ordinary time The Sánchez Archives

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
Year C

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Inspired of God

EXODUS 17:8-13
2 TIMOTHY 3:14-4:2
LUKE 18:1-8

Even a cursory glance at today’s scripture selections will reveal the obvious theme they share, viz., persevering prayer. Moses, in the pericope from Exodus is featured as making tireless intercessions for his people while Joshua led them in battle against Amalek. As long as Moses persisted in prayer, the tides of war favored Israel; when he flagged, their opponents had the better of the fight. In the gospel, the Lucan Jesus relates the parable of a widow, who so tenaciously pursued her case in court that even a dishonest and uncaring judge was compelled to rule in her favor. Both Moses and the widow provide the gathered assembly with vivid illustrations of the quality of prayer which believers are to cultivate.

However, in the second reading from 2 Timothy, there is another theme at work, the importance of which cannot be over-estimated and which may provide an alternate approach for the homilist. Today, our early Christian ancestor in the faith reminds us that “all Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, correction and training in holiness.” In Greek, the term pasa graphe or “all scripture” can mean “each passage of scripture” or the entirety of the scriptural word. The latter sense is preferable in that it safeguards against the fundamentalist or literalist penchant for extracting a particular verse or section of scripture and interpreting it without regard for the context in which it appears.

Theopneustos or inspired of God actually means God-breathed. A hapax legomenon (a word which appears only one time in the Scriptures) the term theopneustos may have been coined by the author of 2 Timothy to illustrate the divine origin of the Scriptures. Breathed by God, the Scriptures have a power and an authority equaled by no other written source. For this reason, theologians refer to the Sacred Word as the norma normans non normata or “the norm which is the standard for all other norms but is not itself subject to a higher norm.” (Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism, Harper and Row Publishers, San Francisco: 1981). In the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum, 18 November 1965), the participants at Vatican II agreed that the books of Scripture are inspired and normative in that they “teach firmly, faithfully and without error that truth which God communicated through the Sacred Word for the sake of our salvation.” As Raymond E. Brown (The Critical Meaning of the Bible, Paulist Press, New York: 1981) has pointed out, through the years, may theories of inspiration have evolved: inspiration of the biblical authors (Pope Leo XIII); inspiration of the words: inspiration of the readers as they came to recognize God’s work in the Scriptures; inspiration of the church that gave birth to the New Testament (Karl Rahner).

Unfortunately, some have misinterpreted and misrepresented the inspirational character of the biblical word by confusing inspiration with inerrancy. While the truth of scripture as regards the divine schema of salvation is not to be disputed, those who look to the Bible for absolute historical, geographic or scientific accuracy will not find it. Because the Word of God has been spoken among us through the medium of human words, human finitude must be factored into any intelligent understanding of the Scriptures. So also must the literary talents, insights, background, personal faith and life situation of the scriptural authors be taken into account as well as those of the intended recipients of their efforts. Similarly, because the Word of God has been spoken among us in a variety of literary genres, care must be taken to recognize the particular genre in question so as to better understand and appreciate the author’s intended message. The authors of Genesis no more intended for their highly theological, albeit mythopoeic presentation of the creation of the universe to be interpreted literally than did the author of Jonah wish his readers to waste their time and insult their intelligence by wondering how a person could survive three days in the innards of a great fish. Genesis offers a believer’s faith-filled perception of a divinely ordained and lovingly ordered world; Jonah’s story was a didactic fiction told to awaken his contemporaries to their bigotry as regards others and their faithlessness as regards God. A purely literal interpretation doesn’t even scrape the surface of the profound truth these works were intended to convey. Indeed, those who look no further than the literal level do an injustice to the Sacred Word as well as to themselves. Those who share their ignorance with others through preaching and teaching perpetuate the injustice.

Those who refrain from such injustice will thereby delight in the knowledge that the Word of God is an ever new and living word that never ceases to speak its truth. Whenever the Sacred Scriptures are proclaimed, God becomes present, with a message that continues to teach, reprove, correct and train in holiness all who will listen, learn and live accordingly. With this awareness, we turn once again to Moses (first reading), Paul, Timothy (second reading) and the persistent widow (gospel) for inspiration.

EXODUS 17:8-13

In her description of the prayer life of the indigenous people of Hawaii, Mother Alice Kaholuoluna wrote: “Before the missionaries came, my people used to sit outside their temples for a long time meditating and preparing themselves before entering. Then, they would slowly approach the altar, offer their petitions and afterwards would again set a long time outside in order to “breathe life” into their prayers. When the Christians came, their prayer was quite different; they simply uttered a few sentences, said “Amen” and were done. For that reason, my people called them haolis, which means, without breath because they spent no time breathing life into their prayers.” Like the native Hawaiians, our Hebrew ancestors in the faith also knew the importance of breathing life into their prayer; in other words, they understood that they had to invest something of themselves into each prayerful encounter with God.

In his prayerful encounter at Rephidim, Moses was interceding on behalf of his people who were being attacked by the Amalekites who resented their encroachment upon their lands. A nomadic confederation who traced their origins to Esau (Genesis 36:12), the Amalekites controlled the desert regions of the Sinai, the Negeb, the Arabah and parts of Arabia. Not mentioned outside the Bible, these tribes were featured as hostile to Israel and a threat to its stability until their defeat by David about 200 years after Moses.

In every sortie recorded in Scripture, Israel’s military prowess was regarded as less important than its religious fervor. Wars were won or lost and political tides ebbed and flowed not because of the ability of its army or its military strategies but on the basis of Israel’s fidelity and prayerful trust in God. This belief has been dramatically enunciated in the ancient author’s observation that the outcome of the battle hinged upon Moses’ willingness to “breath life” into his prayer by holding his hands aloft in supplication to God.

Scholars suggest that Moses’ action could be understood as typological of the mediation of Christ, through whose perfect sacrificial supplication all who battle sin and death are saved.

Also included in today’s first reading is a touching commentary on the necessity and power of communal prayer. When Moses wearied of raising his hands and heart to God, Aaron and Hur came to his assistance. With their support, he was able to continue “breathing life” into his prayers. Each of us has probably experienced a similar fatigue and loneliness in prayer; fortunately each of us has probably also known and welcomed the joy of prayer in the company of others.

2 TIMOTHY 3:14-4:2

Scripture and tradition . . . with these to guide him as he, in turn, guided the community, Timothy would be well equipped and duly prepared for life’s eventualities. To that end, the author of 2 Timothy reminded his young correspondent to remain faithful to what he had learned and believed, viz., “the rich deposit of the faith” that had been entrusted to him by his teachers (2 Timothy 1:14) and the Scriptures in which he had been schooled since childhood. In the beginning of the second Christian century, when, as most scholars agree the pastorals were written, the believers in Jesus were looking for norms by which to continue to define themselves as Church. Virtually all of the eye witnesses to Jesus had died; these had been the authoritative teachers and mentors, who set the norms for the first communities. Their passing, as well as the continued growth and expansion of the church, the ever-changing political and social complexion of the community, the delay of Jesus’ second advent, the constant threat of false teaching, and an increasingly hostile environment contributed to the challenge of maintaining and living their faith in Christ. Sensitive to the needs and concerns of his contemporaries, the author of this pastoral enunciated the solutions to their problems in terms of structure. Cling to the dual pillars of scripture and tradition, he advised, and therein find the necessary strength, security and guidance to survive.

The Scriptures referenced in today’s pericope were, of course, the Jewish sacred writings or Old Testament which Timothy probably began to study at an early age. Because his father was a gentile, his first teachers would have been his Jewish mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). As he matured, Timothy probably attended school in the local synagogue where young boys and men continued to study the word of God and the traditions of their people. Although most of the writings now known as the Christian Scriptures or New Testament were already in circulation, these had not yet been completely organized into a body of unified material or pronounced canonical. However, by ca. 120-130 C.E. the author of 2 Peter recommended the letters of Paul to his readers, placing them on the same level as “the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:4). By 200 C.E., the four gospels, the Pauline Epistles, Acts, 1 Peter and 1 John had come into general acceptance and by the end of the fourth century C.E., in the Latin and Greek churches, the 27 books of the New Testament were regarded as canonical (Raymond E. Brown and Raymond F. Collins, “Canonicity”, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1990).

Charged with the ministry of leadership in the church, Timothy was responsible for preaching the scriptural word and handing on the traditions of the faith to his community; moreover, he was “to stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient without losing patience” (v. 2). Given the difficulty of their circumstances, Timothy may have been tempted to select only certain passages of Scripture to inspire those in his care. Perhaps he preferred only to encourage them with Jesus’ assuring words: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Nevertheless, he was also responsible for affirming the challenge of Christian commitment and would have had to remind his community to “deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Jesus” (Luke 9:23). Not just some of scripture but pasa graphe, the entirety of scripture is breathed of God and useful for teaching and training for holiness.

LUKE 18:1-8

Widows are featured prominently in Luke’s two volume contribution to the Christian Scriptures, which is rather surprising given their inferior position in Hebrew society and throughout most of the Greco-Roman world. In Hebrew, the word for widow is almanah, i.e., “unable to speak” or “silent one”; in Greek, widow is rendered chera from the root ghe which means “forsaken” or “left empty”. Among the Hebrews, the loss of her husband was tantamount to a death sentence for the wife. Since, as Bonnie Bowman Thurston (The Widows, Fortress Press, Minneapolis: 1989) has explained, a husband’s death before old age was regarded as retribution for sin, and because this retribution was shared by the wife, to be left a widow was a disgrace (see Ruth 1:20-21; Isaiah 54:4). With no one to provide for her, speak for her or defend her rights, the life of a widow was so pitiable that undue severity against her was prohibited by law and, along with the poor, orphaned and strangers, she was dependent on the charity of others. Roman and Greek widows fared better than their Hebrew sisters but not without all the social tensions inherent in patriarchal societies.

The unexpected prominence of widows in many of Luke’s parables was consonant with the upheaval that the person and mission of Jesus effected upon society and its mores. As was indicated in his inaugural address in the synagogue (4:16-21) and as was reflected in his words and works, Jesus had come to bring about a reversal of human values. In the reign of God which he announced, the powerless, oppressed, poor and lowly would be exalted while the mighty, haughty and proud would be humbled (1:52). Therefore, in the society shaped by the good news of salvation, the widow became exemplary.

In that capacity, Jesus held forth the widow in today’s gospel as a model of the trust and tenacity with which his disciples were to pray. As Thurston (op. cit.) has further noted, the point of the parable is, of course, that God will hear and do justice to those who call out to God day and night (v. 7). The prayers, even of the least powerful members of the kingdom are not ignored, turned aside or silenced by anything. God hears prayers; therefore believers are never to cease or desist, but are to pray with the courage and shamelessness of the widow.

Luke Timothy Johnson (The Gospel of Luke, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: 1991) has suggested that because this parable makes its point both forcefully and humorously, little comment is required. Despite his claim that he respected neither God nor man (v. 2), the judge ruled in favor of the widow with the comment. . . “or she will end by doing me violence!” (v. 5). Hypopiazo (doing violence) is a term borrowed from boxing and is literally rendered “to hit under the eye”. Given the lowly status of the widow and the contrasting corruption of the judge, this parable probably evoked a chuckle from Jesus’ listeners. Contemporary readers can easily imagine an enraged bag lady hitting the negligent magistrate and literally blackening his eye. Said Johnson, (op. cit), “we are meant, I think, to laugh.”

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