That annoying woman......

It's called the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18. 1-8) but I think that if we had encountered this woman at our front door again.....and again.......and again....well, we might use much less neutral language about this woman who simply won't go away. Our society has some pretty nasty language for women who don't conform to our idea of appropriate behavior.

Jesus, however, has no problem with the widow, but is fairly clear about his opinion in this situation.  The problem is the Unjust Judge and not the widow who keeps coming back for satisfaction.  In fact, Jesus would be hard pressed to draw the picture of this judge any more harshly:  "..I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone...." the judge says about himself.  Or to paraphrase, I am really only concerned about myself (and maybe his family but even that isn't for certain.).

The humor in this little story is lost in our translation into English.  The judge is concerned that the widow would 'wear me out' with her persistence, but the Greek verb gives us a different picture: it implies that the judge will end up 'black and blue' from the widow's constant harangue.  This leads us to a picture of some poverty stricken woman who will not be silenced, perhaps even shaking her fist at the judge.

I like to picture her pounding on the judge's front door. 'Don't you ignore me.  I know you are in there.  Give me justice you [perhaps she included a few descriptors here like 'good for nothing'] judge.  Give me justice.'

Jesus tells this parable in the context of prayer.  Luke says, "Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart."  Prayer would have been my last thought about this scene of a widow demanding justice.  Certainly Luke concludes with "will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?"   I would conclude that we, like the persistent widow, are not to flag in the work of bringing the injustice of this world to the throne of God.  We are not to get lazy and allow injustice to flourish.

We are to enter into the fray wherever and as long as injustice continues here among us.  We are to be the ones pounding on the door of heaven, and the doors of the unjust judges around us, so that action will be taken and the powerless protected.

How will this re-shape your prayer life?  How will this prayer re-shape your day to day life?