NOTES for Luk 18:7-8

Christ's words, "Will not God protect His chosen ones who cry to Him... though He delays in protecting them," in the Synodal Translation often trouble the reader. The Lord offers the disciples a parable about an unrighteous judge who nevertheless protects a poor widow because of her persistence. The unrighteous judge, from whom it would be absurd even to expect justice, could not withstand the firmness of the petitioner. All the more, Christ says, will God, who loves His chosen ones, respond to their requests. This is how the evangelist Luke understands the parable, and therefore he introduces it as "a parable about the need always to pray and not lose heart."

If a person does not immediately receive what he asks for, he begins to doubt God's goodness. This is a common mistake caused by not knowing God. Christ's parable directly refutes this opinion. But then why does God "delay in protecting them"? These words of the Synodal Translation correspond to entirely different words in the original. The Greek text contains here one verb meaning "to be patient, to possess endurance": "He is patient in them," in His chosen ones. Patientiam habebit in illis, "He keeps patience in them," the Vulgate echoes it. "And being long-suffering concerning them," the Slavonic text renders with great accuracy. The point, then, is God's participation in the endurance of the sufferings of His chosen ones.

It is hard to convey this meaning in Russian in such a way that the result is a translation and not an interpretation. Perhaps: "Will not God protect His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Is it not He who is long-suffering [in them]? Certainly He will give them swift protection... But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" It is important for us to understand that the Lord is not speaking of the indifference of a Creator who condescends to the cries of His people as if reluctantly, in an interval between more important matters. Not at all. Christ emphasizes precisely God's participation in our sufferings. Moreover, the original text shows that this participation enters into the very depth of God's relationship with the world and His design for it.

From a practical point of view, Christ's words about faith are important. About God's long-suffering and the sufferings of the chosen, Christ says something difficult to understand not only for us, but probably for the disciples as well. But, He says, the issue is not what God is like. The issue is the lack of faith that does not give us the possibility of seeing and knowing how quickly God grants His protection. And the same lack of faith deprives us of the possibility of asking for and receiving that protection.

In every age people ask this question: does God protect His chosen ones? If so, why do good people die, and if not, then where is His love? Such questions sound especially often after terrible catastrophes. Indeed, even if we have already understood that it is not God who brings these horrors, that all this is the consequence of sin, either directly or indirectly (as in the case of natural disasters: "the whole creation groans and suffers together until now" Rom. 8:22), the question of protection still remains.

Jesus does not give a direct answer, but He points to the right direction for reflection: "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" In order for God to give His protection, we need to trust Him; we need to entrust our life completely into His hands. Have we done this when asking for protection, or are we still counting on His help, but on our terms? For example, have we accepted His view of what human life is, or do we inwardly insist on our own understanding of it as, first of all, physical life? And it is on this above all that what God's protection consists of depends.

Jesus’ words: "shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry… unto him, though he bear long with them?", - in the King James Version translation arouse embarrassment to the readers. The Lord suggests to the followers a parable on an unjust judge, who protects nonetheless the poor widow because of her persistence. The unjust judge, from whom it would be absurd to expect justice, wasn't able to resist the firmness of the petitioner. All the more, Jesus says that God who loves His elect will answer their requests. This is how the evangelist Luke understands this parable, and that's why he entitled it "a parable that men ought always to pray and not to faint".

A person begins to doubt God’s kindness if he doesn’t receive at once his request. It is a popular error, due to our ignorance of God. The parable of Jesus refutes exactly such opinion. Then why God “bear long with them”? These words of the King James Version correspond with the original words; the Greek and the Vulgate texts contain the word “bear”. Therefore, the matter is about God's participation in the sufferings of His elect.

“When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” –this is the question Jesus asks; He bears with us in our sufferings, and He "will of course avenge speedily", but "shall he find faith on the earth?". It is important for us to understand that Jesus doesn't speak here about the indifference of the Creator, who condescends in the wails of His people as if it was unwillingly, ad interium between the more important facts. No, far from it! Instead Jesus Christ underlines preeminently God's participation in our sufferings. This participation enters the depth of God's relationship with the world and His vision about this world.

From a practical point of view, Jesus’ important words are about faith. He speaks of something very difficult to understand not only for us, but probably for the followers too, concerning God's forbearance and sufferings of the elected. But He says that, the problem isn't at the level of God; the problem is in the lack of faith, which does not give us the possibilities to see, to know that God avenges us speedily. And the same lack of faith deprives us from the possibility of asking and of receiving this avenge.

As a rule, the most puzzling words in today's reading are these: "though He delays to protect them." Why does He delay, what is He waiting for, when things are so hard for us, people ask. So today let us think precisely about these words. We remember well the words of the psalm: let Your mercies quickly come before us, O Lord, for we have become very poor (Ps 78:8). We remember them especially well because they entered the prayers of the sixth hour, which means we often hear them in church. Three more times in the Psalter this cry is heard: "hear us quickly" (Ps 68:18, 101:3, 142:7). We very much want the Lord to help us sooner; we hurry Him. Who knows, perhaps if it were not for this, there would be no need to say that He delays. Not because, seeing how impatiently we wait for His help, He deliberately delays; no, of course not. Rather, it is because He seems to want to sober us. He wants us to turn toward ourselves and see how much He has already given us. More than anything, He wants our growth, which would be impossible if He did everything for us. A comparison with earthly parents is entirely appropriate here, it seems to us. When a child asks for help writing a school essay, any sensible parent first asks him to try to write something himself. The Lord, as a loving Parent, does not delay in only one case, when it is a matter of life and death. And it is precisely then that He works a miracle. If we remember this, we will understand miracles more correctly and will not look for false miracles.

When we say that God is not like us, this does not simply mean that He is kinder, stronger, wiser than we are. It means that He sees the world differently from the way we see it. When before us there appear at the same time a pious, honest, decent person and a rich tax farmer with many tears and sorrows on his conscience, our sympathies instinctively are not on the side of the "new Russian." The story of the Pharisee and the tax collector is calculated precisely for this reaction: God sees differently; He has different ideas about faith. If one says, "Thank You that everything is fine with me," and another says, "Have mercy on me," then the decisive point turns out not to be piety, not the observance of fasting or other prescriptions. It is simply that one needs praise, and the other needs love. God sees each person's heart; as for us, it is good if we see our own.

The parable told to us about the unjust judge is a very witty move by Jesus. Is it not a living illustration of human ideas about the mechanism by which God makes decisions? We, small and weak, yell and cry out, and only because of our persistence does something happen. This picture looks so absurd, especially when we are asking something of God, Who is merciful, that one wants to laugh and stop doing it.

Whatever may be going on in our heads, God still will not abandon us and will come to help. He will come, but will He find faith where people are calling Him for help? It can happen that such ideas about God replace what we know about Him from Scripture, what we have been taught.

When people need something, they persistently beg for what they lack for happiness. And the Lord, it would seem, encourages us to call on Him persistently for help. How often, when we do this, we think of God as a great taker of bribes, acting on the principle: "we give to Him, He gives to us." But He, giving us what is for our good, will never give us what is harmful. Because He is unbending, He is whole, He is incorruptible. These qualities of His are described in the book of Wisdom: "...Your almighty word like a stern warrior. It carried a sharp sword." In this sense, being with Him is like walking on the edge of a razor that cuts away from us everything dangerous to us.