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 as 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."  My study Bible says that this parable must be understood in the light of Christ's predictions in yesterday's reading, above.  It comments that prayer which is persistent ("cry out day and night") and faithful ("will He find faith on the earth?") is the remedy for the tribulation He has just described in Luke 17:22-37 (see above).  In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul writes of prayer practice, "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 prayer and times of testing, we have Christ's words to the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane:  "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41).

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

Clearly, persistent prayer becomes a remedy and antidote for many things, but this is particularly notable at times of difficulty, testing, and strife.  Prayer is recommended as necessity for keeping us focused on the right way forward, and discernment in times of struggle.  In commentary on the words of St. Paul noted above ("Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"), my study Bible notes on the practice of constant prayer that this is the way to spiritual growth.  Perhaps in particular we might pay attention to the following verse in St. Paul's letter:  "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19).  For again, as we have noted across the readings of the past few days, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that guarantees the Church and the presence of the kingdom of God, and this must be our focus.  How do we root ourselves in the Spirit, and make ourselves those for whom the kingdom of God is always present, with us and within us? (See yesterday's reading, above.)  The answer is the kind of persistent prayer that Jesus illustrates with today's parable of the Persistent Widow.  For this is truly how we need to root ourselves, and how we stay oriented toward the Kingdom at all times.  It seems important that we notice that tribulation is built into Christ's prophecies of end times.  That is, for believers, there really isn't a different picture of how the future unfolds through the times of the birth of the Church, and this time in which we look toward His return.  If we think we see things that are frightening, challenging, testing, tempting, then -- at least in terms of what our Scriptures tell us -- we should not be surprised by it.  Perhaps this perspective conflicts with modern ideas about progress, about history constantly improving the lot of human beings.  But again, this is not the complete picture according to Scripture.  We can look around at our world and see plenty of violence accompanying progress in technological terms, with new fears and possibilities on the horizon.  What we should ask ourselves, however, is not so much about this big picture of progress in one dimension or another, but rather the state of the usual culprits against human well-being:  violence, abusive and coercive power, manipulation and falsehood, and restrictions on the freedom to worship and honor God.  How does our progress rate on those historical scales that have always been with us?  We live in a highly developed consumerist society, and so seemingly have no end of new progress to be made in terms of goods.  But what of basic human well-being, and the integrity of life and respect for human boundaries, including the sacredness of Ilife?   Let us consider also that the greatest impact seems always to fall upon the "least of these."  This focus is important, not to emphasize a drastic or dire pattern, but to wake us up to the importance of being what Christ calls "awake."  That is, the opposite of what He termed sleeping.  We are meant to be ready, alert, always on our toes regarding our spiritual obligations and understanding.  Christ's version of what it means to be mindful and alert is to keep our eyes on Him.  We must put prayer as a first priority, in order to retain the focus we need, and to know what we are about.  For this is the crucial thing, for us to be aware of His word and not caught sleeping at His return.  One of the things my study Bible mentions is the practice of the Jesus Prayer, a way to "pray without ceasing," in the words of St. Paul.  For prayer is our greatest weapon against the temptations, and the sleight-of-hand misdirection that evil circumstances can bring us, steering us away from our true calling.  Let us count our blessings and take courage and confidence in our faith.  Most of all, let us learn from today's parable, about the importance of our own persistence in God's love and prayer.  Let us turn to His greatest emphasis, embodied in His question:  "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"