Exodus 17:8-13
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8
How does one obtain an identity card, a passport, or a certificate of good conduct? You submit an application, attach the required documents, and wait. But what about gaining access to a good hospital, finding decent employment, or securing social housing? Is it enough to file the paperwork and wait? Not always. Some goals demand more than merely submitting a request. We understand this in everyday life, but we sometimes forget that it also applies to God. Presenting Him with our ‘application’ is not always sufficient. At times, He wants us to show that we genuinely care, that our hearts are invested in what we ask. This Sunday’s readings explore precisely this dynamic: the relationship between divine help and human involvement.
The raised hands of Moses
What must God do to convince Israel that He is truly on their side? He has already performed wonders: the deliverance from Egypt, the sweetening of the bitter waters at Marah, the gift of manna and quails in the desert, and water brought forth from the rock. Yet soon another trial arises—the attack of the Amalekites, ready for battle. This is the story we hear in the first reading. Its most striking detail is that Israel prevails only as long as Moses keeps his hands raised in prayer. Why should victory depend on such a gesture?
If we genuinely care, we must persevere. We must demonstrate, through our actions, patience, and even inconvenience, that we mean what we say”
Imagine what might have happened had Israel triumphed without Moses’ upraised arms. The people could easily have concluded that they were strong enough on their own, that divine assistance was unnecessary. Or they might have assumed the opposite—that since God was with them, they could relax and make no effort at all. Against both attitudes, the raised arms of Moses stand as a silent protest. They proclaim: You need Me. Without Me, you will not reach the Promised Land. Israel received visible proof of this truth. Whenever Moses lowered his arms, the battle turned against them; when he raised them again, they prevailed. The victory was not theirs to claim—it came from God.
Together with the earlier miracles, this episode prepared Israel for the Covenant at Sinai. God shows that He is no abstract deity but one of absolute power and presence; Israel learns how utterly dependent they are on Him. Small and vulnerable on their own, they stand to gain everything through faithfulness to His covenant. Yet another lesson emerges— one that connects directly with today’s Gospel. God desires that our prayer should involve effort. A casual “Lord, please take care of this” followed by indifference will not do. If we genuinely care, we must persevere. We must demonstrate, through our actions, patience, and even inconvenience, that we mean what we say.
The teacher’s task
The second reading continues our series from the Second Letter to Timothy. Paul exhorts Timothy to remain faithful to sound teaching and not to waste time on trivial or harmful disputes. This Sunday’s passage speaks of the sources of true faith and the attitude of those who teach it. “How is he to teach?” Paul writes: “Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with all patience.”
Read in a single breath, these phrases can easily blur together, so let us pause on each.
“Proclaim the message.” This first injunction is, paradoxically, the one we most readily overlook. Timothy must not assume, “Everyone already knows the faith; there’s no point repeating it.” He must preach, lest pseudo-teaching creep in to fill the silence. We see the consequences today: many rely on school classes and neglect catechesis at home or in the parish, leaving confusion even in the basics of faith.
“Be persistent, whether the time is favourable or unfavourable.” Paul surely does not mean that Timothy should be intrusive or aggressive, like some modern zealots who flood the internet with warnings and condemnations. Instead, he means: do not postpone speaking the truth with charity when the moment calls for it, even if it disturbs the comfortable atmosphere of polite conversation.
Faith calls us to work as though everything depended on us, while trusting as though everything depended on Him”
“Convince, rebuke, and encourage.” Correction is sometimes necessary, but never for the sake of humiliation. The purpose of admonition is to lift, not to crush.
“With all patience.” Finally, the last point given by St Paul: actual teaching demands endurance. The goal is not to win arguments but to form Christian hearts and souls. A Christian must not leave everything to God as though personal effort were unnecessary. Faith calls us to work as though everything depended on us, while trusting as though everything depended on Him.
The faith that perseveres
What does it mean, then, to believe? In the Gospel of Luke, this question gradually comes to the forefront. Jesus warns His disciples of the many perils that threaten believers. We have already heard His teaching on the power of faith, the humility required in God’s service, and the need for gratitude. Soon, He will speak about the Pharisee and the tax collector, the openness of a child, and the challenge of placing Him above worldly wealth.
Today’s parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow continues that same lesson. Luke himself introduces it clearly: “Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.” Notice, however, that Jesus is not offering a technique for persuading God! The parable rather explains that Jesus’ disciples should pray with perseverance.
Its message is one of reassurance: do not fear that your prayers are unheard. If even a corrupt judge responds to persistent pleading, how much more readily will the righteous God act for His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?
Jesus teaches less about the technique of prayer than about the nature of faith itself—a faith expressed in active, trusting engagement with God”
Against this background, the final line of the passage stands out: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” This is not a question about God’s willingness to listen, but about our desire to keep believing—to entrust our concerns to Him with steady confidence, rather than shrug and say, “Thy will be done,” as an excuse for apathy. Too often, we utter that phrase not from surrender but from weariness: we once prayed fervently, saw no immediate result, and lost heart.
Our faith cools, becoming indifferent to God’s presence. Here again, Jesus teaches less about the technique of prayer than about the nature of faith itself—a faith expressed in active, trusting engagement with God, a faith that perseveres. It must not flare up only when we have pressing needs and fade away once those needs are met.
Think again of Moses. When he grew tired and lowered his arms, assuming the battle was safely won, Israel began to lose. God seemed to withdraw His help, as if to say: “Do not grow indifferent once things seem under control. Keep entrusting your cause to Me.”
Between prayer campaigns
From time to time, we organise great ‘prayer crusades’ for particular intentions—and rightly so. They are generous and beautiful expressions of faith. Yet a question remains: what happens between those campaigns? Is there still prayer—steady, trusting conversation with God about the ordinary prose of our daily life? If not, our fervent campaigns risk treating God like Aladdin’s genie, summoned only when needed to grant a wish. But when the Son of Man returns, will He find in us the kind of faith that endures—the faith that keeps its hands raised even when the battle seems to be going well?
Fr Dominik Domagala studied Theology in Poznan (Poland), acquired a Master’s in History of Liturgy and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at St Patrick’s College in Maynooth. His main interests concern the Books of Maccabees. He is the author of the sermon blog “The Social Oblate,” available on Facebook and YouTube. Send your questions to thesocialoblate@icloud.co
