Pray and never lose heart
1 ① Jesus told them a parable to show them that they should pray continually and not lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor people. 3In the same town was a widow who kept coming to him, saying: ‘Defend my rights against my opponent.’ 4For a time he refused, but finally he thought: ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people, 5this widow bothers me so much I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wearing me out.”
6And Jesus explained, “Listen to what the evil judge says. 7Will God not do justice for his chosen ones who cry to him day and night even if he delays in answering them? 8I tell you, he will speedily do them justice. Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Pharisee and the tax collector
9 ② Jesus told another parable to some persons fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others, 10“Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood by himself and said: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple.’
13In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ 14I tell you, when this man went down to his house, he had been set right with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.” 15They even brought little children to Jesus to have him touch them; but then the disciples rebuked these people. 16So Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”
Jesus and the rich ruler
18A ruler asked Jesus, “Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not accuse falsely, honor your father and your mother.” 21And the man said, “I have kept all these commandments from my youth.”
22Then Jesus answered, “There is still one thing you lack. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in Heaven. And then come and follow me.” 23When he heard these words, the man became sad for he was very rich. 24Jesus noticing this said, “How hard it is for people who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26The bystanders said, “Who then can be saved?” 27And Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”
28Then Peter said, “We left everything we had and followed you.” 29Jesus replied, “Truly, I tell you, whoever has left house or wife, or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30will receive much more in this present time and eternal life in the world to come.”
31Jesus then took the Twelve aside and told them, “Now, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything the Prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32He will be delivered up to the foreign power. People will mock him, insult him and spit on him. 33After they have scourged him, they will kill him, but he will be raised on the third day.” 34The apostles could make nothing of this; the meaning of these words remained a mystery to them and they did not understand what he said.
The blind man of Jericho
35When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. 36As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what it was, 37and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, 38“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39The people in front scolded him, “Be quiet!” but he cried out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him, and when he came near, he asked him, 41“What do you want me to do for you?” And the man said, “Lord, that I may see!” 42Jesus said, “Receive your sight, your faith has saved you.” 43At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.
- Lk 18,1 If there is a just God, why does he not do justice? (Ps 44:23, Heb 1; Zec 1:12; Rev 6:9). Jesus answers: Do you desire and ask for the justice of God with enough faith? He will undoubtedly do justice, but you will have to wait. A judge who neither feared God nor people: many people upon seeing what is unjust and absurd in life, view God this way. If we pray with perseverance, we will gradually discover that things are not as absurd as they seem, and we will come to recognize the face of the God who loves us in what happens. Who cry to him day and night (v. 7). Jesus, who so insists on our responsibility to the world, is the one who also urges us to call on God day and night. Why are people so readily divided (or why do we divide them) into prayers and doers? Will he find faith on earth? (v. 8). Jesus confirms an opinion already found among the Jews of his days. In the last days before Judgment, the power of evil will be so great that in many love will grow cold (Mt 24:12). In fact, with the first coming of Jesus, the Old Testament ended in seeming failure; few had believed in him and, later, most were influenced by the confusion, the false saviors and the violence which precipitated the fall of the nation forty years after the death of Jesus. Lk 18,9 The Pharisees were very determined to fulfill God's law; they fasted often and did many works of mercy. Unfortunately, many of them took the credit for such a model life: they thought they no longer needed God's mercy because their good deeds would force him to reward them. On the other hand the publican recognizes he is a sinner towards God and people: all he can do is to ask pardon. He is in the truth and in the grace of God when he goes home. Jesus speaks for those who are fully convinced of their own righteousness (v. 9). The text says precisely: their justice which contrasts with he was justified in verse 14. The Bible calls just those whose life is in order before God because they observe his law; so in Mt 1:19 and Lk 1:6 Joseph and Zachary are called just. In many places, however, great importance is given to the exterior acts of the just man, and for the Pharisees as for any religious group which is at the same time a party or a social group, the members of the group considered themselves as good people. Jesus invites us to humility if we want to acquire the only righteousness which counts in God's eyes, for it is not a matter of acquiring it by means of merit and religious practices, but receiving it rather as a gift from God destined for those who want his pardon and holiness. It is not by chance that this parable is in the Gospel of Luke, disciple of Paul; for Paul, the converted Pharisee, constantly dwells on what is the true justice of a Christian. What God wants for us is so great that we could never buy it with religious practices or good works: but to those who trust him God gives all (see Rom 4). Neither is it by chance that Jesus offers us a Pharisee who only knows how to compare himself with another person in order to find himself better than the other. It is there that the devil waits for all, and for all christian groups, who pride themselves on having discovered a way to conversion. Wherever we see a divided Church, whether because of political or religious causes, it is a good guess that people favor such a situation because it allows comparison with others. It is difficult to belong to a group of the converted without looking with charitable compassion on those christian brethren who have not taken the same road.
- Lk 18,1 If there is a just God, why does he not do justice? (Ps 44:23, Heb 1; Zec 1:12; Rev 6:9). Jesus answers: Do you desire and ask for the justice of God with enough faith? He will undoubtedly do justice, but you will have to wait. A judge who neither feared God nor people: many people upon seeing what is unjust and absurd in life, view God this way. If we pray with perseverance, we will gradually discover that things are not as absurd as they seem, and we will come to recognize the face of the God who loves us in what happens. Who cry to him day and night (v. 7). Jesus, who so insists on our responsibility to the world, is the one who also urges us to call on God day and night. Why are people so readily divided (or why do we divide them) into prayers and doers? Will he find faith on earth? (v. 8). Jesus confirms an opinion already found among the Jews of his days. In the last days before Judgment, the power of evil will be so great that in many love will grow cold (Mt 24:12). In fact, with the first coming of Jesus, the Old Testament ended in seeming failure; few had believed in him and, later, most were influenced by the confusion, the false saviors and the violence which precipitated the fall of the nation forty years after the death of Jesus. Lk 18,9 The Pharisees were very determined to fulfill God's law; they fasted often and did many works of mercy. Unfortunately, many of them took the credit for such a model life: they thought they no longer needed God's mercy because their good deeds would force him to reward them. On the other hand the publican recognizes he is a sinner towards God and people: all he can do is to ask pardon. He is in the truth and in the grace of God when he goes home. Jesus speaks for those who are fully convinced of their own righteousness (v. 9). The text says precisely: their justice which contrasts with he was justified in verse 14. The Bible calls just those whose life is in order before God because they observe his law; so in Mt 1:19 and Lk 1:6 Joseph and Zachary are called just. In many places, however, great importance is given to the exterior acts of the just man, and for the Pharisees as for any religious group which is at the same time a party or a social group, the members of the group considered themselves as good people. Jesus invites us to humility if we want to acquire the only righteousness which counts in God's eyes, for it is not a matter of acquiring it by means of merit and religious practices, but receiving it rather as a gift from God destined for those who want his pardon and holiness. It is not by chance that this parable is in the Gospel of Luke, disciple of Paul; for Paul, the converted Pharisee, constantly dwells on what is the true justice of a Christian. What God wants for us is so great that we could never buy it with religious practices or good works: but to those who trust him God gives all (see Rom 4). Neither is it by chance that Jesus offers us a Pharisee who only knows how to compare himself with another person in order to find himself better than the other. It is there that the devil waits for all, and for all christian groups, who pride themselves on having discovered a way to conversion. Wherever we see a divided Church, whether because of political or religious causes, it is a good guess that people favor such a situation because it allows comparison with others. It is difficult to belong to a group of the converted without looking with charitable compassion on those christian brethren who have not taken the same road.
