“Rich in What Matters to God” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

“Rich in What Matters to God” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Piety

Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do. That is why it was credited to him as righteousness. Romans 4:20-21

But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' Thus, will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."  Luke 12:20-21

Study

God is in complete control of every aspect of our lives.  How could it possibly make sense to put our faith in anything but God?  

True faith means trusting in Him completely, even when things make no sense at all. Things made no sense for the man storing up treasures on earth.  Things made no sense for the powerless widow and the dishonest judge, either.

In considering the judge from Sunday’s Gospel, a scholar said that if he were the judge's therapist, he would resist the temptation to be disgusted or withdraw.  Instead, the scholar would try to become curious.  He hypothesized that the judge (“who neither feared God nor respected any human being”) once felt as this widow does: angry, baffled, and rejected. To put it differently, the judge may, as an adult, just be mimicking the behavior of those upon whom he once depended. As others controlled him and then put him down for resisting that control, he now dominates this woman and blames her for his resulting distress.

Understanding is also crucial for the Militant Church.

In Sunday’s First Reading, Amalek attacked first. Typically, this shows us that sin takes the offensive in the life of a Christian to cause us to regress.  Amalek has chiefly a symbolic function, standing for any person, group, or nation who, by attacking Israel, resists the divine will.

Two passages stress the gratuitous nature of the Amalekite assault: in Exodus 17, they come and fight without any provocation, probably before the Israelites have a chance to assuage their thirst.  In Deuteronomy 25, they snipe, in cowardly fashion, at fatigued stragglers among the Israelites.

The Lord will wage war on Amalek (sin) from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). That is part of the terms of the spiritual life in this world for the baptized.

But the present moment is never intolerable. What's intolerable is what's going to happen in the next four hours. To have your body here at 8 pm and your mind at 10:30 pm, that's what causes us suffering.

A disciple asked, “What can I do to see reality as it is?"

The spiritual master smiled and said, "I have good news and bad news for you, my friend." "What's the bad news?" "There's nothing you can do but to see it as a gift." "And what's the good news?" "There's nothing you can do but to see it as a gift. 

The fruits of this acceptance are that we will find ourselves with more serenity and fulfillment in daily life, with more gratitude for the simple joys of life, as well as how to appreciate the role we play in the grand scheme of things.

Prayer is the secret of keeping the faith. "Will the faith (that God will vindicate His people) be found on the earth at the coming of the Son of Man?" A delay in his coming does not nullify the certainty.

The faith mentioned here naturally means that faith, which sustains, like the widow in that town, kept going to the judge and say “render a just decision for me against my adversary.” Her adversary was either exacting money from her unjustly or she needed her rightful portion of an inheritance. The powerless widow doesn't have a chance against this powerful and uncompassionate judge.

Likewise, in Sunday’s First Reading, we encountered the inadequacy of Moses.  He cannot keep his hands aloft.  Moses' hands were heavy, yet he prevailed with the support of Aaron and Hur.  The widow also prevailed with Power out of Weakness. 

Action

You can interpret the whole action theologically. When we quit praying, we cut ourselves off from the power of God, and then our cynicism becomes self-fulfilling.  When we cut ourselves off from a supportive community, we also cut ourselves off from the power of God.

Feel like a poor widow? The word for “widow” in Hebrew means “one who is silent.” “To have nothing, vulnerable, no voice.”  What she did have was persistence.

The parable encourages us to tackle difficult issues with confidence. But there will be difficult issues because that is part of life’s terms.  The motto, “Living life on life’s terms,” means to accept the circumstances, environment, and things out of our control.

This message achieves its fullest force in the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. He seemed helpless in the face of his powerful governmental executioners. Jesus transforms helplessness into the very defeat of the powers of sin and death.

St. Paul teaches us to draw on the power of apparent weakness to overcome death-dealing forces.

The bottom line is a resounding call (can there be any other kind of call?) to persistence in prayer, and not to "become weary, tired" or "lose heart, despair."

The parable cautions us not to expect immediate results. Galatians 6:9 warns us not to become weary in well-doing.  Then, 2 Corinthians 4:1 refers to the ministry of reconciliation. Don’t get tired.

Amen.