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 wn 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; now 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 . . .  My study Bible comments that persistent and faithful prayer, as is exemplified in the parable that follows this statement, is the remedy for the tribulation just described (see yesterday's reading, 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.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  Of Christ's final question here, "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).  Note the emphasis on both persistence and faith in prayer, as we "cry out day and night" to God through prayer, and His emphasis on the faith He hopes to find at His Second Coming.

The Persistent Widow is a story, as the Gospel tells us, which is meant to convey that we always ought to pray and not lose heart.  To modern ears, perhaps, we hear this story of a widow pleading persistently with a judge, and maybe we wonder what that has to do with praying -- and specifically with our praying, our particular prayers.  Are we pleading with God for revenge against someone who's harmed us?  But didn't Christ teach us not to seek vengeance (Matthew 5:38-42), and to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)?  Why are we hearing a story about a tough judge, with no fear of God or regard for human beings?  Well, the whole point of this parable is about the effectiveness and power of prayer.  Jesus has just taught about the "end times" and the difficulties and tribulations which are coming (in yesterday's reading; see above).  Essentially, He is preparing the disciples -- and us, the future members of His Church -- for the difficulties ahead.  That is, the end times that begin after His Ascension and as we await His Second Coming.  He knows our faith will be a spiritual struggle, and He likens us to a widow, who feels she has no power and authority, nothing with which to persuade the judge, no clout nor material power, and no coercion to use to her advantage.  She has only the judge to rely upon, so she turns to what she has available to her:  she is capable of being persistent and pleading before the judge.  And this is where we are when we pray.  This doesn't necessarily mean that when we pray we are simply asking for things we want, or complaining about our lives, or any of the sort of demands we might think of in a courtroom.  But as analogy, this is a different kind of a courtroom.  This is a courtroom (and a Judge) where our souls are in the balance, and the care of our spiritual lives in this world.  Do we go through difficulties that challenge our faith?  Is life a struggle in which we seem to be scarce of resources for our own resilience or security?  Do we struggle against our own difficulties or personal weaknesses and flaws?  The real answer to all of these questions is in prayer, for Christ's purpose in telling this parable is simply to remind us of the power that is persistence itself -- in the frequent, daily, regular engagement in prayer before our Father the ultimate judge.  This "unjust judge" is not an image of God -- but if even an unjust judge will rule in one's favor because of persistence, how much more do we think God hears us and hears our prayers?  It is an assurance that in this communion, we are heard, but that we need to do our part by being persistent, enduring in the practices of our faith and especially in regular prayer.  To engage in prayer is to come before God, to participate in the life of God, to be engaged in that courtroom, so to speak, in the place where God hears.  In practicing regular prayers, like, for example, the practice of the Jesus Prayer, of using regular prayer rules like Prayer of the Hours, we spend time before God just like the persistent widow.  We become regularly engaged in this place that sustains us and gives us hope -- and will respond with what we need.  Often, I find, prayers are answered seemingly indirectly, through inspiration, an idea we hadn't thought of, a strength we suddenly find, a way of going forward.  But regularly remembrance of, and engagement with God through prayer is essential, especially during periods of difficulty or darkness in our lives.  Let us be persistent and endure in our faith, as He teaches.