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 18:7-8
Uncertainty is real at the moment. Conventional expectations are being challenged at several levels. The situation in the Middle East worsens day by day. We seem limited in what we can say about this living tragedy due to the way that comment can be misinterpreted.
We need to be very clear. What is happening in Gaza, Lebanon and Israel is wrong and peace with justice is urgently needed. We see the same pattern in the war in Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and other places. Displacement by conflict is growing and the vulnerability of people continues without end. Such wars as these are collective madness. Governments seem impotent and limited in their ability to challenge the levels of war mongering.
This past week I was part of the Action By Churches Together General Assembly in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A Palestinian minister from Jerusalem preached at the first morning worship service and lifted my spirit and gave me a pathway forward. She took as her text the parable of the widow and the unjust judge and drew our attention to these words of Jesus in Luke 18:7-8:
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?’
Here in this passage is a description of ‘faith’ – the chosen ones of God cry day and night in confidence that God does hear and will respond.
It was a good reminder for me to not lose heart, not give up and to stay with our commitment to praying and advocating for peace with justice in the Middle East and other places.
Can I invite you to join with me in not giving up and maintain our commitment to pray for peace and justice as we trust in God together.
Rev John Gilmore
NCCA President
