We discussed 3 things: 1) the parable of the Persistent Widow, 2) the Exodus reading about Moses' battle with the Amalekites, and 3) what does "love your neighbor as yourself mean"?
1. Parable of the Persistent Widow and Dishonest Judge (Luke 18:1-8)
Once again Jesus is uses hyperbole, but it is hyperbole of contrast, not comparison. In other words, it shows a very poor example of humans and justice (the unjust judge who finally rules in favor of the poor widow but only because he wants to get rid of her), in contrast to God who is not only a perfectly just judge but also a merciful one. At the same time, Jesus is emphasizing (praising) the persistent attitude of the widow. Why must we persist in prayer? For one, because we may not get the answer we want, nor when we want it, for many reasons we have discussed. But also let's remember that prayer is about 3 things: faith, relationship with God, and spiritual growth - all of which makes us a better/ wiser person, and gets us to heaven. Note that one must exercise faith to pray (or else you wouldn't pray); and then prayer (talking with God) means is developing a relationship with God. Relationship is the key to everything. If we expect prayer to be one-and-done, where's the relationship in that? As Augustine said, prayer changes us. Faith produces prayer, then prayer produces relationship, then relationship produces more faith, and so on and so on.
2. The Exodus reading about Moses' battle with the Amalekites. This is the 2nd day from leaving Egypt and escaping through the Red Sea. They have another day before reaching Mt. Sinai and they are attacked by the Amalekites. Btw, Amalek is a decedent from Esau, Abraham's first son and older brother of Isaac. Moses consults with God first, which is the first lesson. Discuss your problems and ideas with God before acting, and you will always fare better. Second, Moses needs help keeping his staff up, so Aaron and Hur help him. They must persist in their prayer (in this case what God instructed them to do); but this is a reminder that it is wiser to travel your spiritual life with others, not alone. Finally, some have pointed out that the posture of Moses holding both arms up looks like the cross of Jesus. As you know, Jesus is the new Moses. Whereas Moses led them out of Egyptian slavery, Jesus leads us out of worldly slavery. The original Passover before the escape from Egypt was to put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would "pass over" them. This is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God. His blood allows us to pass over from mortality/this life to the next.
3. When Jesus (and Leviticus) says we are supposed to love our neighbor as our self, it is not talking about how to love ourselves. We already instinctively look out for ourselves - we want to be the best we can be, whether at home, at work, or at play. We always wish for the best results in our relationships, our jobs, etc. We hope and/or pray we will get a break from others when we mess up. Jesus is saying if you similarly want all those good things for your neighbor, then you are loving them as you love yourself. Too often, people are engaged in hating the other, wishing them poorly, gossiping about them, etc. That is NOT loving them.
It was a fun study session with a few laughs, as usual. We had about 10 show up this time, which is great. We have room for more!
God bless and see you next week.
Ron
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