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 men, 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 men, 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 sets this parable in the context of the teachings in yesterday's reading (see above).  Jesus has just finished teaching the disciples about the "end times" to come; that is, the whole of the period from the time of the Incarnation (and when He will no longer be with the disciples after His Ascension), until the present day.  ("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.")  It is a time of tribulation that He described in yesterday's reading (Luke 17:22-37; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  The remedy for such a time, Jesus teaches in today's parable, is persistent and faithful prayer.

 

"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 speaking of characteristics that are rarely found (see Luke 11:11; 12:42). 

In Matthew's chapter 24, Jesus teaches the disciples about the end times, as in the reading from yesterday.  The entire chapter is taken up with this same subject.  In the midst of the chapter, and speaking about the tribulation the Church will experience, He says, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come" (verses 12-14).  To endure, then, becomes the byword in all the warnings we're given from Jesus for the end times, and especially for the times of tribulation that might come to the ranks of the faithful in the Church.   What does it mean to endure?  Surely the picture of persistence is in endurance, just as it is in the parable we're given today.  In the story of the Persistent Widow, Jesus speaks of a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  This is a person unpersuaded by God or man.  But simply through her persistence, she would effectively get to him in a way that nothing else could, from his fear of being wearied by her.  Comparing God to this judge, Jesus suggests that if even such an unmovable judge, with disregard for both God and man, could be persuaded by persistence, just imagine how God will respond, who loves God's own elect,  who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them.  This suggestion of the word "avenge" by Jesus indicates that this isn't just about prayers on our part like a laundry list of things we'd like to have, but a response to genuine pleas for justice, responding to the tribulations that come, from harm to the innocent, and endured for the sake of our faith.  This picture of persistence and endurance is one of forbearance and unflagging faith that sparks continual effort and prayer.  Perhaps what we need to remember in the light of Christ's parable is that this era of "end times" followed the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and is all about preparation for judgment which will occur at Christ's return.  Jesus taught the disciples at the Last Supper, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me;  of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).  This era of end times in which we live is one in which the Spirit is at work discerning sin, righteousness, and judgment:  ultimately those acts of injustice and tribulation which fall into the desires of "the ruler of this world," the devil, become the things about which we pray for justice, for the vengeance that is God's (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30).  There are so many ways we look for justice in the world, but let us not forget Christ's words about endurance, persistence, and faith.  Let us remember whose justice we pray for, and the one place true justice is found. Many will say in exasperation that this challenge is hard, and the bar is set high.  Still others will ridicule, and say that it makes no sense.  Perhaps knowing this, Jesus asks, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  Let us endeavor to endure, and persist, and be present in our faith at His return.  For we each have a cross to bear, and we follow Him.

 

 

 

 

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?" 

 

 

 

 

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.

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 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, "This 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 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?"  My study bible tells us that persistent (day and night) and faithful (find faith on the earth) prayer is the remedy for the tribulation just described at the end of chapter 17.  (See above, in yesterday's reading; 17:22-37, Jesus speaking to His disciples about His second coming.  For the prayer that is proper at all times, see also 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.)  Jesus asks, again referring to the discussion of His second coming in yesterday's reading (above), "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  My study bible comments that the Lord often uses this form of question when He speaks of characteristics that are really found (see 11:11; 12:42).

Prayer is frequently referred to in the Gospels.  Most often, we are given periods in which we observe Jesus going off to pray alone, and other times when the disciples request to learn how to pray (see, for example, Luke 11:1-13).  It's important that we understand Jesus' reference to prayer in the context of the "end times" He's just spoken about (in yesterday's reading, above).  In this light, these times are not presented as happy or joyful, but times of tribulation, of difficulty, and even of injustice.  This is what we read into Christ's teaching about prayer in today's reading.  The implication is about injustice that will be suffered by those who are followers of Christ.  In the poor widow, and the unjust or unrighteous judge, we're given a perspective on the need for persistence in prayer.  The judge, who doesn't really care about the values of God nor the problems of human beings, says to 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."  Jesus compares God, who deeply love humankind, to such a judge, who, although he is not a kind or righteous man, wishes to adjudicate favorably for the widow simply because of her persistence.  So Jesus is not simply inviting but insisting upon our continual prayer as response to our circumstances, especially in times of persecution and difficulty or travail or any kind.  Let us note that He begins with an assumption of circumstances that are not fair nor just.  He is teaching the disciples that they will be entering upon times in which injustice will befall the faithful on worldly terms.  The woman says to the judge, "'Get justice for me from my adversary."  While it is not clear to which worldly adversaries Jesus might be referring when He speaks to the disciples, it is clear in the context of the Gospels who "the adversary" is, and that behind all else that we see in this world, there is a spiritual battle going on into which we enter as disciples of Christ.  In the long run, because of Christ's words, warnings, and teachings, we're given to understand that as part of His Church -- that is, we who carry His Kingdom within us and among us -- we are to expect tribulation in the world.  We can expect setbacks, and we can expect injustice, unfairness.  But, again, turning to the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus, we should not let any of these things daunt us nor keep us from our mission as disciples.  Instead, Jesus offers us medicine, a remedy, a plan.  Our plan is to pray.  It is simply to devote our time to prayer.  How many of us think of prayer as the alternative when things don't go our way, or when our expectations come crashing down?  Do we think first of prayer when we have setbacks or unfairness becomes an issue in our lives?  We might think of everything but that, if social media and popular remedies to injustice in the public eye prevail in our minds.  But the truth is, if we look at the Gospels and Jesus' teachings for us, prayer is where we should start.  In fact, prayer is indispensable and eternal as a need.  Jesus speaks of this widow as so persistent that even the unjust judge has to rule for justice for her just so she doesn't pester him any longer.  This is the kind of persistent person Christ shows us as a model for our prayer.  We are to pray constantly, "day and night."  Let us keep in mind that the word translated as "avenge" more literally means to justify or vindicate.  Our prayer might not be met with the outcome we anticipated or specifically wanted, but nevertheless, we will find vindication.  In the long working out of the things of life concerning justice and injustice, and especially our spiritual lives, I have personally found this to be true -- but it took faith to recognize it.  Most poignantly, Jesus asks His final question:  "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  It is still His return, His second coming, that He has in mind here -- and the time in which we are now, the "end time," in which we await His return.  Remember His words about prayer, and especially about faith.  I find that both are so necessary at this time, and one isn't truly possible without the practice of the other.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will be give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13

Yesterday we read that, as He was alone praying, that Jesus' disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  Today the lectionary skips ahead (as it will tomorrow as well) in preparation for Ascension Day.  In the West, Ascension Day this year takes place on Thursday, May 30th, while for the Eastern Orthodox, Ascension is on June 6th.  In today's reading, we're given the prayer Jesus has left the Church.  My study bible says that the request, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.  We remember, also, that many of Jesus' disciples were first disciples of John the Baptist, referenced in this request to be taught prayer.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible explains that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God.  Christ, as Son of God, grants us also the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," each believer is called to love, trust, and serve God as does Christ.  It's also noted here that God isn't our Father because God is our Creator alone; rather He is Father to those in a saving and personal relationship, a communion that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16). 

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  Daily is a rather misleading translation of a word in Greek which is unique to this prayer, epiousios.  Epiousios literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  It speaks of bread but with an additional substance or essence as part of itself.  The expression daily bread, my study bible explains, indicates not merely bread for this day (or for earthly nourishment), but it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God.  That is, it is for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  The living, supersubstantial bread, my study bible says, is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, therefore, we're not asking simply for material bread for our physical health.  We are asking for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  In this corporate prayer ("Our Father" as opposed to "My Father"), our request to be forgiven is also plural, which indicates that we pray for the forgiveness of others as well as ourselves.  Indebted refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  Note also the mutual nature of forgiveness; as we practice forgiveness, so we will realize the forgiveness we also desire (Matthew 6:14-15).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."   My study bible notes here that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), and that temptation comes rather from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5), or to our own selfishness alone, to a way which does not consider God's way for us.  John Chryssavgis teaches that "passions are our inner wounds, those deep marks in the space of our heart that require healing" (In the Heart of the Desert: the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, chapter 8).  My study bible adds that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study bible tells us that this parable is a demonstration of God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  Patristic commentators interpret midnight as both the time of our death and also a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our source of grace, provides the things we need.  This is also a similar encouragement to the parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will be give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  The verbs here which are translated as ask, seek, and knock are more accurately translated from the Greek as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  My study bible says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life, and they symbolize the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3), which here are given absolute emphasis as that for which we should fervently pray.

We note the emphasis on the gift of the Holy Spirit, and this makes it clear that Christ is speaking to His disciples.  That is, He speaks to those who fervently desire this gift, the spiritual gifts of discernment and wisdom, the gifts which allow us to truly develop the spiritual side of ourselves, our souls, and our capacity for growth in discipleship to Christ.  It is poignant to consider that Jesus teaches us to address our prayer to Our Father in light of this.  Just as He is Incarnate Son via the grace of the Holy Spirit, so we, too, are enabled to become "sons" (as heirs, both male and female) through this gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is as if we are encouraged to pray every day for rebirth, growth, new gifts of life, as symbolized by the bread, fish, and egg in Christ's examples given here.  What we pray for, then, primarily is the gift of sonship, of adoption by Our Father and into "our Father's" house and kingdom as God's children.  The whole prayer emphasizes our growth in discipleship, desiring that God's will be done and God's kingdom come to our world as it is in heaven.  Ultimately, the prayer is a kind of guidance for how to get there.  We give up the "debts" others owe in terms of our hurts and the things we perceive have diminished us through harmful acts of others, to God.  We leave God as arbitrator and judge -- and ultimately as the One who rewards us, gives us true selfhood and identity, helps us to grow in stature as those who seek to be "like God" -- or, in other words, God's children.  That which the world sees as diminishment:  an unkind word, an insult, thievery, taking something away from us, doing us harm, becomes something for which we seek God's recompense and guidance to address, rather than our own understanding of vengeance.  This is what forgiveness is:  it is putting things in the hands of God, seeking God's way for ourselves in response in this world, and asking for the gifts of the Spirit to help us to become who we need to be in response.  It is in this way that we are children of God by adoption, that we seek to bring God's kingdom to this world, and to live God's will for us.  This does not mean that justice is ignored; God may direct us to use the law appropriately and also to extend mercy where it is better done in such a way.  Forgiveness is not merely a practice, as seems to be so frequently taught, of overlooking the harm done to us.  On the contrary, rationally speaking, forgiveness isn't possible unless we fully understand our hurt or harm.  But it is a way of saying to the One whom we worship that we seek Christ's way of handling the hurts, the justice countenanced by our faith and not merely from solely a worldly perspective, and that we also seek the healing help God provides for whatever it is we think the world owes us.  To live in this way of discipleship is therefore to become more fully dependent upon God -- and let us remember God the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus proclaims here we should continually keep asking, seeking, and knocking.  This is our focus and emphasis, our guiding light as disciples.  It is this for which we fervently pray, and this which creates, in turn, who we are and who we become throughout our lives.

Our Father in heaven

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one." 

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you,  will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13

Yesterday we read that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."   My study bible comments that the request, "Teach us to pray," expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.

He said to them, "When you pray, say:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name."  The first words of the prayer establish the Father/son relationship for us that is a reflection of the Father/Son relationship within the Trinity.  That is, just as Christ is Son, so we each, male and female, have the capacity for sonship (and therefore to be heirs) of this Kingdom.  My study bible says that Christ, the Son of God, grants us the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  It notes that as a "son of God," the Christian is called to love, trust, and serve God as Christ does the Father.  This is a saving and personal relationship, a communion that only comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).  Hallowed means "holy," while Your name indicates the presence of God which extends throughout God's kingdom and all that may belong to it, similar to anything which bore the seal of the Emperor.

"Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  This second line of the prayer establishes what we pray for:  that the presence and reality of God's kingdom be manifest on earth as it is in heaven, which fully includes God's will.

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  Daily is a misleading translation.  In Greek, the word here is epiousios, a special word found only in the Gospels and in the Lord's Prayer alone.  It means literally "above the essence" or "supersubstantial."  That is, a kind of bread that contains more than simply bread.  My study bible says that the expression daily bread indicates not merely bread for this day, for earthly nourishment.  Rather it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God, for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  The living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  So, in this prayer, Christ directs us to ask not only for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread for eternal life (John 6:27-58).   We ask to be nourished with the bread that nourishes us as members this heavenly Kingdom manifest on earth.

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  Sins and debts are interchangeable as concepts; these are spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  My study bible makes note that the request to be forgiven is plural, which directs us to pray always for the forgiveness of others.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."   God does not tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13).  Temptations are from the evil one, the devil.  My study bible explains that temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5).  No one lives without encountering temptations, but here we pray that great temptations; that is, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.  We pray also for deliverance from the evil one.  In Christ's role as Redeemer, He is also Liberator and Deliverer.  We pray for our true spiritual freedom.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."   Here is a parable given by Jesus to illustrate God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  A patristic interpretation of midnight is the time of our death and also one of great temptation.  The friend is Christ; He is our only source of grace, and therefore provides everything we need. 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you,  will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  My study bible points out that the Greek verbs translated ask, seek, and knock indicate a continuing action.  They would be better translated as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It notes that God responds to us when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are images of life.  They symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3). 

Jesus guides us to persistent, consistent prayer.  St. Paul teaches that we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  In the Lord's Prayer, or the Our Father, we are given Christ's prayer for us, explicitly in response to the request from His followers.  It is, in some sense, therefore, the perfect prayer, and one central to worship services.  Its framework gives us an understanding of Christ's mission, and our own place as faithful.  We pray to our Father in heaven, and it is a prayer for the full manifestation of His heavenly kingdom in this, our world.  We do our part as well in this plan, by forgiveness, an exchange, understood as the forgiveness of debt.  We ask for the supersubstantial bread that feeds us not only for our own health, but for life in this Kingdom.  We pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  It gives us an orientation of where we are and who we are, and the activities and energies in which we are directly participating as sons and heirs by adoption.  Moreover, Jesus gives us the direction of continual and persistent prayer.  Participation and communion in this Kingdom through prayer means that we keep asking, seeking, and knocking -- and that our participation is through the grace of the Spirit, the plenitude of which He guarantees we will receive.  The goal here for His followers becomes clear:  this is a spiritual reality in which true followers desire to participate.  The name of God the Father is hallowed, and we who wish to participate in this Kingdom seek the grace and holiness of the Spirit in our own lives.  How do we get there?  Let us consider His commands for persistent prayer, asking and seeking and knocking -- as well as our petition in the prayer, that we wish to be forgiven as we give up to God the debts of those who've sinned against us.  This is membership in the Kingdom, what it means to participate, and to grow in communion.  Let us pray this prayer always, remember what we ask for, and the reality in which we seek to live, and to bear within us. 

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 the 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 suggests that here Jesus is referring to times of tribulation that He has just described.  In yesterday's reading, above, Jesus states, "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."  Elsewhere also, of course, the description of the times of the end and its difficulties is more vivid -- see Matthew 24 with its mixed descriptions both of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, and also of the time before His Return.   The remedy for these difficult times?  Persistent and faithful prayer.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, St Paul describes prayer "without ceasing" (or constantly) as a proper practice for all believers.

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"  Jesus poses a question in a form He uses elsewhere to indicates something rare (see also 11:11; 12:42).

When Jesus speaks of Judgment, it is usually to indicate the terms on how we will be judged.  But here, He speaks of justice on different terms, and it is in a tradition of the Old Testament of a judge who is a deliverer, someone who requites wrongs done to the innocent, a liberator.  Job, for instance, wants more than anything else to be given a hearing with God, and of course, for God to answer (see Job 38-42 for this event).  Jesus is giving us fair warning of the difficulties that will come to believers in the world, and teaching us how we are to respond:  with persistence and prayer.  The widow is also a character who appears all over the Old Testament as one who is both poor and powerless, and for whom God would demand justice (see these few examples out of many in all of Scripture).  James says in his epistle:  "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).  Often coupled with orphans in a plea for justice and righteous conduct, widows represent those who have no clout, no one to defend them nor to fight for them, the humble of the world.  Even in today's world and the best of justice systems, we understand the difficulties and disparities in justice between the poor and unworldly and those for whom connection -- and still family connection -- power, and wealth may be at work.  In ancient times, justice really depended upon the family or clan and its capacity to render a claim or redress a wrong.  Such is the nature of the world we live in that this stands as a universal experience.   God's plea throughout all of Scripture is that God's people must be concerned for the widow and the orphan, for righteousness to the humble and powerless.  Indeed, when describing Judgment, Jesus names those things in which we may be remiss as that which will cast us out of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 25:31-46).  But here, He clearly indicates the position of the faithful as those who are among the poor and powerless, those whose ways aren't "worldly."   While the world demands that we be an insider, Christ calls us to be outsiders (see John 15:19).   And we have our Judge, our Deliverer, and the way to His hearing is through constant and persistent prayer.  Humility means a dependence upon God, a persistent attempt at relationship through prayer.  Our job is to never lose hope --  or rather, "lose heart."  Actually,  the Greek word ("enkakein") translated as "lose heart" indicates a state of being inundated with weariness from what is evil.  God's love demands of us not only our own righteous behavior, but also that we persist in our faith.   When Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that we must keep "asking, seeking, and knocking" (Matthew 7:7-12), this is also understood to indicate a state of constant prayer.  So when it comes to understanding "justice," and by this we are given to know He speaks of God's justice, there are really two demands upon us.  The one is for righteous behavior as in the passage on the separation of sheep from goats; that is, we picture Christ Himself in the place of the widow and the orphan, those who are in need particularly of justice.  The other is when we find ourselves in this place, we are asked not to sink into despair nor give in to the evil with which we may find ourselves perpetually surrounded, to continually pray to the Judge and not "lose heart."   We also have examples of widows in Old Testament Scripture who convey such a message, such as Ruth or even Judith.   Let us note that consistently in both cases, the Judge is Christ or God; we are not the judge.  The struggle He paints for us is real; and it is an internal struggle at all times.  Whatever it is we are faced with in the world, there is always one thing necessary, our faith and our dialogue with God.  And there we are to remain until the very end.  Like Job, we may find that God's answer isn't always the one we demanded, but we will find, with wisdom, that it is actually better than what we asked for.

Looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened"

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.   And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And he took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched His tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." 

- Mark 7:24-37

On Saturday, we read that the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Jesus, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."     He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- '(that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.   And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  Christ travels north of Galilee, to a Gentile region.  He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, because as we read on Saturday, the Pharisees now begin to come to Him and to attack His ministry.  He is essentially withdrawing from them.  In Matthew's version of this story (Matthew 15:21-28), Jesus makes it clear that the "children" are the Jews, those whom He calls "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" to whom He's been sent.  Tradition sees in this story a deliberate evocation of this woman's faith by Christ's response to her; He reveals her humility.  She accepts her place beneath the Jews (the chosen people of God), but illustrates the New Covenant ministry to come -- she still desires a share in God's grace.  My study bible says that Christ's hesitancy wasn't a lack of compassion, but rather a conscious means of revealing the virtues of this woman.  (In Matthew's story, that also means to the disciples, who complain to Him that she is pestering them.)  A note says her ultimate acceptance by Christ also points to the gathering of the Gentiles into the Church after Pentecost, no longer as dogs, but as children who are invited to eat the bread of life.  It should be noted that the English reads little dogs.  In the Greek, there is a distinction between the word indicating "dogs" and this one used in the  diminutive, which more truly means puppies, house dogs -- those which would be insistently begging under a table.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And he took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched His tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."   Jesus' sigh, in this reading, is understood as a sigh of divine compassion for the sufferings of our "fallen human nature," says my study bible.  This passage also teaches us that we do good to others for the sake of obedience and love of God, and not to seek praise or acclaim.  One commentator, however, Theophylact, upholds those who disobey Christ in this situation, seeing them as a good example, that we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.

It's interesting to consider the actions of "impediment" that we see in today's reading.  Jesus Himself acts as an impediment to the Syro-Phoenician woman seeking a healing for her daughter.  He tells her in Matthew's Gospel that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Here in Mark, as in Matthew, He says that the children should be filled first.  He says that the children's bread should not be thrown to the little dogs.  Historically, this impediment thrown by Christ to this woman has been seen as a way of pushing her faith and her persistence in faith.  When she replies to Him, assertively and cleverly, that even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs, He rewards her specifically for doing so, and tells her as much when He says, "For this saying..."  It is a sign, first of all, that like the historical figures of Israel, specifically Jacob, who struggled with God, and who was renamed Israel, meaning "struggles with God" (see Genesis 12:22-32), this woman also struggles with God.  It reminds us of the struggle with faith on the Sea of Galilee undergone by the disciples on two different occasions (see this reading, and also Friday's), when Jesus had set them out on a path with a fearfully stormy sea as "impediment."   In the earlier reading, my study bible stated that God allows challenges to our faith in order to build and perfect it.  We can see Christ's words to this woman in the same light.  She is forced to redouble her faith and persistence, using her heart, mind, and soul in replying to Christ.  Involved also is the love she has for her daughter.  When our faith is challenged, we are similarly engaged in a full-fledged struggle of heart, mind, and soul -- our energies, intelligence, persistence, and heart will be fully needed to meet such challenges.  In the second story in today's reading, the whole story is couched in language of impediment.  The man's mute condition is called an impediment to his tongue, and Jesus' command for hearing is a way of "unstopping" his ears:  "Be opened," Jesus says.  It's almost as if the things that impede are here in today's reading specifically in order to challenge and test our faith -- and so that Jesus can remove the impediments.  There is a sense that the energies that Jesus'
 brings into the world are those things that "flow" -- that get things moving, that bring healing and movement and opening.  The deaf and mute cry for impediments to wholeness be removed, the woman cries for impediments to the healing of her daughter (possessed by a demon that must be "removed" by one with the power to do so) be removed.  In the language of Greek theology, mercy itself is seen as the "energies" of God.  Grace is this energy.  This concept is understood as that which allows God's action in the world, and even in us, although we cannot know God in God's essence.  Christ's entire ministry is one of bringing God's energies into the world, merging them into our worldly lives, allowing us to participate in God's energy as volunteers who wish to follow His way and be a part of this Kingdom.  The energy of God is compared to a fire in a famous traditional explanation.  A metal object may be put into a fire and rendered hot and purified in it, taking on properties of heat and light, but it does not become the fire itself.  So are we in these energies of God.  This Greek word "energy" appears many times in the New Testament, but was not translated using the word in English.  In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, St. Paul writes that "the word of God . . . works in you who believe" (that is, by faith).  The word translated as works is the Greek word for energizes, indicating the action of the energies of God which are activated in us through faith.   In Galatians 3:5, St. Paul asks, "Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"  The phrase works miracles can be understood as "energizing power" in the Greek and in the original uses again this root word, energy.  Once again, we note that this energy works through faith.  In the Greek original text, as we can see, there is a strong sense that God's activities, or energies in the world, manifest through interaction with our faith.  If we begin to understand impediments in life as those things we encounter in our struggle for faith which allow the energies of God to be at work in us, purifying and rendering us closer to God, then we will take on a very different attitude toward struggle itself.  We have to understand this struggle for faith as a positive opportunity for growth, stretching us, and helping us to grow in the energies that make us whole, healed, more fully what we are meant to become as beings created with the potential to be "God-like."  Let us remember the refining fire of God's energies of love.  They are at work in us, engaged through the struggle of faith.

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 a 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 it will 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 a 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."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus described tribulation to come to the world (see above, 17:22-37).  My study bible says that persistent and faithful prayer, as described by the tenacious widow in Jesus' parable, is the remedy for that tribulation.  Prayer is the "recipe" for our way of life in this time that we live in.  St. Paul teaches, "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).  All of these things:  rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks, refer mainly to prayer.

"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 a question when speaking of characteristics that are rarely found (see also 11:11, 12:42).

The time of tribulation and testing isn't only about a period just before Christ's return.  It is a certain way that we can think about the period we live in now, the age, which begun with Christ's Incarnation and will continue until His Second Coming.  It is a time of testing, that requires discernment on our part.  There's a struggle going on, a spiritual battle.  Christ is the "stronger man" who has come to bind the "strong man" (see Luke 11:21-23).  With this description, Jesus responded to those who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons.  In effect, what Christ described is something He has come here to do, to claim His authority in our world -- over that of the "prince" or "ruler of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  What that indicates is a kind of power struggle going on, a spiritual battle behind the scenes of our world, one in which we struggle -- as followers of Christ -- with things that may oppose our faith and our work in discipleship to Him or as servants of Christ.  This isn't like a political battle in the world we see around us, nor is it manifest as some sort of real-world military battle.  This is a battle that goes on in the midst of us, where we meet the kingdom of God that is within us.  It's a battle in which we struggle within ourselves, because it is a battle for hearts and minds, for souls.  Therefore the key to this particular struggle is discernment.  The way to help our capacities for discernment, to arm ourselves in the struggle for faith, is through practices that shore up our own discipleship -- but the main weapon is prayer.  In fact, one could say that all practices of the Church:  almsgiving, fasting, worship, thanksgiving, etc. are forms of prayer.  They are ways of communion with the One whom we serve.  We rely on His Holy Spirit.  We seek relationship always with the Father, Son, and Spirit.  Where one is, there the others are also.  To stay in communion -- to pray --  is to choose a side, to wage a battle, to struggle for one's own faith.  And so, St. Paul teaches us, "Pray without ceasing."   It is upon this kind of struggle that Christ establishes His Church in the world, and gives us the Kingdom within us.  And He asks, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"   This question is not for the time of His return, as He's made perfectly clear that we don't know what time that is.  It is always asked for right now.

Give us day by day our daily bread

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples went toward Jerusalem, He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible says that the Father/Son relationship of Christ and the Father is one that we are invited into.  We become "sons" (male and female, as inheritors of the Kingdom) by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7), and so we may say Our Father.  This is not because God is Creator, but rather because we truly enter into such a relationship that asks of us the same love, trust, and service as we see in Christ's relationship to the Father.  This is a saving and personal relationship that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  Daily is a mistranslation of a Greek word (epiousios) which was seemingly coined just for this prayer.  It's not found elsewhere in Greek literature.  It means literally, "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, then, is not about asking for material bread as a daily portion, it's about life lived as member of the Kingdom; it is bread for "the eternal day of the Kingdom of God," as my study bible puts it.  It is clearly Eucharistic in its image; but the living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  My study bible says, "We are not asking merely for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58)."

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  My study bible notes that this request is plural, which means that we are directed to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Jesus often speaks in ways or metaphors of exchange; here the term debts refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  The plural also indicates this is  about community; we are individuals in relationship with community.  Sin and sinning always affects community and is not only a personal affair.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God does not tempt us to sin, says my study bible (see James 1:13).  Temptations are from the evil one (as this word indicates in Greek), the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5), and these occur in all kinds of ways and elusive forms.  We pray here that great temptations -- that which tests us beyond what we can bear --  should not come to us (1 Corinthians 10:13).

And He said to them, Which if you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  This parable, says my study bible, is a demonstration of God's faithfulness to all those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  A traditional interpretation holds that midnight is both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ -- our only source of grace upon whom we rely to provide everything we need.  We note a very human quality that Christ indicates is shared with God:  a response to persistence.  It is an assurance that God hears. 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  In the Greek, the verbs ask, seek, and knock indicate a command for continuing action.  That is, Jesus is saying to us that we must always "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It's consistent with the emphasis on the importance of persistence.  There's also an emphasis on what we ask for here:  bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life which symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).

There is a consistent emphasis on the spiritual life in Jesus' teaching.  That is, a life lived in the world as part of the Kingdom.  We may think of prayer as asking for all the material things we feel that we are in need of (and of course, Christ says Himself, once again emphasizing our relationship as 'sons' to God, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" - Matthew 6:32).  But here the emphasis is clearly on the spiritual sustenance and participation in the life of the Kingdom that we as disciples want and need, even as we live our lives in this world.  The term epiousion, or "supersubstantial," gives us a clear indication of the emphasis in this prayer.  It is the life of discipleship, a life lived and nurtured in spiritual sustenance not only for the body but also for the soul.  It is a wholistic life, in which we are not separated from our true natures as children and inheritors of God, as those who may say "Our Father in heaven."  Jesus' teaching on prayer in the latter part of today's reading -- naming the gift of the Holy Spirit -- will in fact take us by surprise if we do not understand the true emphasis here.   The Holy Spirit, according to a prayer that begins every Orthodox service, is God who is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.  He is "everywhere present and filling all things," as well as the "Treasury of blessings and Giver of life."  There's an even deeper mystical connection between prayer and the Spirit as it is the Spirit which indeed teaches us how to pray and what to pray for (Romans 8:26-27).  At this point in Christ's ministry, as He is approaching Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit becomes a truly important actor in the life of the disciples.  They do not know yet that they are heading toward Pentecost, but Christ's emphasis on discipleship is clear.  This is all about the continuing journey of those who will be His Church, the Body of Christ, the community of believers.  We as children of God, who also call the Father "Our Father," as does the Son, are knit in the Holy Spirit as children who are members of this community, this Kingdom, inheritors who grow in image and likeness via this relationship of grace.  What Christ sets out then, is a job, a work, a life of continual prayer in this relationship and communion in which we keep asking, we keep seeking, and we keep knocking at the door of this Treasury which is inexhaustible, the true gift of life in the Spirit.  This is how we are to live while we await His return.  We will always have this work to do.  It is to be our way of life that teaches us and gives us the fullness of life (John 10:10).