Proper 24 Yr C
Words, sweeter than honey

Scripture: October 16, 2022 (Proper 24, Year C)—Jeremiah 31:27-34 (image); Psalm 119:97-104 (image); Genesis 32:22-31 (image); Psalm 121 (image); 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 (image); and Luke 18:1-8 (image).

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Reflection: 

Track 1: Luke’s parable of the widow (Luke 18:1–8) who continually came to the judge seeking justice encourages us not to lose heart. We are to pray and to be persistent in the life of faith on behalf of the justice God intends. God is pictured in contrast to this unjust judge who doesn’t care a bit about justice but does care about his own peace of mind! God, of course, has no peace of mind without justice. If we think of ourselves as the widow in this parable, then few of us have her stamina in the hard, exhausting work of seeking justice on behalf of the powerless. Perhaps this is the reason Jesus asks the closing question of the parable: “. . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Will he find faith in us—persistent, tireless faith seeking justice? Margit Ernst-Habib* invites us to think that the widow represents not only our need to pray relentlessly but also to see the Holy Spirit in this insistent widow. The Spirit is at work, earnestly, unrelentingly encouraging us to pray. What causes you to lose hope in your own prayer life? What might the Spirit be urging you to pray and work for on behalf of someone else?

Track 2: The author of Second Timothy declares, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (4:7). What does that look like in your life? How does your church keep the faith, even in the face of all the world’s challenges?

Practice: In what ways has your persistence toward a goal paid off? Be persistent in your praise as well as your petition to God. If you are so moved, share.

Editor's note: This week has several very good stories to choose from.

For families: Study guide and activities (based on Jeremiah) (former guide: widow, Jacob). group activity, kid video—widow, Jacob

For children: See family guide/activities (activity widow; activity Jacob); bulletin—widow, Jacob;

For middlers: See family guide/activities (activity widow; activity Jacob); bulletin—widow, Jacob

Coloring: girl praying; Jeremiah

For youth: Create a prayer list of people, concerns, thanksgivings, etc., to keep at home to help in your prayer time. Keep notes, at home, for your eyes only, of things you notice about yourself that are changing as a result of your consistent (constant) prayer. Comments welcome.

Today, Jesus uses a parable to teach about prayer. In it, an unjust judge grants his petitioner’s plea only because she will not leave him alone until he does. Jesus says that God will also grant the prayers of those who cry to God day and night. The point is not that God, like the judge, will only be responsive to those who nag. It is, as Luke says, to teach us the need to pray always and not lose heart.

Track 1: We continue with Jeremiah today. His word from God is a solemn promise by God to restore Israel and Judah. God promises in the days still to come to make a new covenant with the people, a covenant that will be written in their hearts. Never again, God promises, will they be ignorant of God’s will and God will forgive all their sins.

Track 2: The first reading describes Jacob’s tenacity in wrestling with the stranger in the dark. Jacob was not able to win the match because the stranger was God. Yet, Jacob’s persistence brings him his new identity as the forebear of God’s people. He is given a new name, Israel, which means “he who strives with God.”

In today’s reading from the second letter to Timothy, this early church leader is called to persevere in teaching and preaching the faith he has been given both by his family and in his study of the scriptures. This letter was written in a time when an aberrant form of Christianity was being proclaimed. Timothy is to stick with what he has learned from the scriptures and from Paul.

Our baptism has called us into a life characterized by the need never to give up our search for God. Faithfulness involves a giving of all that we are and all that we have. God asks us never to lose heart and to give all of our time, treasure, and talents to the ministry of God in this world.