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What an image we have in our first reading, that image in the Book of Exodus, of Aaron and Her holding up the hands of Moses to keep praying while Joshua and his beloved fellow Israelites are in battle with the formidable army of Amalec, a formidable army that has traveled and succeeded in winning battles from Arabia on their way to Egypt to secure all of the merchant routes. It’s a wonderful image, I think. It captured my attention in reflection this week, that idea of the timing when Moses’ hands would be up and the tide would turn for the Israelites. But when Moses arms got weary the tide would turn for the soldiers of the great king, Amalec. Moses is raising his hands in power to pray, but to remind his beloved Israelites that God’s promise is true, that we will get through this desert and through all the barriers and finally reach what He has promised us, a land of prosperity, a land of freedom. We will no longer be slaves.

As I reflected upon that image of Moses praying and Aaron and Her lifting his hands up, I was reminded of an incident from my own life that happened a good thirteen or fourteen years ago. I traveled back to northeastern Pennsylvania, my home territory, to visit my family. While I was there I went up to the lake to see very good old friends of mine, Mal and Peggy Manion and their kids. The day I was up there we were standing on the lakeshore talking, watching the kids that were swimming in the shallow end of the lake, and I noticed that this woman was walking towards me. As she got closer, my heart began to sink, if you will, or my stomach turned a bit because I was thinking, “You know, I think I am supposed to know this woman....” As she got closer, she came up and said hello to me, by name, and then said, “I want to re-introduce myself. I am Mary Perrault. I am not sure if you remember me. We met, probably a good ten, twelve years ago, when you were at the diocesan retreat center.” I used to work there for a short time before I went into seminary. Now, I had never had a real conversation with Mary Perrault. But she said, “When I saw you up here at the lake and I was sure it was you, I wanted to come up to you and tell you that ever since I saw your picture in the paper with the article that you were being ordained, I have been praying for you, ever since, praying every day for you that your ministry will be filled with the choicest of blessings.” ..... What timing for me! I had had a terrible two or three weeks, weary from overworking but very frustrated with some of my ministry. And, so it was wonderful to hear her telling me that she was praying for me daily. Even today, even as I talk with you now about that experience, remembering that she is daily praying for me in her prayer is a great source of consolation, a great source of consolation particularly in difficult times and personal shortcomings. The memory of Mary praying for me daily, like Moses, lifting up his hands to God for his fellow Israelites reminds me of the truth of what we will believe. All will be well. .... All will be well.

But there is a twist in the story of Moses, as you know. While the Jews do defeat the formidable forces of Amalec, many, and perhaps even most, of the Jews who were slaves in Egypt now traveled through the desert, seeking their homeland, a land of prosperity and freedom. They would not see it. They would not live to cross the River Jordan to come into the Promised Land. In fact, as we know, Moses himself never walked into the Promised Land. If you remember, Moses stood on a precipace, a ridge overlooking the Promised Land, and would die there. But, as the Scriptures tell us, he dies in peace and he rejoices. He rejoices at his dying, that even forty years after the promise was made to them, his loved ones would now enter into the land of prosperity and freedom.

This week, Father Brian and I were on retreat, and in my bedroom hung a print, a small print, that had a wonderful phrase that I think captures the essence of our readings. It’s a quote from the French philosopher, Gabriel Marcel, and this is what he wrote. He said, “Hope is the memory of the future.... Hope is the memory of the future.” Moses could pray in hope against the formidable army of Amalec. He could rejoice even at his death because he remembered that God’s word would come to fruition. Like the woman in our gospel story today, the widow, who has tried again and again for the judge to hear her case, she continues to tell the judge that this must be done and is willing to do so again and again because she believes in the promise of God, that those who are least able to defend themselves in the society....(Remember the phrase, “those who are captive, those who are orphaned, those who are widowed, those who are alien.”) they will come to know justice.

And so, I would like to suggest today that perhaps our own prayers of help and healing need to be characterized by the long term, the bigger picture, an eternal hope not only for prayers in need for our own success, for our own healing, but prayers of hope for healing for others and for future generations to come as well. We pray that God’s will shall be done, that God will ultimately be triumphant, for our perspective of prayer is that hope is the memory of the future. It’s all about timing. In God’s time the dawn will come.

There is a wonderful story about a classic Hall of Fame golfer by the name of Sammy Snead. Some of us who are younger knew the name as “Sam Snead.” But people of his generation knew him as “Sammy Snead.” Sammy, in one tournament was paired with another golfer, very talented guy, but who was notorious as an arrogant braggard. Well he gets paired with this guy and they start playing and they go from hole to hole and all he hears from this young arrogant guy is all of his accomplishments and successes on the golf course. As you can imagine, Sammy’s patience gets worn a little thin. So, as they approach the next hole, he turns to the young guy and he says, “You know, when I was your age and playing this hole, I used to take my driver and I would swing so that my shot would go just over that small grove of pine trees. It would save me about a hundred yards, but that is probably too difficult for you at your age. Well you could imagine the reaction from this other golfer! He just bristled and he said, “Look, I can do as good as anything you have ever done on a golf course. So step aside and let me get to that tee.” So he does, takes a perfect swing and hits a long drive right into the top of the pine grove. And Sammy turns to him and says, “Nice try, Kid. Guess I forgot to mention that when I was your age playing this hole those pine trees were only about shoulder high.” Timing is everything. And the timing we trust in is God‘s time. Trusting, hoping in the memory of the future of God’s promise is a belief that refuses to give in, refuses to see the present loss or dilemma that we are in as the final truth, that knows that God is not yet finished. We Christians pray with eternity in mind, while acknowledging that things are not finished. God will come to complete the future that is now beginning.

So, in light of this wisdom, this perspective of hope in our scriptures, in the memory of the future promise of God, I would like to make some suggestions about our prayer. When we pray in need, when we pray for help, pray for our personal needs. But I also ask you to add to your prayer those classic words of hope and trust from Jesus’ own prayer: “Thy will be done,” not said as words of kind of mere surrender, but said as words of confidence that God’s will is about healing for eternity. And I suggest also that we pray daily for others so that, as Moses did for Joshua and his fellow Israelites, they may be boosted in their hopefulness and not lose heart and grow weary. And let people know you are praying for them. Thirdly, I would like to suggest that we pray, when we pray in our need, that we pray for the long term with the bigger picture in mind. Pray not just for our immediate situation, but pray, for example, if you are dealing with an addicition, whether it is alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, you name it, that you pray for an end to your own addiction, but that you also pray that the cycle of addiction might end in your family and in other families. If you are concerned about your job or your financial security, pray not only for your particular need, but pray that all people will have safe shelter, will have a meaningful job, will have a dining table filled with fine fare. If you yourself are sick or you know someone who is sick, perhaps with a chronic or terminal disease, such as Diabetes or Alzheimers or Parkinson’s Disease, pray not only for yourself and for them, but pray that a cure for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease and Diabetes will be found, will come about through ethical means and will be used ethically. Or perhaps, thinking of a long term miracle, you might also pray that the Curse of the Bambino will finally come to an end and the Red Sox World Championship will happen, or for cures for male-pattern baldness, or for cellulite, though I don’t have that one!

Our hope, the ground of all of our prayer is in our memory of the future, that the promise and compassion of an Almighty God will come to be. The future may not be in hand, but it is at hand. And we Christians count on the Victor who will do the winning, in God’s time.