Pleas for Justice

Jesus ends this lesson on justice and judgment with a strange question.

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" - Luke 18:1-8

What makes the question strange is that he calls himself the Son of Man and yet he says when the Son of Man comes.

Richard Bohr calls the Son of Man the Human One, indicating that Jesus saw himself as human, living a human life of faith, something we can all do.

He did not claim to be the divine one, though his disciples believed he was the anointed, the Messiah.

So, if he is already here, what does he mean by when the Son of Man comes?

We interpret it to mean that he will return, but will he be a human one then?

The message is if God grants us justice because we pray for it, will Jesus find faith on the earth, or will we lose faith?

Why would we lose it?

Maybe we become like spoiled children, expecting everything and doing nothing for it other than whining.

So, maybe Jesus is warning us to be faithful, whether we obtain justice or not.

That would surely explain why even with much faith, we have to wait for justice.

More to come...