Reading 1
Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9
When peaceful stillness compassed everything
and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne
bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land,
bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree.
And as he alighted, he filled every place with death;
he still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth.
For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew,
serving its natural laws,
that your children might be preserved unharmed.
The cloud overshadowed their camp;
and out of what had before been water, dry land was seen emerging:
Out of the Red Sea an unimpeded road,
and a grassy plain out of the mighty flood.
Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand,
after they beheld stupendous wonders.
For they ranged about like horses,
and bounded about like lambs,
praising you, O Lord! their deliverer.
Gospel
Lk 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Meditation: Luke 18:1-8
This is a “how much more …” story.
If the crooked judge eventually gives this petitioner justice because she wears him down with her persistence, how much more will God act swiftly on behalf of his beloved children? He knows what we need, he has the “big picture” about how our needs and gifts intersect with those of others, and he always chooses to do the most loving thing possible.
What would our prayer look like if we really believed in such a Father-Judge? Or, to put it another way: The way we pray can say a lot about the way we imagine and relate to God.
For instance, if it’s our habit to pray only as a last resort, it may be that we don’t think God is very concerned about the details of our lives. We think that he has left us on our own to do the best we can and that we should call to him only when all else has failed. But the truth is, he sent his only Son to be with us and to make every resource in heaven and on earth available to us—at every point along the way (Ephesians 1:3).
Another example may be if we keep telling God over and over what we want. We may think that God is stingy, uninterested, quick to punish, and slow to give us good things. Or perhaps we fear there may be a conflict between his will and ours—and we are determined to change his mind!
Let’s approach our loving Father as children who know that he loves us. Let’s believe that he wants to give us every good gift, beginning with the Holy Spirit who inspires our prayers in the first place (Romans 8:26). Let’s remember another “how much more” promise from Jesus: “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13).
”Father, in your great kindness you have made me your child. You know the desires of my heart, and you know what’s best for me and for those I love. Hear my prayer, and show me what I can do to bring your kingdom into clearer focus in this situation.”
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