Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:  "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

- Luke 18:1-8

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."  Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'   Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left." And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He aid to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart . . .  Here my study bible inserts a note that persistent and faithful prayer is the remedy for the tribulation just described (in yesterday's reading, see above; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  

. . . saying:  "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'  And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.'"  Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily."   I love that Jesus uses a widow for His example.  It gives us a picture of what makes a person truly strong.  A widow would possibly be the most powerless person in society; this is, apparently, one who has no one else to fend for her or to get justice for her.  Her only hope is this particular judge.  It's a very strong teaching about the power of persistence, how persistent prayer is the strongest tool we have for our lives, for justice in the world.

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  My study bible says that the Lord often uses this form of question when speaking of characteristics that are rarely found (see Luke 11:11; 12:42).

Jesus' question, at the end of today's reading, is a very poignant one.  He's speaking of His Return and also preparing the disciples for His Passion and the time when they won't see Him anymore, after His Ascension.  "Will He really find faith on the earth?" seems to me an extraordinarily wistful kind of question, and one that gives us an assurance of the totally free will possessed by human beings.  This is the end of His mission that is approaching.  All that He has said and done, the establishment of His Church, the choosing of His disciples, His entire earthly ministry, is coming to a close and has been done but for this purpose:  for the faith of human beings.  And here He questions, "Will He really find faith on the earth?"  It's a strong affirmation of our own tendencies to dismiss what is good, to devalue what is the most meaningful and powerful help we have,  to take for granted all that is and all that we have.  We have to remember that this isn't just any human being saying these words out of discouragement or a bad situation.  These are the words of God incarnate, of the Christ who is the heart-knower, the One who knows us best.  As such, we have to take them very, very seriously.  The value of faith is something unsurpassable, a kind of foundation for our lives that gives us all kinds of strengths, in many ways.  This image of a widow is of someone without means, who needs help to get justice in her life.  Her persistence is grounded in her faith, and it's an image of persistence in prayer.  My study bible notes how it references the sort of tribulation just described, but let's understand St. Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians that we should "pray without ceasing."  This is a teaching for all times, and for any type of tribulation.  It's a teaching for the whole of our lives.  And, maybe even more importantly for the purposes of Christ's teaching in today's reading -- and especially His poignant question at the end of it -- it is the weapon we have to increase and deepen our faith.  It is communion and communication with God.  It's our way of engaging our faith in the most intimate and personal way.  And this is what is really indispensable for our own age and our own time, regardless of the circumstances.  Let us take His words to heart and remember that we are, at heart, like the widow, reliant upon God.  Nevertheless, we, too, could ask, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?