29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Luke 18:1-8

Persistence

Chapel of Moses, Mt. Tabor

Once, a man was travelling across the country. He was very poor. One day he arrived in a town, and he had no more food. He asked the people for food, but the town was suffering from a terrible famine, and many were starving   So he went into the center of town with a big cooking pot. He made a fire, put a stone in the pot, and filled it with water.

An old woman walked past and saw the pot. ‘What are you making?’ she said. ‘Why, I’m making stone soup! Don’t tell me you have never eaten stone soup? It is delicious! But I think it needs some more ingredients. Then it will taste really good.’ ‘I think I have some carrots,’ said the old woman. She went and brought some carrots and put them in the pot.

Then an old man came and saw the pot. ‘What are you making?’ he said. ‘It’s stone soup. Another person who doesn’t know stone soup! I cannot believe it. It is the most delicious soup in the world. But I think it needs some more ingredients. Then it will taste really good.’ ‘I have some onions, I think,’ said the old man. He went and brought the onions and put them in the pot.

Next a young woman arrived and saw the pot. ‘What soup is this?’ she said. ‘There is a stone in it!’ ‘Of course!’ said the man. ‘It is stone soup. You don’t know what it is, do you? This town is so strange! It is the best soup in the world. But I think it needs some more ingredients. Then it will taste really good.’ ‘Well then, let me go and get some chicken. All good soups have chicken.’ So she went and brought some chicken and put it in the pot.

Then came a young boy, and a strong man, and a sick woman. They all saw the stone soup, and they all brought ingredients to add to it: eggs, potatoes, salt, pepper and so on. Finally, the poor man said, ‘The stone soup is done!’ He took the stone out of the pot, and they all took a bowl of soup. It was delicious, and everyone in the town enjoyed it.

Such persistence, not just with the young man but also the entire village!  Such persistence, such faith, such faith in action!

Today’s Gospel tells us of the story of the widow and the unjust judge, and her persistence in getting a just verdict.   We are all called to proclaim the Gospel!  We are all called to proclaim it persistently.  Our faith demands persistence and perseverance. 

While most of us will never face the prospect of famine or extreme starvation, we all have our trials and tribulations, our crosses to bear, and like that widow, we are all called by God to be persistent, to persevere in our faith, to proclaim the Gospel (our faith) every day of our life, whether it’s convenient or not, whether we feel like it or not.

And so we all pray that the words of the Gospel, the living word of God, may they always be in our thoughts, on our lips and in our hearts.  Remember Moses’ persistence in raising his arms as the Israelites fought their battle in the First Reading.  And the Reading from 2 Timothy reminds us today:   

“Proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”