Will we wait till the end?
Luke 18:1–8. November 12, 2022 - Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr
A young man, a faithful Catholic before the pandemic, lost his faith in God during COVID–19. He prayed one day, then one month, then one year for the end of the pandemic but it did not end. Instead, the scientists came up with a vaccine.
The parable of the persistent widow is not about praying persistently till one gets what he wants from God but about persistently praying in times of adversity. The widow represents the people of God through centuries who are being persecuted and deprived of justice. Prophet Habbakuk, for example, asks God: “How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” (Hab 1:2). And in the book of Revelation, we hear the cry of the oppressed Christians: “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Rev 6:10). And then, we also have the psalmist’s prayer: “How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?” (Ps 35:17).
Habbakuk was given a vision and was told to wait for the fulfilment of that vision even if it seems to be delayed. The Christian martyrs were told to wait a little longer. The psalmist states that God’s coming to his rescue will make all the people proclaim God’s justice and they will praise God “all day long” (Ps 37:28). In today’s parable, Jesus makes the same point. God, who is the opposite of the unjust judge, will come to the rescue of his people, but will his people keep persisting in prayer even if that rescue seems to be slow in coming?
The time of the Church extends between Christ’s ascension and His second coming, and it is a time of joy and hardships. The first Christians did not preach the Gospel of health and wealth, as many of our preachers do today. The first Christians had no illusion that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Moreover, they soon realised that their timetable and God’s timetable are different. What for us, impatient human beings, look like a delay, for God is part of his plan. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”(2 Peter 3:9).
Today’s Gospel ends with a perplexing question: “will the Son of Man find faith on the earth, when he comes?” What made Jesus ask this question? Will there be more of us giving up on prayer and faith? Or it is yet another way aiming at encouraging us to always pray and not become disheartened.