“Getting by with a little help from our friends” is not an idea that began with the Beatles. Certainly the idea of “getting by with a little help from God” goes back at least to the first reading today from Exodus. How we get that help, however, is the key to this weekend’s Scriptures.

No matter how inadequate Moses felt to the task God had given him, he persevered—even though he needed help from the people around him. The Israelites especially depended on God for freedom. The woman in the Gospel, desperate and destitute, had no one to depend on, but still she would not give up. She could not afford to bribe the unscrupulous judge, but she pestered him into weariness until finally he met her demands.

We sometimes need to turn to others to help us through difficult times; but if we always turn to God, we won’t be disappointed, for our help, the Psalm assures us, is from the Lord.