Church Fathers Commentary Luke 18:1-8

"And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and [yet] he is longsuffering over them? I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" — Luke 18:1-8 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord, having spoken of the coming trials and dangers, immediately adds their remedy: constant and earnest prayer.

St. John Chrysostom: He who has redeemed you has shown you what He wants you to do. He wants you to be persistent in prayer, to ponder in your heart the blessings you are praying for, and to ask and receive what His goodness is longing to impart.

He never refuses His blessings to those who pray, but rather stirs them up by His mercy not to grow weary in praying. Gladly accept the Lord’s encouragement; be willing to do what He commands and not to do what He forbids. Lastly, consider what a blessed privilege you are granted to talk with God in your prayers and make all your needs known to Him. While He does not answer in words, He answers by His mercy, for He does not despise petitions. He never grows tired, but only stops when you are silent.

The Venerable Bede: We should say that a person who never fails to pray at the canonical hours is always praying and does not grow weary. Or, all things that the righteous person does and says toward God should be considered prayer.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord tells His parables either for the sake of comparison—as in the instance of the creditor who, when forgiving his two debtors, was loved most by the one who owed him the most—or because of a contrast from which He draws His conclusion. For example: if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So it is here, where He presents the case of the unjust judge.

Theophylact of Ohrid: We may observe that irreverence toward man is a sign of a greater degree of wickedness. For many who do not fear God are still restrained by their shame before other people, and are to that extent less sinful. But when a person also becomes reckless toward others, the burden of his sins is greatly increased.

It follows, And there was a widow in that city.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The widow may be said to resemble the Church, which appears desolate until the Lord comes, who now secretly watches over her. But in the following words, And she came to him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary..., we are told the reason why God's elect pray to be avenged. We find this also said of the martyrs in the book of Revelation, though at the same time we are very plainly reminded to pray for our enemies and persecutors.

We must understand this "avenging" of the righteous, then, to mean that the wicked may perish. They perish in two ways: either by conversion to righteousness, or by punishment, having lost the opportunity for conversion. Even if all people were converted to God, the devil would still remain to be condemned at the end of the world. Since the righteous are longing for this end to come, it is not unreasonable to say they desire vengeance.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Or else, whenever people injure us, we must consider it a noble thing to forget the evil. But when they offend against the glory of God by taking up arms against the ministers of God's ordinance, we then approach God, imploring His help and loudly rebuking those who attack His glory.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If, then, the perseverance of the supplicant at last prevailed with the most unjust judge, leading to the fulfillment of her desire, how much more confident should those feel who do not cease to pray to God, the Fountain of justice and mercy? And so it follows when the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says.

Theophylact of Ohrid: It is as if He said, "If perseverance could sway a judge defiled with every sin, how much more will our prayers incline God, the Father of all mercies, to be merciful!" But some have given a more subtle meaning to the parable, saying that the widow is a soul that has put off her "old man" (that is, the devil), who is her adversary. She approaches God, the righteous Judge, who neither fears anyone (because He is God alone) nor shows partiality, for with God there is no partiality. Therefore, God shows mercy to the widow—the soul ever pleading with Him against the devil—and is moved by her persistence.

After teaching us that we must resort to prayer in the last days because of the coming dangers, our Lord adds, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord says this about perfect faith, which is seldom found on earth. Consider how full the Church of God is; if there were no faith, who would enter it? If there were perfect faith, who would not move mountains?

The Venerable Bede: When the Almighty Creator appears in the form of the Son of Man, the elect will be so scarce that the world's fall will be hastened not so much by the cries of the faithful as by the apathy of others.

Our Lord speaks, then, as if He were doubtful—not because He is actually in doubt, but to rebuke us. This is just as we sometimes use words of doubt in a matter of certainty, for instance, when scolding a servant: "Remember, am I not your master?"

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord adds this to show that when faith fails, prayer dies. Therefore, to pray, we must have faith; and so that our faith does not fail, we must pray. Faith pours forth prayer, and the pouring out of the heart in prayer gives steadfastness to faith.