Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, by Beverly Bingle RCWP

As they come down to us,

today's readings are about persistence.

The Exodus reading and the passage from Luke's gospel

give us messages about persistence in prayer,

and the letter to Timothy

gives us advice about persistence in preaching.

Those were good messages for the people they were written for,

and they still contain good messages for us.

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But now take a look at the part of the gospel

that's printed in bold type in your bulletin.

Scripture scholars point out that that part goes back to Jesus,

and the rest of today's passage—

the narrative framework and the lessons about prayer—

those are Luke's application for his community.

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What was Jesus' message when he told that parable?

Let's take a look at the three actors

and what their roles are.

There's the widow,

and the person she's suing in court,

and the judge.

Given the culture of the time,

what do we know about the law

that would give a widow grounds for complaint in court?

If she has no children and her deceased husband had a brother,

the law required him to marry her

and raise up descendants in his brother's name.

Or if she did have a son,

the law required the first-born to care for her

until he was 30 years old.

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That brings us to the defendant.

It could be her husband's brother, who won't marry her,

or her own son, who won't care for her.

Either way, without a judgment in her favor,

she has no means of support.

She's oppressed by laws and systems,

perceived as useless in society and culture,

unprofitable, forgettable, and lost.

Without family, she is dead to the world, a beggar on the streets.

So she goes to court.

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The judge is corrupt, maybe taking bribes

from the husband's brother or the widow's son.

Jesus describes him as fearing no one... not people, not God.

He's totally self-centered.

He considers giving the widow justice—her right—

only because she keeps coming back

and he's afraid of getting worn out—

in the Greek, literally getting a black eye.

He's afraid his reputation will suffer

because people will hear her complaints

and judge him for not following the law,

for his corruption.

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Jesus' listeners would have put themselves in the story, but where?

They would want to be law-abiding,

so they wouldn't see themselves as the defendant in the case.

They would want to be honest and faithful,

so they wouldn't see themselves as the corrupt judge.

They lived in oppression and too often found themselves

caught up in systems and practices

that reduced them to poverty and powerlessness.

They would want justice.

They would see themselves

as the one who insists on righteousness—as the widow.

The widow is the one who is on the right side of the law.

She is the poor one whose cry God hears,

the lowly one who God raises up.

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We, as believers in God—

however we manage to think about that Gracious Mystery—

and as followers of the Way of Jesus,

are called stand with the widows of our world,

and there are many.

As American citizens, we're called to listen to the poor

crying for food and clothing and shelter,

clean water, adequate health care, a living wage,

fair taxes, just laws, peaceful neighborhoods.

We can't ignore them.

As our second reading tells us,

we must act whether it is convenient or inconvenient.

We must convince, reprimand, and encourage.

That is our vocation as people baptized and sent

to carry out the mission of Christ in the world.

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I'm inspired when I look around our little community

and see the justice you work for,

here and around the world.

Sunday afternoon I saw some of you

standing on the corner of Bancroft and Secor

waving peace signs.

Monday I took another carload of your contributions

to help refugees settle in Toledo.

Then over to Claver House,

with all those much-needed bags and containers,

along with enough butternut squash to feed an army!

Whenever we gather for our monthly community meeting,

you eagerly vote to give generous contributions

to charities doing good works,

like Beach House and 1Matters and Padua Center.

I see you at gatherings for justice and peace and the environment,

read your letters in the Blade,

watch you register voters.

I hear you struggling your way

through the rip tide of this year's political campaigns,

sifting through the candidates and issues

looking for the best choice for the common good.

And through it all, grounding and sustaining your lives,

I see your everyday ministering

to family and friends and neighbors,

reaching out, helping out,

spreading joy, standing by in sorrow,

praying.

You persist—

and you will keep on going, and going, and going …

until justice reigns in our world.

Your goodness, your works of justice,

give me faith that, as Julian of Norwich wrote,

all shall be well… all manner of thing shall be well.

Thanks be to God!

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Holy Spirit Catholic Community

Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.

at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor

Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006