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 He 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 one 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 said 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 . . .  We recall here that Jesus has just taught the disciples about the time of His return, the Second Coming (see yesterday's reading, above).  But in the meantime, life will go on as it has, but they will long to see Him in the flesh.  Here is the requisite "posture" for His followers in this time in which we now live, while we await His return, and those with faith encounter struggle and difficulty.  We 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."   This widow is an image of the Christian who struggles only through faith, and without necessarily worldly stature or support.  My study bible says that persistent and faithful prayer is the remedy for the tribulation described in yesterday's reading, above (17:22-37).  He has also warned the disciples that in this time after His Ascension they will "long to see one of the days of the Son of Man," and they will not see it.  The widow's constant and persistent pleas before the judge are an image for us of our own persistent and faithful prayer.  My study bible reminds us of St. Paul's words to us:  "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

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

Christ asks if, at His return, will He really find faith on the earth?  He uses the term Son of Man to denote His presence in the flesh, as Jesus, and the fullness and presence of His Person in the world, similarly to His Incarnate life.  But His own plaintive question here is one that is stirring, because it tells us about His fondest hope and wish and also the rarity of that faith.  In the modern West, we might perhaps live in a time and place where we find it startling to wonder if there are those remaining for Him to find on the earth who have faith in His Gospel.  But Jesus, as always, tells us the startling and vivid truth with this question.  Faith is rare and difficult.  It will require of us a struggle.  We will face adversity, coming both from within ourselves and from the world.  It is simply in the nature of things as they are, the world as it is, and forces that remain beyond our control.  And perhaps here is one key to today's reading.  There are so many things that are beyond our control.  We can't necessarily control other people at all.  We might not even find we can control ourselves or our impulses, the things that give us pain and heartache, the sadnesses, anger, rejection, and the myriad other struggles we encounter in our lives.  And so, Jesus gives us the image of a widow, one who is without worldly support, without others to advocate for her and protect her.  In the ancient world, justice systems -- while they were recognized as necessary and developing -- frequently required or relied upon assistance of family or clan for a favorable outcome.  Even today, with systems of justice created with the best of intentions, we are all aware of the need for good advocacy, which comes with a price, and good public relations and community ties.  Perhaps we are all too sadly aware of what it is to seek appropriate attention to a complaint if one is alone or isolated or without stature and funds.  In the image of this widow, we are given the appropriate understanding of our place before God:  we are to be persistent and faithful in our prayer, in our pleas before God.  Whatever it is and whoever we are, this posture is the one that is appropriate for a follower of Christ.  It is not simply a necessary part of our faith, but faith itself is that strength that develops from a more fully developed reliance upon God than we considered we had yesterday.  In other words, if I may be so bold as to consider Christ's words here in their fullness, what He asks of us is a faith that grows through the daily and even constant practice of prayer.  In this is our reliance and our real strength.  Everyone, sooner or later, faces adversity.  If we seek to follow Him, we might face more than most.  But the true and central ingredient in life, especially for those circumstances which are beyond our control, is faith, a reliance on God.  Jesus says, "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."    In the Greek, the word "avenge" also means to justify or vindicate, to execute justice.  We don't always know what form God's justice will take, but what we may find is that through faith, life works out in particular ways on a deeper and grander scale than what human justice would dictate.  We may suffer in a present and particular circumstance, but a life lived in faith has a way of teaching us something and giving us growth for the long run, wisdom through our experience coupled with prayer, insight not available to those who live on the surface and trust only in the worldly.  With Christ, we get down to what is truly real, and find the justice of the heart, and the long way round of working out what we see and hear in this world.  We may find, as does this persistent widow, that a deeper sense of justice than is understood otherwise may come to us with our faith.  But, oh how rare that faith might really be!