29th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 18/19, 2025

There was an old monsignor who got moved from a parish in small town to a large parish in the city.  He retained his old habit of unlocking the Church at 6 in the morning, in spite of the daily Mass not being until 8:00 o’clock.

It only took a few days before there was a man who was waiting for him ever morning bright and early at 6 who then stayed for the Mass.

Curiosity got the best of him, and after a few more days, he asked the man who he found out was named John, “John, what do you do for those two hours every day before Mass?”

John responded, “Well, I sit in the pew and I just talk to God and God talks to me.”

What a wonderful definition of prayer talking to God and letting God talk to us.

Now most of us are pretty good at speaking our minds to God especially if we are in need of something  but few of us are good at letting God speak to us. . .   Our mouths and our thoughts work better than our ears and hearts.

Which led me to think maybe I have always gotten this parable a little wrong, as most scripture scholars will cast the so called “unjust judge” as God and each of us as the widow since she was the persistent one and Jesus tells this parable so we see the necessity for us to pray always without becoming weary.

But it’s kind of unfair, maybe a bit  presumptuous to call God unjust, since God is always just.

So what if we reverse the rolls as Jesus is known to do pretty well himself. 

What if we are supposed to see ourselves as the unjust judge the ones who neither fear God nor respect human beings and then see God as the persistent widow the one who keeps asking, and pestering, and knocking at the door of our hearts but we remain deaf to God’s voice??  And so God is the one that keeps coming back and pestering us a little more, trying to get our attention trying to get us to listen.

Again, this take on the parable might just ring a bit more true since most of us are good about talking to God but not listening to God forgetting that prayer is a two-way street. . .

We can be like the man in the familiar story about the flood perhaps you have heard it before. 

This man prayed religiously without ceasing to God.  Even during the celebration of the Mass he always said his rosary.  When he was alone in the Church, he would make his way to the altar on his knees always telling God his troubles, and what he needed to solve his problems.

A hurricane hit his coastal town.   As the flood waters began to rise police were sent to inform people to evacuate.  This particular man told a policeman he was not leaving because he knew that God would answer his prayers and keep him safe.

The waters continued to rise high enough that a boat came down the flooded street to again inform people to get to higher ground.  Again he told the rescuers in the boat he would not leave because God wold answer his prayers.

Later, when the water level was up to the roof a helicopter came to rescue the man who was sitting up on the top of his house.

Again he would not listen, and unfortunately he was swept away in the torrent and died and went to heaven.

When he arrived at the pearly gates he was steaming mad at St. Peter because God had not answered his prayers.  

St. Peter said, what do you mean?  God did not answer your prayers, God sent you the police, a boat, and a helicopter but you refused to see in them an answer to your prayers. . .

In prayer, we talk to God and we let God talk to us.  Most of us are pretty good at speaking our minds to God especially if we are in need of something, but few of us are good at letting God speak to us. . .

Eventually, the persistent widow was finally heard in the parable and God is going to be just as persistent in trying to get our attention to get us to listen. . .

And sometimes, like Moses, we will become weary in our prayers and God will send us people like Aaron and Hur to uplift us and they just might be the answer to our prayers. . .