Today’s readings: Exodus 17, 8-13; 2 Timothy 3,14 – 4,2; Luke 18, 1-8.
Today’s Gospel reminds us of one of the biggest yet forgotten truths of Christianity, the so-called sense of the faithful. At times the simple faith of common people can be more powerful than the eloquence of our theologies, even of our religious power structures.
Cardinal John Henry Newman, now beatified, had already made this big truth known in mid-19th century when he wrote the essay ‘On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine’ (1859). People have what we call a ‘spiritual sense’ by which they know how to discern, understand and apply what God tells each and everyone in the depths of our hearts.
The corrupt judge of the parable was made to do his duty not because of the law, which by profession he was meant to uphold, nor by self-respect or fear of God, but by the persistence of a simple widow.
From the standpoint of our structures, we often treat people as if they are permanently seven-year-olds about to receive First Holy Communion. Unfortunately, we still fear trusting people’s consciences and experiences.
In order to make sense of what God has revealed and is still revealing, one needs to take account not only of the Church’s teachings but also of the actual experience of so many who genuinely seek to live out their faith, at times even distant from institutionalised religion.
The parable of the widow and the corrupt judge is placed immediately after the discourse in which Jesus makes clear that the kingdom he proclaims is to be preceeded by a long wait. The ending of this parable questions whether, when the Son of Man comes, he will find any faith on earth.
St Augustine envisaged corruption as innate in each and every one of us. There is corruption and injustice in the world around us, in the workings of justice, in the way people are treated, in all aspects of life. There is corruption even in institutions like the Church which, like the judge of the parable, is meant to against corruption.
All this and much more makes us lose heart. There is also so much in life that makes us lose hope. Yet our gaze needs to be focussed on what strengthens us as people of spirit. The institution by itself is no longer a guarantee of permanence in the faith. We need to be resourceful inside, equipped with a faith that is personal and enduring.
With this parable Jesus seems to be asking what can guarantee the future of faith or the faith of the future. At the same time we need to think about whether we have faith in the future, a faith which is rooted in the living tradition we have received. St Paul writes, “You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true.” Our problem today seems to be that we lack points of reference.
Faith is an internal force that can give shape to all our existence. The keyword ‘force’, is what keeps us going, what keeps hope alive. In the Exodus account of the first reading, Moses represents this force, which made the people of God conquer the Amalekites: “As long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the advantage.”
The message of Exodus and of the Gospel is in the opening lines of the parable: “the need to pray continually and never lose heart”. Prayer can never substitute our agency. Otherwise it would be escapism.
In the parable, Jesus is not speaking of a widow who prays for the conversion of a corrupt judge, but one who pesters the judge. In our engagement with the actual situations we encounter, we need on one hand to acknowledge that, as Thomas Merton would say, we are not “innocent bystanders”, and on the other hand, we cannot offer cheap or easy remedies.
St Paul speaks of the centrality of Scripture and affirms that “this is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work”. A simple faith has its roots in Scripture, which becomes the Word of the living God in our lives and which empowers us even in a world that denies justice.