Home Daily Meditation Luke 18,1-8

Luke 18,1-8

by Fr. Michael Della Penna
Luke 18, 1-8

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 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?”

Peace to all my brothers and sisters listening in today

Prayer. Desire. Widow or Judge

1. Prayer. Luke’s Gospel is sometimes called the gospel of prayer because it relates how Jesus always prays before the most important moments of His life. Because it is so easy to get discouraged in prayer however and grow tired of praying and even doubt whether God actually hears us, Jesus encourages us with this parable of the persistent widow which teaches us the necessity of praying “always without becoming weary.”

2. Desire. The parable is not about trying to wear God out by our continuous asking but rather it is a method which helps us to get in touch with what we really want and express our deepest desires. It is about learning to trust in God’s faithfulness, not trying to change Him but allowing Him to change us.

Theres a great story of a would be monk who longed to join a monastery and so was led out into the water at a beach by the Abbot in order to test him and his desire to join. He suddenly grabbed the young man’s head and held it under water. After several minutes of struggling the man finally was able to set himself free and gasped for air. What did you do that for he asked? The Abbet said when you want to enter into religious life like you wanted to breathe that breath of air then you will be ready. God wants to help us know what it is we really want and to show Him the depth of our desire through constant prayer.

3. Widow or judge. While it may be easy to identify with the widow we might discover that we are sometimes more like the unjust judge -someone who does not fear God or does not care for others, who even holds justice from others. The widow then is a symbol of God who persists in calling us to forgive others, to love, to show mercy. A God who became a baby who like the widow was defenseless and vulnerable and yet never ceases to intercede for us in seeking justice and vindication.

When we are confronted with the injustice of the world, with feelings of being cheated or wronged, we are encouraged to be persistent in lifting our hands and hearts up to God and like Jesus carry our cross, trusting it will lead us to union with God.

Only in this way, by praying unceasingly, can we, with Gods help, overcome our adversities, our temptations and our sin.

If I ever get to heaven I always think what will I say if God asks me what part of pray unceasingly didn’t you understand was it the “pray” or “unceasing” part.

May God bless you in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit amen

Always remember heaven is our goal.

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