RAISING THE HAND OF PRAYER

HOMILY FOR 29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINRY TIME YEAR C

THEME: RAISING THE HAND OF PRAYER

R1: Exodus 17:8-13

R2:  2 Timothy 3:14-4:2

 Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

The traditional definition of prayer is “the lifting up of our hearts and minds to God.” The heart is the centre of the human person, thus, in prayer, we move from the centre of our being to have an encounter with the source of being so that we can establish a relationship; we can commune with him. This relationship with the divine  is only possible through prayer. When this relationship is established, we dwell in God and God dwells with us; our concerns become God’s concerns. To attend this wonderful relationship, let us be conscious of the following:

PRAYER DEMANDS CONTINUITY: It is common to be fade up with prayers especially when the answer to our prayers is delayed. The first and the gospel readings today make clear that for us to have the needed answer to our prayer, we must continue to pray, we must be persistent in praying; “we pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:17, Lk 18:1-8). This is exemplified in Moses in the first reading who, as long as his hands were raised in prayer the Israelites were victorious but whenever his hands fall, the Israelites lost. Also, when the woman in the gospel persisted in disturbing the king, she got what she wanted. We too must pray like that, with persistence we shall receive the needed answer.

ASK FOR SUPPORT WHEN POSSIBLE: There are times we may be helpless, there are times we cannot do anything for ourselves. In times like this, we need the support of others. Just like in the ordinary sense we may be denied some privileges we enjoy from our friends when we provoke them, we may also be denied temporarily of our request especially when we may have provoked God through sin, for “sin cuts off from God” (Is 59:2). When we are confronted with this kind of situation, our prayers become an abomination to God (Prov 28:9). In a situation like this, we can ask for help, for the prayer support of others; (including asking the saints to pray for us) so that God will listen to us. This is exemplified in the weak hands of Moses and the support he got from Aaron and Hur. Ask for a spiritual support always.

ESTABLISH A PRAYER COMMUNITY: You may notice that in the first reading, Moses was careful in the choice he made of those who will be with him on the hilltop for prayer while the Israelites were in the battle field. In the same way, be very careful of those you ally with especially when it comes to prayer. The choice you make can either influence you positively or mar your little effort. Establish a community of prayer of those  who have the same positive spiritual mindset with you. Get those who will encourage you spiritually. 

PICK UP YOUR BIBLE: The best way to pray is to pray with the Bible. The Bible offers solutions to all our problems. In the Bible, God communicates with us directly, the relationship we seek while praying is made easy via the Bible. Even when we are weak and have done wrong, the Bible brings us to the right way, it helps in correcting errors. Just as Saint Paul told Timothy,  the Bible equips us for any good work. 

Therefore, let us pray to God in season and out of season for “Our  help can only come from God, who made heaven and earth.”

Homily by:

Rev. Fr. Chukwuemeka VINCENT Livinus, SMMM.