Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

 

Today’s Gospel presents an element which is very dear to Luke: Prayer. This is the second time that Luke gives us the words of Jesus to teach us to pray. The first time, He taught us the Our Father and, by means of comparisons and parables, He taught that we have to pray continually, without getting tired. Now, this second time, He uses a parable taken from life to teach us insistence in prayer. It is the parable of the widow who pestered the unscrupulous judge. The way He presents the parable is very didactic. In the first place, Luke presents a brief introduction which serves as the key for the reading.  Afterwards, he narrates the parable. Finally, Jesus Himself explains it.

 

Luke presents the recommendation “to pray without losing heart” that appears many times in the New Testament and it is a characteristic of the spirituality of the first Christian communities.

 

Then Jesus presents two personages of real life: a judge who had no consideration for God and no consideration for others, and a widow who struggles to obtain her rights from the judge. The simple fact of indicating these two personages reveals the critical conscience which He had regarding the society of His time. The parable presents the poor people who struggle in the tribunal to obtain their rights. The judge decides to pay attention to the widow and to do justice. The reason is to free himself from the widow, but the widow obtained what she wanted! This is an example from daily life, which Jesus uses to teach us to pray.

 

At the end, Jesus expresses a doubt: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”  In other words, will we have the courage to wait and have patience, even if God delays in doing what we ask him?