“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 . . . ’”
Luke 18: 1-8
THE WORD:
The judge in Jesus’ parable read today is not one of the Jewish
elders but a paid magistrate appointed by the Roman governors. These
magistrates were notoriously corrupt, extorting money from plaintiffs to secure
favorable verdicts. The widow, typically defenseless in such dealings,
persists until the judge just wants to be rid of her.
Jesus does not liken God to the unfeeling, insensitive judge
but contrasts God to him: If such persistence will finally move
such an unfeeling and corrupt figure will not the God of mercy and love be
moved by the cries of his own beloved people? The parable of the widow
and the unjust judge (found only in Luke’s Gospel) calls us to perseverance in
prayer – prayer that seeks not to force God’s hand but prayer that opens our
hearts and minds to his always available grace.
https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#oct16
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the
house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I
have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and
bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:
"The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge."
But all shall
die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set
on edge.
The days are
surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I
made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the
land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says
the Lord.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, says the Lord:
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will
be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one
another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the
least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and
remember their sin no more.
Psalm
119:97-104
Quomodo
dilexi!
97 Oh, how I love your law! *
all the day long it is in my mind.
98 Your commandment has made me wiser than
my enemies, *
and it is always with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my
teachers, *
for your decrees are my study.
100 I am wiser than the elders, *
because I observe your commandments.
101 I restrain my feet from every evil way,
*
that I may keep your word.
102 I do not shrink from your judgments, *
because you yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste! *
they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.
104 Through your commandments I gain
understanding; *
therefore I hate every lying way.
2
Timothy 3:14-4:5
As for you, continue in what you have
learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from
childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and
is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped
for every good work.
In the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the
message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince,
rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is
coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching
ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires,
and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for
you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out
your ministry fully.
Luke
18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples 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?"
