{"id":4105,"date":"2016-10-16T14:48:31","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T21:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/?p=4105"},"modified":"2019-10-14T19:16:43","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T02:16:43","slug":"c-s-lewis-joy-and-persistent-prayer-homily-for-the-29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/c-s-lewis-joy-and-persistent-prayer-homily-for-the-29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c","title":{"rendered":"C.S. Lewis, Joy, and Persistent Prayer: Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Moses

Victory O Lord!<\/em> by John Everett Millais, 1871<\/p><\/div>\n

The dramatic scene from the\u00a0first reading,
\nwith Moses raising the staff of God during battle,
\nand Joshua mowing down Amalek,
\nalmost feels like a scene from The Lord of the Rings<\/em>.
\nBut it\u2019s not Tolkien that I find most helpful in breaking open today\u2019s scripture,
\nbut rather one of his best friends, C.S. Lewis.<\/p>\n

Lewis, as many of you know,
\nwas the author of the Narnia series,
\nthat wonderful set of books about Aslan, Prince Caspian,
\nand the magical world on the other side of the wardrobe.<\/p>\n

Lewis got married late in life,
\nwhen he was fifty-eight years old, in fact,
\nto a woman named Joy Davidman, who was forty-one.
\nAfter being a bachelor all his life,
\nLewis\u2019 relationship with Joy transformed him into a better man,
\na man he didn\u2019t know he could be.
\nThis is what all deep relationships do.
\nThey challenge us, they reflect us back to ourselves
\nso we can see who we are and who we are becoming.
\nThey stretch us and open us up to new possibilities.
\nDeep relationships transform us.<\/p>\n

And this is what prayer does,
\nbecause prayer is our relationship with God.
\nIn prayer we encounter God
\nand are transformed.<\/p>\n

But as today\u2019s readings remind us
\nthat can only happen if we pray always,
\nwithout growing weary.
\nToday\u2019s readings are about perseverance in prayer.<\/p>\n

Moses persevered in keeping his hands raised up,
\nand so Amalek was defeated.
\nThe letter to Timothy says,
\n\u201cbe persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient.\u201d
\nAnd in the gospel the widow\u2019s perseverance
\nmoves the judge to give her justice.<\/p>\n

What these readings illustrate is that prayer, like any deep relationship,
\ntakes time and faith,
\nand doesn\u2019t always feel good.<\/p>\n

Prayer Takes Time<\/h3>\n

Earlier in the gospel of Luke,
\nJesus tells us to seek and we will find,
\nknock and the door will be opened.
\nBut he doesn\u2019t say how long we\u2019ll have to search,
\nor how hard we\u2019ll have to knock.<\/p>\n

Moses had to hold his arms up for hours,
\nfrom dawn to dusk.
\nThe widow had to keep bothering the judge day after day.
\nSometimes it takes years before we see the fruit of our prayers.<\/p>\n

How many prayers were said in cotton fields
\nbefore slavery was outlawed in this country?
\nHow many people prayed for an end to World War I or World War II
\nor the Vietnam War, before we had peace?
\nHow long will we have to pray for abortion to end, or poverty,
\nor the crisis in the middle east?<\/p>\n

Prayer takes time.<\/p>\n

There was once a gathering of people who had come together
\nto fight oppression and injustice.
\nThe elderly minister who was to lead them in prayer
\nchose this gospel of the widow and the unjust judge.
\nAfter reading it to them he interpreted it in one sentence:
\n\u201cUnless you have stood for years knocking at a locked door,
\nyour knuckles bleeding, you do not really know what prayer is.\u201d<\/p>\n

That vivid image gets to the heart of prayer.
\nNot only do you stand at the door for years,
\nbut it also hurts to keep knocking.<\/p>\n

Prayer Doesn\u2019t Always Feel Good<\/h3>\n

Prayer doesn\u2019t always feel good.
\nMoses got tired and had to sit on a rock
\nwhile Aaron and Hur helped him hold his arms up.
\nThe widow broke social conventions by speaking on her own behalf,
\nfacing scorn and rejection.
\nPrayer can be uncomfortable and painful.<\/p>\n

It can be difficult to wake up early and spend time with Scripture,
\nin conversation with God,
\nespecially when we have so much to accomplish during the day.
\nPray can often feel dry and fruitless.<\/p>\n

And it hurts when our prayers don\u2019t seem to be answered.<\/p>\n

Prayer Takes Faith<\/h3>\n

But prayer is about being persistent
\neven when we don’t get what we\u2019ve asked for.
\nThis is the meaning of Jesus\u2019 final question:
\n\u201cWhen the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?\u201d
\nIn other words, will he find people of prayer?
\nIt takes faith to engage in the long work of prayer.
\nBut it is the long work of prayer that makes all the difference.
\nFaith is the engine that drives prayer,
\nespecially when our prayers don\u2019t seem to be answered.<\/p>\n

“It would be a mistake to think\u2026that if we pray hard enough
\nwe\u2019re going to get what we want every time.
\nWe know from human experience that that\u2019s not the case.
\nAnd that\u2019s okay\u2026there are other graces associated with persistence
\nbesides getting what we ask for.”1<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Prayer of Jesus<\/h3>\n

And when we are tempted to lose heart,
\nwhen we grow weary of praying,
\nwe can be encouraged by Jesus\u2019 own prayer life,
\nseen most especially in the Gospel of Luke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Luke\u2019s Gospel Jesus is truly a person of prayer.
\nHe prays at all the decisive moments in his life:
\nhe prays at his baptism (3:21);
\n[he prays] before he chooses the Twelve (6:12);
\nHis disciples see him at prayer
\nand ask that he teach them how to pray (11:1-4).
\nFinally, two parables are devoted to the theme of prayer:
\nthe friend who comes at midnight (11:5-13)
\nand [today\u2019s parable of the] widow
\nwho beseeches the judge for justice (18:1-8).\u201d2<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But perhaps the scene that is most vivid to us
\nis Jesus\u2019 prayer in the garden of Gethsemane,
\nwhere he asks, \u201cFather, if you are willing, take this cup away from me;
\nstill, not my will but yours be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some ancients texts, in describing this scene, say:
\n\u201cHe was in such agony and he prayed so fervently
\nthat his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground (22:44).\u201d<\/p>\n

That<\/em> is prayer.<\/p>\n

And yet, Jesus did<\/em> drink the cup of suffering.
\nHe did<\/em> go through passion and death.
\nIt was his Father\u2019s will.
\nJesus has faith that his Father hears his prayer,
\nbut he also understands
\nthat sometimes the Father\u2019s will is different than our own.<\/p>\n

But whether our prayers are answered or not,
\nthey do<\/em> transform us.<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis understood this well.
\nShortly after he and Joy married,
\nshe was diagnosed with cancer.
\nThey only got to spend four years together
\nas husband and wife.<\/p>\n

And while Joy was sick,
\nhe, of course, prayed for her recovery.
\nThe movie Shadowlands<\/em> dramatizes their relationship,
\nand there is one scene in which a friend of Lewis
\nasks him how Joy is doing.
\n\u201cGood news, I think,\u201d says Lewis.
\nHis friend says,
\n\u201cI know how hard you have been praying,
\nand now God is answering your prayer.\u201d
\nLewis replies,
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not why I pray.
\nI pray because I can\u2019t help myself.
\nI pray because I\u2019m helpless.
\nI pray because the need flows out of me all the time \u2013 waking and sleeping.
\nIt doesn\u2019t change God \u2014 it changes me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Persistent prayer is prayer than changes us.
\nPersistent prayer is transformational.
\nIt isn\u2019t necessarily immediate.
\nIt doesn\u2019t necessarily feel good.
\nAnd it requires and faith.<\/p>\n

But just as C.S. Lewis met Joy late in life
\nand was transformed by their relationship,
\nit is never too late for us to begin our prayer life anew,
\nto renew our personal relationship with God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

——————————————————-<\/p>\n

1.<\/sup> Sr. Melannie Svoboda, “The Grace of Persistence,” in Give Us This Day<\/em><\/a>, October 2016.
\n2.<\/sup> Fr. Thomas Rosica, “God Will Vindicate His Chosen Ones<\/a>,” Salt and Light Media<\/em>, October 10, 2016.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/stpeter\/SP-2016-10-16-569.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: RSS<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dramatic scene from the\u00a0first reading, with Moses raising the staff of God during battle, and Joshua mowing down Amalek, almost feels like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. But it\u2019s not Tolkien that I find most helpful in breaking open today\u2019s scripture, but rather one of his best friends, C.S. Lewis. Lewis, as many of you know, was the author of the Narnia series, that wonderful set of books about Aslan, Prince Caspian, and the magical world on the other side of the wardrobe. Lewis...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"C.S. Lewis, Joy, and Persistent Prayer: Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[805,223,807,361,806,610,804,582,152,809,808],"class_list":["post-4105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-amalek","tag-c-s-lewis","tag-fr-thomas-rosica","tag-gospel-of-luke","tag-hur","tag-joshua","tag-joy-davidman","tag-moses","tag-prayer-2","tag-shadowlands","tag-sr-melannie-svoboda"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/moses_amalek.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-14d","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4105"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7407,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4105\/revisions\/7407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}