THE WORD
3 Jn,5-8 /Lk 18,1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
IN OTHER WORDS
There was a merchant who sold a product to a customer. A few months passed and the customer indicated that the product was defective and needed to be replaced. The merchant replaced it with an entirely different product and requested payment. There was no guarantee of the durability of the article which the customer wished to obtain. The merchant became very persistent to obtain the payment without a guarantee to the customer. Calls were made, invoices sent, the merchant wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer. What resulted from the merchant’s persistence? The customer ultimately responded with an agreement of payment which included a one-year guarantee for quality. The merchant’s tenacity obtained the desired results.
If an answer to our prayers is desired, we must then pray with fervor, conviction and determination.
Let not our prayer only consist of requesting. Let us also include praise and thanksgiving.
- Fr. Jess Briones, SVD | U.S.A.
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
