​¹ Jesus was telling them a parable about their need to pray continuously and not to be discouraged. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. ³ In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him, asking, ‘Give me justice in this case against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused but finally said to himself, I don’t fear God or respect people, ⁵ but I will give this widow justice because she keeps bothering me. Otherwise, there will be no end to her coming here and embarrassing me.” ⁶ The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ Won’t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he be slow to help them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Human One comes, will he find faithfulness on earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 (CEB)

Uh oh! There’s something in this text that may sound unfamiliar to anyone who is not familiar with the Common English (CEB) translation of scripture! We probably should take a moment to deal with that before continuing.

In most translations, the first part of verse 8 reads something like, “But when the Son of Man comes.” The “Son of Man” is a phrase used by the authors of the New Testament, writing in a highly patriarchal society, to denote and highlight the humanness of Jesus. That is, to indicate that Jesus was not only fully God, but at one and the same time also fully human. More modern translations, like the CEB here, render the Greek as “the Human One” rather than “the Son of Man” for purposes of inclusion to indicate without question that Jesus is the Messiah promised to all of God’s children.

I think that phrase the Human One also speaks to something else in this text. The reactions of the widow and the judge to each other are both very human in nature. The widow wants justice, and rightfully so. The judge wants to be left alone. The widow is convinced that she has been wronged and won’t give up until the judge does something about it. The judge is inclined not to do anything for the widow, but is annoyed by her persistence and decides to do what many people have in similar situations – give the widow what she wants simply to get her to go away. All of this is very, very human.

In the feelings we have on a daily basis due to the fact that we are human, we can often forget the truth of the nature and being of the Christ. We sometimes tend toward thinking of Christ as one with God, which is true, but we forget and are reminded that Jesus was also human, very human, fully human in fact, at the same time. As the old hymn says:

There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus–
No, not one! no, not one!
None else could heal all our soul’s diseases–
No, not one! no, not one!

Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus–
No, not one! no, not one!

It is that very human and very Divine Jesus who reminds us that God will hear us when we plead our case and will give justice to us, who cry out to God day and night. How do we know this? The answer is contained in the Nicene Creed, which I will close this weeks post with. May it be a reminder of our very human faith, hope, and assurance that we are not alone in this world – that, as John Wesley said in his last words before he died, “…best of all, God is with us.”

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
     he came down from heaven,
     was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
     and became truly human.
     For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
     he suffered death and was buried.
     On the third day he rose again
     in accordance with the Scriptures;
     he ascended into heaven
     and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
     He will come again in glory
     to judge the living and the dead,
     and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
     is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
     for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
     and the life of the world to come. Amen.