The great scene that the first reading presents to us illuminates that much more intimate and familiar that presents the Gospel to us by offering us one more parable of the Lord. The uneven struggle between an insistent “widow” up to be annoying and that judge who did not fear God takes up, in a small way, the great war against Amalek. This battle symbolically embodies all that stands in the way of the path of liberation and fullness that God wills for his people and for every child of him. The solution is always there itself: prayer! Moses on the mountain of great moments like that widow in the plain of the repetitive everyday life, show us that strength to defeat every small and large manifestation of evil does not come from us, but we receive it from the deepening of our trust in God.
As the psalm sings: “The Lord will keep you from all evil”. As he invites the apostle addressing every believer through his disciple: “you remain steadfast and believe firmly”. A very significant note, in the conclusion of the parable, is the fact that for its interpretation the Lord Jesus uses two questions and not to two statements. There prayer, before being a satisfying answer, is a question that challenges the entirety of our human experience. It is about an experience perceived and lived to the maximum degree of extension in relation to God. Thus concludes the Lord Jesus: “And God will not do it perhaps justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?”. As if that wasn’t enough, there is another question mark: “But the Son of man, when he comes, will he find faith on earth?”.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Novalesa Abbey

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey