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 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, 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?"  Of Christ's parable, my study Bible says that persistent and faithful prayer is the remedy for the tribulation which was just described by Jesus (Luke 17:22-37 included in yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible also refers us to the words of St. Paul:  "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).  Regarding Christ's final question ("Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"), it says that the Lord often uses this form of question when speaking of characteristics that are rarely found (see Luke 11:11, 12:42).  

I personally find Christ's final question extremely poignant.  Here Christ has come into the world on this tremendous mission of salvation, preaching the kingdom of God whose access is through prayer and worship.  On this, His final journey toward Jerusalem and the Cross, He asks if, when He returns, "will He really find faith on the earth?"  It gives us a sense of the struggle of this world, how troublesome and difficult our faith can sometimes be.  We're told repeatedly that the prince of this world is the evil one, and that our struggles are against "principalities and powers."  St. Paul writes, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  The struggle for faith is real, as every form of heresy or discouragement seems to come our way at times.  There are also the false expectations about faith.  People seem to think that leading a good life means one will never be troubled, or down, or face particular hardships.  But that's not really the experience of the Church, nor is it the picture that Christ is painting for us.  We will face all kinds of temptations, for example, and temptations are not the stuff of cartoon imagery or a list of sins of which we need to beware.  Temptations are the things that trip us up because they are the places we're vulnerable, our cherished wishes and desires, the things we wish were true, the shortcuts we'd like to take.  These are not easy nor simple things.  Life is complicated in a grownup struggle against one's own weaknesses, or ignorance, or lack of experience with something.  Our greatest weapon in this struggle is prayer, as Christ indicates in the parable we're given.  And He teaches us that we must be prepared to be persistent.  This is not going to be easy or simple, or a one-off request.  This is a life of effort -- and faith, He implies, is worth it.  It's possibly the most precious thing that we have.  After all, it is those with faith for whom He will return.  He seeks us out.  Let us justify the faith He places in us.