"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Friday, 14 October 2016 with Scripture Luke 18:1-8

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Friday, 14 October 2016 with Scripture Luke 18:1-8
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Luke 18:1 Then Yeshua told his talmidim a parable, in order to impress on them that they must always keep praying and not lose heart. 2 “In a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected other people. 3 There was also in that town a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me a judgment against the man who is trying to ruin me.’ 4 For a long time he refused; but after awhile, he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God, and I don’t respect other people; 5 but because this widow is such a nudnik, I will see to it that she gets justice — otherwise, she’ll keep coming and pestering me till she wears me out!’”

6 Then the Lord commented, “Notice what this corrupt judge says. 7 Now won’t God grant justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Is he delaying long over them? 8 I tell you that he will judge in their favor, and quickly! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find this trust on the earth at all?”[Complete Jewish Bible]

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This gospel parable ends with a somewhat surprising question, "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" I've been puzzling over what that means. It seems such a strange way to end a parable about God's willingness and desire to answer the prayers of the faithful. As I read it over and over it seems to me to be more for the purpose of inviting reflection than for giving a definitive answer. Jesus seems to be saying that whether the Son of Man will find faith is up in the air, it is at risk. It is almost as though Jesus knows that true and honest faithfulness is all but impossible for us. I know that the more faithful I attempt to be the more aware I become of how greatly I fail. So we return to the call to be persistent in prayer and thank God for God's gift of grace and unwavering love. For what we know is that God is without question faithful to us even when we are not. When we break God's heart, God continues to come to us especially amidst the pain of our shattered realities and brokenness.
Faithful God, you claim us in love and remain faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to you. Continue to be patient with us when we break your heart. Amen.

Brian Hansen, '05

Pastor, St. John Lutheran Church, Fargo, N.D. 

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.

2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.

3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, "Grant me justice against my opponent.'

4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, "Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,

5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.' "

6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.

7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?

8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" [New Revised Standard Version]

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