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FROM A READING FOR OCT. 20, 29TH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
'Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.' - Luke 18:1

We must hear Sunday's first and third readings (Exodus 17:8-13; Luke 18:1-8) against the background of two stories in II Samuel 15 and 16. Both narratives go to the heart of true religion.

For most people in the ancient world, religion was simply a system of special prayers and rubrics which, when employed correctly, guaranteed the gods or goddesses would grant your requests. Good religions supplied the tools to control the divinity.

But, as Walter Brueggemann pointed out in his classic book, "In Man We Trust," King David's "theologian" changed that concept. Fleeing from his son Absalom, David is twice given an opportunity to control Yahweh's actions in his life. In II Samuel 15:24, the priests offer him a huge advantage over his rebellious son: possession of the Ark of the Covenant, the portable shrine in which Yahweh is present more than in any other place on earth.

To everyone's amazement, David refuses their offer. Then, in II Samuel 16:5, he stops Abishai, his bodyguard, from killing the Benjaminite Shimai who's throwing stones and curses at him during his retreat. The stones he can duck, but, according to 10th-century-BC theology, Yahweh is forced to carry through on the curses unless the curser is killed.

Many maybes
Refusing to give in to that theology, the king uses words like "if and "perhaps" in both narratives when he refers to Yahweh's actions in his life. David is convinced that God's not controlled by special religious objects or words.

Basing his reaction to the priests' offer and Shimai's curses on a new and improved theology, David tries to relate to Yahweh instead of attempting to control Yahweh. Once he does that, all the guarantees that organized religion of the time provides are thrown out the window.

There are always lots of "ifs" and "maybes" when we honestly try to relate - to give ourselves - to others. We never know exactly what the other person is going to do with what we give, and we certainly don't know how we're going to react to his or her reactions. It can get kind of messy at times.

Perhaps that is why some of us will enthusiastically latch on to the pre-Davidic theology in Sunday's first reading: Just keep your hands raised and God will give you what you want. Some might even think the solution to having our needs met lies in the Gospel widow's technique (Luke 18:1-8) of hammering away until a "just decision" is made in our favor.

What God finds
Though Luke's Jesus encourages us to imitate the woman's persistence, he adds one caveat: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

In other words, when this life as we know it is over, will it have been a success because we got all the stuff we ever prayed for or because, through our faith, we developed a proper relationship with God, the person who always wants justice (proper relationships) for all people?

It might also be good to reflect on something the Pauline disciple responsible for II Timothy (3:14-4:2) mentions in his letter. He talks about all Scripture being inspired by God and useful in various situations. When one is familiar with all Scripture, one quickly realizes we're dealing with different, sometimes contradictory theologies: different ways of looking at God working in our lives.

No one way fits everyone's needs and experiences. No doubt part of that theological diversity comes from the fact that we're expected to relate to God and not just try to control God. Since all relationships are different, our theologies are also different.

Remember the old days, when all we had to do was memorize the answers to catechism questions?[[In-content Ad]]

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