A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 5, n. 47)
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – October 21, 2007
“Prayer Warriors”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 17:8-13 // II Tm 3:14-4:2 // Lk 18:1-8
N.B. Series 5 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 2.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
I was the Liturgy Coordinator of the Program and Events Committee that prepared the papal liturgy for World Youth Day ’95 held in Manila, Philippines. Some of our main concerns were the peace and security of the participants as well as fair weather for the open-air liturgical celebrations with Pope John Paul II. Challenged by these concerns and cognizant of many others, we organized youth “prayer warriors” to offer special supplication for the Pope and to invoke God’s blessings upon World Youth Day ’95, a wonderful pastoral event in the life of the Church. The late Jaime Cardinal Sin of the Archdiocese of Manila was greatly pleased when he came to know of the ministry of the youth “prayer warriors”. The heartfelt prayers of the “warriors” were answered. The culminating liturgy at the Rizal National Park in Manila was blessed with fair weather and the “phenomenal” assembly of about four million participants at the Eucharistic celebration presided by the Pope was spared from harm, terrorist attack and injury. A false alarm in that incomparable throng would have provoked a horrible stampede and a sinister plot on that tightly packed crowd would have resulted in utter disaster. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw on television Pope John Paul II safely boarding the plane that would take him to his next pastoral destination – New Guinea.
The Old Testament reading of this Sunday (Ex 17:8-13) depicts Moses with uplifted hands as a “prayer warrior”, a powerful symbol of the necessity and efficacy of prayer. The image of Moses interceding on the mountain with uplifted hands while Joshua and the Israelites battled the Amalekites at Rephidim illustrates the powerful, indispensable ministry of intercession. The Amalekites, who controlled the caravan routes between Arabia and Egypt, resented the intrusion of the Israelites, newly liberated by Yahweh from their slavery in Egypt. The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses ordered a counter attack – the first military activity of the newly freed Israelites. The victory of the fledging Israelite army depended on divine help mediated through Moses, steadfastly brandishing “the staff of God”. Indeed, Moses – a figure of Jesus Christ - was an efficacious “prayer warrior” on account of divine predilection and because the power of “Yahweh-warrior” was upon him.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, comment: “Moses and his uplifted hands … they are holding the staff of God … It is this banner of God lifted by Moses over the battle that has won the victory. It is God who has fought for his people on their way to the Promised Land … The episode of Moses on the mountain is therefore an urgent call to faithful vigilance and incessant prayer to the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle (Ps 24:8). Without God’s intervention – without the banner of God raised above us – Amalek is stronger. But this protection does not free us from the need to fight. God waits for us to enter the battle ourselves before assisting us. Thus we pray and proclaim with assurance: God is our help; he who has made heaven and earth neither sleeps nor slumbers; he will protect us from all evil because he stays near us and because he desires for us to have eternal life.”
The Gospel reading (Lk 18:1-8) depicts the figure of another exquisite “prayer warrior” – the importunate widow who was able to evoke a just decision in her favor from a dishonest judge who could no longer endure her persistence. The evangelist Luke linked the persevering and patient prayer of the widow with a Christian challenge: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). Indeed, the deeper issue that underlines the parable of the persistent widow and the dishonest judge is faith: faith in the saving God and in the Son of Man who will come again, a faith that needs to be renewed and strengthened for without it there would be no salvation. The goal of Christian prayer offered in faith is our salvation – a gift won for us by Christ, who extended his arms in prayer and sacrifice on the redemptive cross.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 6, elucidate: “Jesus tells the parable of a judge who satisfies a widow who demands justice in order to show the necessity of praying always and not losing heart. Luke extends the teaching by adding, to a crystal-clear story, a saying of the Lord which enlarges its perspective and significance. Prayer without losing heart is directed toward the salvation that God has promised to grant swiftly to his chosen ones who call out to him day and night. It is therefore an act of faith in God and, in some way, a school of faith, for it unfolds and expresses it, while at the same time strengthening, increasing, and expanding it … Without faith and prayer, who can stand the assaults of the enemy who is always ready to assail us? … You will only have the advantage by placing yourself under the banner of God, the sign raised over the world. This admonition, directed to the Church and every believer, never ceases to resound.”
The figure of Moses as a “prayer warrior” and the image of the courageous widow who persevered in prayer - a veritable “prayer warrior” in her own right – invite us to contemplate the ultimate “prayer warrior” Jesus Christ, whose hands were lifted up in a prayer of surrender on the cross of paschal sacrifice. The Son of God, by his prayer and sacrificial death on the cross that led to his glorification, achieved the decisive victory against the forces of sin and evil.
Harold Buetow concludes: “We wonder: How long must any current Moses hold up his weary arms until the people of God prevail? When will God vindicate his elect? Not long yet, says Jesus in the Gospel. But he promised that a long, long time ago. Can we still believe it? The truth is that the promise was fulfilled when Jesus, sharing the lot of pleading humanity, was crucified and rose from the dead: Jesus’ resurrection vindicated all sin and evil, and even death. The decisive battle in any war may have already occurred in a relatively early stage of the war, and yet the war still continues. Although the decisive effect of that battle is perhaps, not recognized by all, it nevertheless already means victory. In the ministry of Jesus the decisive battle has been fought and won. Satan has fallen and the power of evil spirits is broken. Yet the battle still goes on. So we always gather in our assembly on Sunday to strengthen our faith, to remember God’s judgment, to hear it again spoken in all its power, and to encourage one another to live in accord with that judgment. That requires perseverance.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
Why did the Amalekites wage war against Israel? What was the response of Moses to that attack? What was the significance of Moses’ uplifted hands and of the staff of God in his hand? How is this episode a call to faithful vigilance and incessant prayer? What are our personal insights concerning this episode of Moses interceding intensely for the victory of the fledging army of Israel? How does the role of Aaron and Hur in assisting Moses’ ministry of intercession impact us? How does the figure of Moses as a “prayer warrior” inspire us?
2 Why is the importunate widow a “prayer warrior”? How did her perseverance and continual intercession become a victory? Do we see ourselves in the role of the importunate widow? Do we likewise see ourselves as the unjust judge who could be decisively influenced by prayer? How does God respond to our prayers? Are our prayers insistent and persevering?
3 What is the object of our prayer? Is our prayer animated by faith? Do faith and good works animate our Christian life? Does our prayer lead to life transformation? What do we do when life disappoints us and we become deeply discouraged? Do we firmly believe that God will secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him? How do we persevere in prayer? Are we “prayer warriors”? What makes us true “prayer warriors”? Do we meditatively gaze upon Jesus Christ, the ultimate “prayer warrior”? Why is Christ a “prayer warrior” on the cross?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Cf. Commission Francophone Cistercienne, Tropaires des Dimanches, Dourgne: Le Livre d’heures d’En-Calcat, 1980, 101, Fiche E 239-1 // Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year, vol. 6, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1991, p. 267)
Assembly: The wait is long, in the night, Lord, and the bitter wind of weariness threatens the flame in our hearts. Will it glow again, to shine on your face, when you knock at our door?
Reader: Watch in prayer, I will come on you suddenly in the night, like a thief.
Assembly: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Reader: Watch in prayer that you may not fall into temptation; who holds fast to the end will be saved.
Assembly: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Reader: Watch in prayer, the one who is ready, I myself will serve in my Kingdom.
Assembly: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? … But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:7-8)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the meaning of intercessory prayer and our vocation to be “prayer warriors”. Endeavor to exercise the ministry of intercession on behalf of the local community, the Church and the whole world. Assist with your prayer and concrete deeds of charity the poor people around you.
ACTION PLAN: To help us develop a stronger faith in Jesus, the ultimate “prayer warrior”, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 3, n. 47): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
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