By: The Rev. Dr. W. Ross Blackburn
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8).
What does this mean? In the Gospel lesson we find a widow who has nothing with which to persuade her judge—and an unjust judge at that—to come to her aid. Nothing but perseverance. Why did she persevere? Two things—she had a deep need and a belief that the judge, despite his lack of compassion, could meet that need. So she wore him out by coming and coming and coming, until she got what she wanted. Jesus calls that faith.
In the Old Testament lesson we find something similar. Jacob wrestles with this mysterious man, who he comes to understand as God. And Jacob prevails. How did he prevail? Simply by hanging on. Told by the man to let go, Jacob refuses: “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” And the man did. Like the woman before the judge, Jacob’s stubborn persistence—his refusal to let go—won him what he sought.
We live in a profoundly unjust culture, where the vulnerable, whether the unborn or handicapped or elderly or poor or alone, live in a world where they are at risk of death. Legally. Injustice is bad enough. Injustice sanctioned by law is far worse. So what do we do? We persevere. To be sure, we engage this unjust world, but, more, we engage God who at times seems to be far removed from the cries of vulnerable widows who have nowhere else to turn. Yet God is not an unjust judge. Rather, he is the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows” (Psalm 68:5). How much more can we expect God to answer as we persist in petitioning him for the widow and the fatherless?
When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things unseen. We walk by faith, not by sight. Jesus told the parable of the unjust judge so that his disciples would pray. It may take a long time. It already has. But yet, we pray.