One of the many titles of Luke’s Gospel is the “Gospel of prayer.”
Within this Gospel, we see many accounts of prayer. The reading today is
one of many.
Today, we meditate on the prayer of petition. Luke makes his comment at
the beginning of the parable: pray constantly and do not lose heart.
Luke describes two characters. One is the judge who has no regard for
people. He is incapable of shame. On the other hand, there is the widow,
an example of the poor and marginalized in the society. Luke does not
tell us of the widow’s circumstances. We do know that she is persistent;
she would come repeatedly. The judge, as we understand, has no care for
God or man. However, because of the persistence of the widow, he gives
in to her petitions. He wants to be spared from any violence; he does
not want a black eye. The moral of the story is that if this corrupt
judge can give in, how much more God, the righteous judge, will give in
to the cry of those who call upon him?
The story is very simple, touched with Luke’s humor. We are to “storm
heaven” with our prayers. Jesus tells us to call out day and night. No
matter how often we pray, we are not to lose hope and heart over what
may seem so impossible. St. Paul tells us that good things come to those
who wait upon the Lord. The widow could have easily become discouraged.
Moreover, she could have given up a long time ago. Seemingly, the judge
would not budge. He would not give in. It was only to spare himself
from being bothered that he gave in. One may wonder why it took the
judge so long to favor the widow. It tells us just how corrupt and
non-fearing he was to God and man. Taking care of the widow was one of
the highest statutes of the law. This poor widow had every right to be
heard and fairly dealt with. The widow gives us a fine example of
persistence in prayer. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL
Reflection Question:
Are you persistent in prayer?
Lord, I always call upon You in my need. Help me not lose heart. Amen.
St. Machar, pray for us.
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