “proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”
This reading contains excellent advice. The scriptures are the perfect guide for our lives. Jesus Christ, through the sacraments of the church, is the foundation of our lives, but the scriptures offer us excellent advise and guidance throughout our lives as well. If you ever doubt the right thing to do when you need to make a decision, you can always look to the life of Jesus Christ, his apostles, and all of the holy men and women in the bible for guidance. The guidance you find in these words are incomparably more sound than any friend or family member can give us.
This reading explains that we may be called upon to correct other people sometimes and today’s scriptures explain that it is ok to do this when it’s needed. Life is not going to be smooth, easy and trouble free all the time, but God never meant it to be either. We do experience friction and discord from time to time. But, that doesn’t mean we are not a good Christian, if we are not always in a peaceful frame of mind.
And talk about negativity, the first reading for mass today is completely the opposite of what most modern Catholics believe to be good Christian behavior. War is something to be avoided at all costs, but sometimes it isn’t right to tolerate evil either. Have you ever heard the expression that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing? Many Catholics think that by doing nothing, they are keeping the peace. It is true that we should pray for peace and for an end to evil in our world and hopefully, that will be enough to change things. But, there are times that war is justified, and Moses demonstrates this in today’s old testament reading. The power of God was in Moses’ hands and as long as Moses held his hands up, Israel got the better of the fight, but when Moses got tired and his hands drooped the Israelites started losing. This is an interesting thought in light of today’s gospel too. Moses kept his hands lifted to God and God’s power was with him, until he relaxed and let his hands rest.
This is exactly what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel too, to lift your hands in prayer. Prayer is the most powerful force in the world. Christ said “to pray always without becoming weary.” That is what happened to Moses. He began to lose God’s power within him, when he grew weary and quit trying as hard to hold his hands up.
It’s kind of funny that Christ’s example of a widow praying for a just decision against her adversary is similar to Moses holding his staff up against their enemies too. God’s power is with those who pray, and is not with those who do not pray. Prayer is the most powerful force in the world. Jesus said that, “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?”
Does it seem like God isn’t listening to your prayers though? Sometimes it seems that God isn’t listening and we quit praying for something that isn’t quite right in our lives, or that seems overwhelming and impossible to handle on our own. Those are the times to give it all to God, both the good and the bad and trust that He hears you, He loves you, and He will help you with any situation that you can’t handle on your own. Moses had a great deal of faith in the power of prayer and so did the widow in today’s gospel. Maybe we should learn from them and not grow weary in our own prayer life.
When we are weak, God is strong for us. Our weakness is nothing to be ashamed of because in the long run it glorifies the Lord. God’s power is made known and His power is made perfect through human weakness. Just look at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Things are not always as bad as they seem sometimes. It can feel like things just can’t get any worse sometimes, but it is usually a temporary situation. God can turn the greatest evil in our lives into a greater good if we just have faith in Him, that He has the power to do this. Prayer is the most powerful force in the world. There is no situation that is impossible for God to help us turn around in our lives if we learn to rely on His strength instead of our own.
Isn’t it awesome not to have to carry the load alone? And it is good to remember that other people are willing to help you as well. Moses had help from Aaron and Hur, and the widow had a judge that finally decided to help her too. Whatever difficulties we go through in life, we can rely on God and on other people in our lives, to help see us through it. We are never alone. There is no need to struggle alone, if you let God into your heart through a regular prayer life, and allow other people into your life too. No man is an island. We need God, but we also need one another.
Daily Mass Readings:
Ex 17: 8-13 / Ps 121:1-8 / 2 Tm 3:14-4:2 / Lk 18:1-8
