the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Our Daily Homily - Volume 3
Luke 18:6—Hear what the unjust judge saith.
The force of this parable lies in its succession of vivid contrasts, which rise to an irresistible climax.
The judge is unjust.—He neither fears God nor regards man. His one idea is to extort as much money as he can from the prisoners who desire to get out of gaol, and from those that want to keep them in, or put others to share their fate. But God is our Father, unimpeachable in his integrity, and only eager to promote our welfare.
The judge had no personal interest in the claimant.—She had no personal attraction for him. Had she been possessed of property, he might have cared more. But now he looked on her as a pest that plagued and worried him. But we are God’s elect, over whom his tender heart vearns. Did He not choose us before all the worlds unto his glory?
The judge answered the widow’s cry just to save himself trouble.—Whenever he went to his seat, there she was. Though he had refused to hear her a score of times, there was her voice again, as clear and penetrating as ever. She had been forcibly hurried from his presence by his officials, and she had been borne screaming and remonstrating into the rear; but she never knew herself defeated. At last he could bear it no longer, and gave orders that her patrimony should be restored.
And will not God do as much, as, generation after generation, He sees his Church, like a widowed soul, oppressed by the great enemy and avenger? As He hears the cries of martyrs and saints; the perpetual prayer, Come, Lord Jesus; the insolent boast of the foe—will He not arse and avenge? Yes, verily, speedily! But it may seem long to us, because one thousand years with Him are as one day.
