Faith on the Earth - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" This question seems oddly placed at the end of our Gospel text for today's Mass. Surely there are many people of faith: churches are well attended on Sundays, people seem to be praying fervently, and charities received a great many donations across the world. In previous times we can find other great examples of widespread faith among people in various parts of the world. How, then, could Jesus question whether he'll find faith on the earth when he returns?

Perhaps the problem lies in what we regard to be faith. The readins for this week all address this central element in a person and a community's relationship with God. Rather than provide us with a definition of faith, the scriptures provide us with examples for us to ponder and to examine in our lives in relationship to those stories of faith.

The first reading from the book of Exodus provides us with the story of Moses praying in fervent intercession for Joshua and his army in their battle against Amalek. As long as Moses kept his hands outstretched, the Israelites had the better of the day; once his arms fell, Amalek's army had the upper hand. So Aaron and Hur helped Moses keep his arms outstretched so that the Israelites could win the day. This story isn't about manipulating God through our own efforts. It is about the great faith of Moses in God's help. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years; they were hardly a fit military machine to take on the powers of the day, let alone defend themselves effectively. These people were an outcast group on the earth, scorned by all for their odd faith in one God. Compared to other nations, Israel was insignificant and quite powerless. It is within this context that we should see the faith of Moses: in spite of these overwhelming odds, God chose to protect the marginalized people of Israel and to make them his people. Moses believed that God would help them - not with some magical powers but with faith and love that would enable them to rise up to be the people God called them to be.

Similarly the Gospel story of the widow and the unjust judge should be seen as a story of faith within the context of the times. Widows were absolutely powerless in ancient society. Women had no status or protection of citizenship apart from the connection to a man. When a woman was a girl, she received societal protection through her father's citizenship; when she married the woman received the protection of her husband's status. A widow generally could not remarry when her husband died, leaving her completely powerless in society, although God had provided protections in the law for widows and the Israelites were obligated to provide for widows in their need. This unjust judge in many ways reflects the times in which the story takes place. The Romans had replaced all the leaders of Israel with hand picked puppets who would be loyal to Rome, not to the law of God. Some Jews followed Roman law and ignored the law of God. This unjust judge clearly did not respect God or human beings. Yet, the widow had faith that God would protect her and side with her in this matter with the judge. Her perseverance paid off and the judge helped her not out of concern for her or God, but because he wanted her to stop nagging her.

Clearly, the faith Jesus is looking for is not one that is wrapped up in our selfish pursuits: praying to win the lottery, to have a big house and fine things, or success in certain worldly pursuits are not the aims of faith. These readings point us to a faith that trusts that God will help the voiceless, the poor, and the lowly of this earth - and if we ask for the grace to become effective advocates for these least ones in our society then the Son of Man will indeed find faith on earth should he come in glory today. We should heed the command of the second reading: "be persistent, whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage, through all patience and teaching."

The Eucharist - the memorial of the death and resurrection of Jesus - is the ultimate lesson in learning to live as Christ and to have the faith of Christ to the point of dying for others. A life lived for others is the only way to heaven, and so we pray for help in incorporating this word and Eucharist in our lives by unitinig our thoughts to the closing prayer of Mass this week: "Lord, may this Eucharist help us to remain faithful. May it teach us the way to eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."