PUSHY  AND PERSISTENT,
PRINCIPLES  AND  PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is “Pushy and Persistent, Principles and Prayer.”

On Friday, there was a retreat day for our high school freshman and freshwomen – 8:30 till 2:30 – here at St. John Neumann. From 10:30 till 12:00, the big group of 130 or so kids were broken into 4 groups. Then 4 of us were asked to take 20 minutes with a group of about 30 and do something – the same thing 4 times in a row. Sister Elise Saydah talked about her vocation as a SSND nun. Father Eric Hoog talked about being a Redemptorist. Ginny Dauses, our high school campus minister, talked about being a Christian, so I decided on asking our young people, “Do you have any questions, you would like to ask a priest? Here is your opportunity.”

One question that grabbed me was about preaching. It came up in 3 out of the 4 sessions I had with these kids. The question was either, “Where do you get your ideas on what you preach on?” or “Do you prepare beforehand or when you get into the pulpit?” or “Why do you preach on what you preach on?”

As they say in politics, “These questions were slow ball or meat ball or easy to hit pitches.”

I simply said, “I read the readings, say a prayer, see if anything hits me, and then I try to give something that I think will be clear, not boring, helpful and challenging – and coming out of the readings.”

TODAY’S READINGS

After saying a prayer and then reading the readings for this 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, what hit me was this: See oneself as both the judge and the pushy widow in the Gospel. See oneself as Moses and Joshua in the First Reading. See oneself as Paul as well as Timothy in the Second Reading.

I learned that principle years ago – from a book by Louis Evely – That Man Is You. He took that title from the story about David in the Second Book of Samuel – Chapter 12 – when Nathan the prophet told David the king a parable – and David in anger asked who was this horrible character in the parable who did such a thing as stealing a lamb from a poor man – when he had lots of them himself. And Nathan said to David, “That Man Is You.”

David – with his harem – and his riches and his power as king – stole another man’s wife: Bathsheba. Then he had her husband, Uriah, placed in the front of the line in a battle so he would be killed. He was.

So I learned to read the scriptures and ask myself, “Which character in this story is me?” Or to ask myself, “How am I like or unlike each character in this story?”

This often happens in plays and parables, movies and novels. Which character is more me? We see ourselves in a mirror as Shakespeare put it.

So how am I like the judge and the pushy, persistent widow in today’s gospel? In today’s first reading, how am I like Moses on the hill in prayer with arms upraised and Joshua down in the valley in battle? In today’s second reading, how am I like Paul writing to Timothy and how am I like Timothy in receiving this letter?

GOSPEL: TOUGH JUDGE AND PERSISTENT, PUSHY WIDOW

All of us know the interior struggle of my will versus another’s will.

What are the principles we won’t budge on?
What are the issues we want those we live or work with to change their opinion and behavior on or about?

What are the issues and behaviors others want us to bend or change?

It could be politics – going to church – sermons – noise levels – the TV clicker – how we drive or others drive (Type A or Type B Drivers) – always braking – always on the person in front of us’ bumper or going too slow – using or not using blinkers – weight – overweight – eating habits – smoking – how we or other’s dress – tattoos – jewelry – language – parking – lawn care – house care – bathroom neatness – not budging when people want to get into our bench in church – etc. etc. etc.

How do we try to get our way? What are our tricks and tactics? Silence? Nagging? Yelling? Passive aggression? Communication? Start another battle – one which we think we’ll win? Pay backs? Prayer?

I love today’s gospel. It shows Jesus’ sense of humor. You can picture the judge talking to someone else, “This lady is driving me nuts. I’m going to settle in her favor, just to get her off my case.”

Did Jesus make this story up or did he know a judge who had this experience? Was there a lady next door who was like this lady in his story? Did the disciples when they heard this story whisper to each other afterwards, “I know whom he was talking about?”

Today’s gospel and next Sunday’s gospel are about prayer. What’s my experience with prayer? Does Jesus really want us to just sit there and bug God with prayers? Or does he want us to pray and then get off our knees or backside and do something? Action! Go to the doctor? Communicate with the person who is driving us nuts? Exercise? Eat right? Accept realities that we all age? People get cancer, wrinkles, hemorrhoids, arthritis and what have you?

What would Jesus’ take be on the following saying? “Pray for potatoes, but pick up a shovel.”

Or to say the same thing in light of the Chilean mine disaster: "Pray for the miners - but drill baby, drill!"

TODAY’S SECOND READING

Today’s second reading has Paul writing to Timothy. Paul tells Timothy and us to learn from the Scriptures.

A few questions: What scripture texts grab us? What texts challenge us? What texts bug or nag us? What texts inconvenience us? What scripture texts wear us out? What text makes us feel guilt?

I remember Father Benedict Groeschel telling us in a course on how to be a spiritual director, “If you want to know about a person, ask them their favorite scripture text.” I was giving a weekend retreat after that and I asked people their favorite Bible text. There was this one guy who was ultra rigid in my opinion – who had a litany of complaints about any priest who had an inch or a pinch of liberalism in him. So I asked this guy his favorite Bible text. His immediate answer was: “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves” [Matthew 7:15] If he had asked me in return what my favorite scripture text was – he didn’t – he wasn’t into dialogue – only monologue – but if he did, I would say immediately, Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Today’s second reading challenges us to see how we use the Bible – and what that says about each other. You hear us preach from the pulpit. What do you see as our take on the scriptures of the Sunday compared to your take on the Sunday scriptures? All of us hear the same readings. What’s your homily to yourself today from today's readings?

TODAY’S FIRST READING

I’ve said a few times from this pulpit that a rabbi once asked me if I had read the Koran and I said, “No!” He said, “We better!”

So I got myself a copy of the Koran at Barnes and Noble and read it and I started noticing the word “burn”. At that I got an orange magic marker and highlighted every time I saw the word “fire,” or “burn”. It was constant. I wondered if that was in any way behind September 11th. Wooo! Then I’m reading the Bible and surprise I began noticing how many times there is killing in its pages as well.

Recall the last line in today’s first reading: “And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” There was Moses up on the hill in prayer – with Aaron and Hur holding his arms up – and as long as those arms up were raised up – those down in the valley in battle were slaying their enemies. The scriptures are loaded with killings. The history of religions is loaded with killings. What is the mind of God? As long as Jesus’ arms are raised on the cross – do we down below in the valley kill each other or forgive each other – or do we really know what we are doing to each other? Father forgive us!

At some point in adult faith, we discover that we can grab scripture texts to justify our positions – and this has been done down through the ages as well. It’s not just the devil who can quote scriptures as the saying goes, but the devil in each of us can do as well.

We know Jesus talked about the sword as a metaphor and we know he talked about putting away our swords. We know that Jesus was crucified on the cross and proclaimed forgiveness – for our stupidity in hurting and killing one another.

CONCLUSION

How do I conclude this sermon entitled, “Pushy and Persistent, Principles and Prayer”?

I don’t know, but let me do it this way.

Each of us needs to know what our principles are – where we are rock solid and where we are rock stubborn – and sometimes rock stupid.

Each of us needs Church and Scriptures – tradition and an informed conscience to make our everyday decisions and behavior loving and compassionate.

And each of us needs to bring this to prayer and then get up off our knees and onto our feet and bring the Christ within us out into our language, driving, work, family, fun, and street. Amen.