Why Does God Delay Justice?
First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3,2:2-4
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 94(95):1-2,6-9
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14
Gospel: Luke 17:5-10
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In life, we all meet moments that make us question why God seems so slow to act. Think of a young man who has worked hard for years, living honestly, yet watches those who cheat their way up rise faster. Or a widow who has prayed day and night for her sick child and wonders why healing seems to take forever. Sometimes, we see corrupt leaders go free while innocent people are punished. Or imagine a mother crying for a son unjustly imprisoned, praying for years, yet nothing changes. Even in our Church communities, some who genuinely serve God face endless trials, while those who mock the faith seem to prosper. When things like this happen, we often find ourselves asking quietly, “Lord, where are You? Why don’t You do something?” These questions live in the hearts of many people, not because they doubt God’s power, but because they cannot understand His timing. And that is exactly the cry that fills the book of Habakkuk, our first reading today.
The prophet Habakkuk lived toward the end of the seventh century before Christ, around 612 to 587 BC. It was a time when Judah was drowning in corruption, violence, and injustice. The Assyrian empire had fallen, and Babylon was rising with great cruelty. The people were suffering, and Habakkuk, seeing all this, could not understand why God kept silent. The book of Habakkuk is actually a dialogue between the prophet and God. Its main purpose was to teach the people that faith must endure even when justice seems delayed. It reminds them that God’s silence is not absence, and His delay is not denial. When Habakkuk cries, “How long, O Lord, shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Hab 1:2), he is voicing what so many righteous people feel when evil seems to win. God replies by assuring him that a time will come when justice will be revealed, though it may seem slow. “Write the vision; make it plain… for it will surely come; it will not delay” (Hab 2:2-3). In that message, God gives a key word that holds the heart of this reading: faithfulness. The Hebrew term used is אֱמוּנָה (emunah), which literally means firmness, steadiness, or loyalty. It is not just believing in something, but standing firm even when everything around you shakes. God tells the prophet that “the just shall live by his faithfulness” (Hab 2:4). That means the one who stays steady, even when life feels unfair, is the one who truly lives. So, when God seems silent, He is actually forming our emunah, which is our capacity to stay faithful while waiting for His time.
The responsorial psalm continues this same thought. “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” This psalm recalls the story of Israel in the desert when they grumbled against God at Meribah and Massah (Exodus 17:1-7). They complained because water did not come fast enough. They doubted His care because things did not go their way. That same impatience is what God warns against today. When we face trials and delays, we are tempted to harden our hearts, to stop trusting, and to complain like Israel did. But the psalm calls us to do the opposite: to soften our hearts, to keep listening, and to keep believing even when God’s timing seems strange. The voice of God is still speaking through delays, through suffering, and through unanswered prayers. If we harden our hearts, we miss the lesson that His silence is teaching.
Then, in the Gospel, Jesus carries this conversation forward. The apostles beg Him, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). They were not asking for miracles, but for the kind of steady confidence that can endure when God seems far. Jesus responds by saying that even a tiny bit of faith (faith like a mustard seed) can move a sycamine tree. In other words, the size of faith is not the issue, but its authenticity. A real, living faith trusts God’s justice even when it cannot yet see it. The Gospel of Luke, written around 80 to 85 AD, was meant to strengthen Christians who were losing hope under persecution and delay. At that time, the early Christians were asking the same question Habakkuk asked: “Where is God?” Luke pointed out at one of Jesus’ teachings: “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you…”, to strengthen the community. For Luke, Jesus teaches them that true faith does not demand signs; it obeys even when understanding is missing. Then He adds a parable about the servant who works all day and, at the end, does not expect thanks. The Greek term He uses for servant is δοῦλος (doulos), meaning one completely given to the service of another. The message is clear: our duty is to trust and serve God, not to question His justice or expect immediate rewards. Just as the servant does his work out of loyalty, not for recognition, so must we continue to live in faith even when justice tarries. God’s justice, like the harvest, takes time to ripen.
In the second reading, St. Paul writes to Timothy, encouraging him not to give in to fear but to “fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Tim 1:6). Paul knew that God’s justice sometimes seems delayed, as he himself faced imprisonment and betrayal. Yet he kept the faith because he understood that the delay of justice is not its denial. Paul reminds Timothy to guard the good deposit of faith with perseverance. The lesson is that God’s timing is not measured by human impatience but by divine purpose.
Practically, this speaks to our world today. There are many who lose hope because justice seems too slow. Some even abandon faith, thinking that God no longer sees. But the message of today’s readings is that God’s justice never fails; it only matures in His own time. When we pray and nothing seems to change, God is not ignoring us. He may be building our emunah, teaching us to stand firm when feelings fade. When evil people seem to succeed, we must remember the psalm: “Harden not your hearts.” When our faith feels small, like the apostles, we must pray for growth, not in miracles, but in endurance. And when service feels unrewarded, like the servant in the Gospel, we must keep doing what is right because faithfulness is its own reward.
So, why does God delay justice? Because His justice is not a product of haste but of holiness. His silence purifies our hearts and tests the truth of our faith. The just shall live by emunah (steadfast faith), and those who remain faithful will see that though justice may seem slow, it never fails to come. In His time, every tear will be wiped away, every wrong will be made right, and every faithful servant will finally hear the only “thank you” that truly matters: “Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21).
O that today you would listen to his VOICE, harden not your hearts! (Ps. 95:7)
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Shalom!
© Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ
Seminário Padre Pedro Magnone, São Paulo, Brazil
nozickcjoe@gmail.com / fadacjay@gmail.com
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