16 October 2022 - 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time
16 October 2022 - 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Reading:
Luke 18:7-8
Write:
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?”
Reflect:
Does anyone else find that last line of the gospel somehow out of place? Well, it is not. Jesus is talking about the value of faith and prayer in this section of Luke’s gospel.
His promise is clear enough. God does answer our prayers. The problem is: will he answer yes, no, not now, ask a different question, when the time is right, you’re not ready… or some other such answer. I know that response from me now sounds like a cliché – and it is.
However, what I want to focus on mainly is our response to God’s response. If we hear a yes from God, everything seems grand and glorious. But if the answer is delayed or is a no the response can be terrible.
Jesus promised his Church that it will remain true to its mission until the end of time; the Church, therefore, cannot go off the path of the true faith. But God may not answer us in the timing we want, or with the answer we want, and not everyone will remain faithful: some will turn their backs on the faith because of this. St Paul describes this as “the rebellion” or the apostasy that will happen near the end of time. Jesus warns about this in Matthew where he says: “because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.”.
Apply:
This is what causes me the most concern. I read about the issues in the hearts of some people in the church – even some of those who are bishops – who are ready to turn away from the solid teachings of the church to win back those who have already left.
Yes, I am thinking primarily of the mess that is currently going on in Germany, Belgium, and other places in Europe – and even is infecting some parts of the church in the United States. They are trying to accommodate those who would choose to do evil – those who want to change the teachings of the church so that some people will feel more comfortable; or those who choose to stay in perverted sexual relationships; or some other “issue of the day.”
This is a mistaken mess! And I think one of the reasons why it is such a problem is because people have not found God’s answers timely or acceptable. In their own rush to try to make the church palatable to sinners, they have walked away from the solidity of orthodoxy. They have turned their back on the true teachings of Jesus and the nearly 2000 years of support for the family. All for the sake of accommodating those who do not wish to follow where Christ has led.
Yes, it is terrible that so many people are choosing to walk away from the faith in our modern day. And there are more reasons for that than simply them not being comfortable with answers to prayer. But I am convinced that is the main point. People do not want to listen to the answers that God is giving – and has already given.
This is what is causing the rebellion or the apostasy that we are currently in. Is this the final apostasy? I’m not the one to answer that question. That answer can only come from God. But we are called to be faithful, to be watchful, to preach the truth, and to stand for what we have received in faith and from our faith.
Remember what Paul said to Timothy in the second reading today: “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
As I said, I do not know if we are headed to the final apostasy that we were warned the church would experience before the return of Christ, but looking at all of the mess that so many people want to make of the faith right now, I have to ask a question: is Christ about to return?
Pray/Praise:
Lord Jesus, you have taught us what it takes to follow you. There is so much confusion in our world now – in our church now – because people have forgotten how to listen for an answer to prayer. Or they have closed their ears lest they hear the truth.
Whatever the cause, Lord, we need to hear your voice answering our prayers. Too many people have wandered away for reasons that they only know. Yes, our society makes it easier for them to be lead astray – but that is no excuse. Help us to know the right words, to do the right things, to be the right examples – in short, to be the new apostles that your church needs – now.
This is my prayer today, Lord. Break through whatever is keeping people from understanding and pursuing the Universal Call to Holiness that the Second Vatican Council urged us to pursue in your name. Amen.
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