Ponderings

May 18, 2012

 

Luke 18

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

⁴ "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually come and attack me!'"

⁶ And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

 

 

This story told by Jesus seems to have a two-fold punch.

 

On the one hand, it invites all followers of Christ to have the kind of persistent faith that doesn't give up amidst life's tougher moments... "to show them that they should always pray and not give up." This part of the parable, then, is about persevering, hanging in there, hanging tough and full of faith when all the odds are against you, when life greatly lets you down, when heartache and pain come your way.

 

The other part of the story has to do with justice.  The widow is seeking justice for the wrong done her.  As Jesus puts it, "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?...I tell you, God will see that they get justice."

 

Actually, the heart of this parable is the invitation for you and me to be justice seeking followers of Christ who persistently seek to make things right in this world; who never lose faith that things can be better. While it seems that evil and injustice raise their ugly heads far too often in our world, followers of Christ must be persistent in our unwillingness to accept that things have to be the way they are.

 

The question, of course, is what you and I will do to be God's vessels of acts of justice in our community and in our world.  God is ever working to bring justice to His creation but much of it comes through you and me and all those who claim to love God and love neighbor.

 

I invite you today to sincere reflection on what you are doing to make this community and our world a more just, kind, fair, and better place.  What part are you playing so that God can "see that they get justice, and quickly?"