Thoughts for the Day

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

From our birth to our death we go on learning. Some things we pick up quickly, for instance, when we cry as a baby someone will usually answer! But many things take longer. It can take years to learn how to play the piano and we often give up, especially if a more interesting attraction like sport is offered. Worthwhile things sometimes need perseverance. There was a well known saying around when I was a child - "Rome wasn't built in a day!" It may have been true but it was annoying to be told this when you were attempting to learn how to work out a maths problem, or put perspective into a painting, or to lose weight.

In the Parable of the Unjust Judge Jesus teaches us that we need to persist in our prayer. Yet we Christians are spoilt! If we compare our worship and prayer life today with that of a Jew at the time of Jesus or the life of an Orthodox Jew today, well we get off lightly. Jesus spoke in Aramaic but would have been tutored like other boys in the Hebrew language and expected to learn great tracks of the scriptures, not just the Law but also the Prophets. Today, Orthodox Jews do the same and worship at least three times a day, as well as saying prayers on rising in the morning, before and after eating and washing, and even offering thanksgivings to God after going to the toilet.

In this little parable, which is only in Luke's Gospel, we see the widow has gone to a paid magistrate appointed by the Romans, rather than taking it to the Jewish elders. These men were notoriously corrupt, but even he deals with her complaint because she keeps on trying to get an answer from him. If he responds to her, how much more will our Heavenly Father respond to our requests? Instead of giving up when God doesn't seem to answer us we are to accept that this may be to allow us time to change. Persistence changes us, transforming us into the person God would have us be. We should also remember that unlike the Unjust Judge, God loves us and has our best in mind. Memo for today: KEEP ON PRAYING!

Father God,
teach us about prayer
and about praying constantly.
When we lose heart
teach us to continue,
and to listen to Your voice.
Teach us also to grow in faith as
we grow closer to You,
and to persist at all times
allowing You to mould us into the
people You would have us be.
Amen.