When Jesus had finished this parable, he said, "Do you hear what the unrighteous judge says? If, being unrighteous, he nevertheless defended the unfortunate widow, who persistently asked him for protection, then will not God protect His elect, who cry out to Him day and night, although He is slow to protect them? I tell you that He will give them protection soon (Luke 18:6-8). If the persistence of the widow's entreaties pierced the hardened conscience of the unjust judge and forced him to intercede for the offended one, then is it even possible to think that the Righteous Judge, God, will not fulfill the prayers of those who can be considered His chosen ones, who both their thoughts and actions are in harmony with His will? But the Lord sometimes hesitates to give what is asked even to such chosen ones, testing the strength and strength of their faith; hesitates, but still serves.

Thus, there can be no doubt that God, as the Righteous Judge, will fulfill His promise and will always give believers what they ask for, although not immediately. But can we be sure that these believers will always have proper faith in His word? Will this faith be preserved in them to the end? This can still be doubted. But righteous people would sooner weaken in their faith than God would depart from His promises.

Thus, if there is no room for doubt, then despondency is also inappropriate. A believer must pray, firmly believe in the possibility of receiving what he asks for, by his deeds become worthy of it, that is, become as it were chosen, and never lose heart if what he asks for is not given soon. I say to you, says Christ, that He will give them protection soon.

One must always pray, Christ said. But how to pray, with what feeling to approach prayer – this is indicated in the next parable of the Pharisee and the publican.

Prayers of the Pharisee and the Publican

The Pharisee and the publican entered the temple to pray. The publican, acknowledging himself to be a great sinner, stood far from everyone; not daring to approach the holy place, not even daring to raise his eyes to heaven, he humbly said: God! be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). And the Pharisee stood in front of all, that all might see him praying; acknowledging himself sinless, he did not ask God for mercy, but only thanked Him: God! I thank Thee that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of all that I acquire (Luke 18:11-12).

The law of Moses obliged the Jews to fast only one day a year, namely, the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 16:29), the day of atonement; But some of the Jews, wishing to appear especially pious, fasted for two days of each week, the second and the fifth. The law of Moses obliged every Jew to give to God (for the maintenance of the Levites) a tenth of all the production of seeds... which comes from the field every year (Deut. 14:22), and from the fruit of the tree (Lev. 27:30); The Pharisees, wishing to appear more righteous, gave a tenth of the garden plants. Although the Pharisees boasted that they gave a tenth of all that they acquired, in all likelihood, in excess of what was required by law, they gave away a tenth of their petty income, such as the income of mint, cumin, and other things, and quietly concealed larger sums that they acquired by eating the houses of widows (Matt. 23:14). Be that as it may, the Pharisee of the parable boldly declares to God that he does more good than is required of the righteous; Consequently, he is higher, holier than many righteous men, and therefore cannot even be compared with other people, whom he calls robbers, offenders and adulterers, and especially with this publican, who humbly stood at a distance from him.

Even earlier, at a dinner with one of the leaders of the Pharisees, Christ warned his guests against self-exaltation and at the same time said that he who exalts himself, justifies himself, will be condemned at the final Judgment and humiliated before those who humbly acknowledged themselves to be more sinful than other people and thereby humiliated themselves before them (see above, p. 590). Christ repeated the same thought now, adding that the praying publican of the parable left the temple somewhat relieved of the weight of his sins, while the proud Pharisee, although he came out self-satisfied and proud, did not receive justification and was not delivered from the humiliation that awaited him in the future.

Applying this parable to ourselves, looking into the depths of our souls, we must confess that we are often the same Pharisees of whom Christ spoke. In adversity, we murmur and say: "Why does God punish me? Surely I have no sins for which I deserve such a punishment? I am not a murderer, not a robber, not a thief; I attend the temple of God almost every Sunday and on all major feasts; I observe all the sacraments and rites of my religion; I give alms to the poor and am a member of the parish charitable society; I am not like other people; Why then dost Thou punish me thus, O Lord?" Let us be ashamed of such a resemblance and humbly repeat the words of the publican: "O God! be merciful to me, a sinner. We are all sinners and must remember that some of us will be punished more severely for a small sin than others for serious sins; that if much is given to us, much will be demanded of us.

A Conversation with a Rich Young Man and the Apostles About Wealth

All of the preceding talks had taken place on Jesus' way to Jerusalem, during the stops necessary for rest. After one of these halts, when Jesus was going out to continue His journey, someone ran up to Him, fell on his knees before Him and asked: "Good Teacher! What must I do to inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17).

The lawyer asked Jesus the same question (see above, p. 569), boldly wishing to test Him in the knowledge of the law. But the young man who fell on his knees before Jesus really wanted to know what he had to do in order to get into the Kingdom of Heaven about which the Galilean Teacher preached.

"You call Me Teacher, therefore you address Me as a man," said Jesus, "why do you call Me good? After all, only God is good. But if you want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and have there the bliss of eternal life, then fulfill the commandments.

The young man knew the commandments given by God through Moses, but he wanted to know if there were any others that he did not know, and therefore he asked: "What commandments should I keep?"