Persistence
Published Oct 16, 2022 12:05 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
LUKE 18:1-8
Whatever we do affects other people. The condition of others, good or bad, somehow affects our situation as well. This only shows how intricately connected we are to one another. Hence, many of our serious problems nowadays are brought upon us by our lack of awareness of the fact that we are part of the greater whole.
On October 8, 2018, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had alerted us of the fact that we are already reaching the tipping point of the present ecological problem. Pope Francis himself has called this situation “Global Climate Emergency.” We are in an emergency situation, and yet many people still behave as if nothing is happening. The problem lies in our indifference. We do not act on any problem unless it directly affects us. For example, we say nothing against the evil of mining or of logging, unless floods and landslides directly hit us.
The judge in today’s Gospel is at first, and for a long time, unwilling to help the widow. This judge is described as neither God-fearing nor respectful of others. He is for a time indifferent, but the widow is persistent in asking and acting for what she desired. She demonstrates that her plea for justice is backed up by her actions. The judge eventually realizes that he must render a just decision for the widow. He recognizes that there is a need to act on her plight not because of anything else, but because she keeps on bothering him. Furthermore, she might come to strike him if he would keep refusing to act. The judge begins to get affected by the widow’s condition. If her condition gets worse, he might feel bothered. But if she gets the justice she is asking, he would be at peace. In a sense, the widow is helping the judge to be true to his role as judge — to deliver justice.
God, of course, cannot be compared to the judge in the parable. Nevertheless, the way the parable is told generates an important point — that God answers the prayers of those who call upon him day and night. Why? Because God always relates with us. God’s decision to relate with us also entails that he has allowed himself to be affected by our condition. Moreover, God always wants to make better our condition. But we also need to do our part. If we, for example, want a better world, we should start caring for our common home.
In the parable, Jesus teaches us persistence in prayer and in action. Like the widow, we should never stop asking God to give us a better condition. Like her, we must also act that what we desire may truly be realized.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
LUKE 18:1-8
Whatever we do affects other people. The condition of others, good or bad, somehow affects our situation as well. This only shows how intricately connected we are to one another. Hence, many of our serious problems nowadays are brought upon us by our lack of awareness of the fact that we are part of the greater whole.
On October 8, 2018, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had alerted us of the fact that we are already reaching the tipping point of the present ecological problem. Pope Francis himself has called this situation “Global Climate Emergency.” We are in an emergency situation, and yet many people still behave as if nothing is happening. The problem lies in our indifference. We do not act on any problem unless it directly affects us. For example, we say nothing against the evil of mining or of logging, unless floods and landslides directly hit us.
The judge in today’s Gospel is at first, and for a long time, unwilling to help the widow. This judge is described as neither God-fearing nor respectful of others. He is for a time indifferent, but the widow is persistent in asking and acting for what she desired. She demonstrates that her plea for justice is backed up by her actions. The judge eventually realizes that he must render a just decision for the widow. He recognizes that there is a need to act on her plight not because of anything else, but because she keeps on bothering him. Furthermore, she might come to strike him if he would keep refusing to act. The judge begins to get affected by the widow’s condition. If her condition gets worse, he might feel bothered. But if she gets the justice she is asking, he would be at peace. In a sense, the widow is helping the judge to be true to his role as judge — to deliver justice.
God, of course, cannot be compared to the judge in the parable. Nevertheless, the way the parable is told generates an important point — that God answers the prayers of those who call upon him day and night. Why? Because God always relates with us. God’s decision to relate with us also entails that he has allowed himself to be affected by our condition. Moreover, God always wants to make better our condition. But we also need to do our part. If we, for example, want a better world, we should start caring for our common home.
In the parable, Jesus teaches us persistence in prayer and in action. Like the widow, we should never stop asking God to give us a better condition. Like her, we must also act that what we desire may truly be realized.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.