Title: No Despair (Luke 18:21-28)
On the other hand, the phrase 'Pray always and do not lose heart' is equivalent to two commands, 'Pray always' and 'Do not lose heart', which are commands to do both. However, the first is an affirmative statement, whereas the second is a negative statement. In this case, the two commands do not point to different things at all. Praying all the time refers to one thing or method about not becoming discouraged. The act of reading a book from the saying 'Read a book and do not fall asleep' is a specific content of the act of not falling asleep, and it is also a means of doing so. In the command to pray always and never lose heart, the act of praying always is a way of embodying an attitude not to be discouraged. Not getting discouraged here means not giving up on eschatological hopes and sticking with them. Those who are not discouraged pray. Praying clearly shows that we are not discouraged.
Apocalyptic hope is not a rosy blueprint for the future built on the ground that things are going well. The eschatological hope is the struggle of God's oppressed people in the face of the grim reality to not be discouraged, but to stand up for the last ray of light that God will eventually rescue them. Apocalyptic hope is a faint whisper from afar to push through the walls of reality's despair. The receiver that catches this whisper is faith.
The appearance of the widow as the main character in the parable represents the plight of the helpless and the weak. This widow's appeal to a judge who neither fears God nor respects man, that is, an unjust and ruthless judge, indicates the desperate situation she is in.
The enemy of the widow is the strong. Unjust judges tend to favor the strong. Judging reality with sober eyes, there is no hope for a widow. Even in this darkness of despair, this widow did not give up and constantly knocked on the wall of despair. Despite the unjust judge's non-response, he was not discouraged and continued to harass. It is essential to clarify the meaning of this parable to reveal what the widow struggles to solve.