Jesus tells a story that is all too true – a defenseless widow is taken advantaged of and refused her rights. There are two characters in Jesus’ parable: they are complete opposites. First, there is the judge, “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” He took no responsibility for the care of the widow and the dispossessed. He was in it completely for himself. In all likelihood, he made his decisions in court all on the basis of what would get him more power, more money, more control.
Then we have the other character – A widow. As such, she had no husband to act as her lawful entity in a court of law. The word for “widow” in Hebrew means “silent one” or “one unable to speak. Women did not speak on their own behalf. Because widows were not included in Hebrew laws on inheritance, they became common symbols of the exploited and oppressed. Prophets like Isaiah (Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 10:2) and Malachi (Malachi 3:5) criticized the harsh treatment they received, and throughout the Bible widows are viewed as being under the special protection of God (Jeremiah 49:11; Psalm 68:6; James 1:27).
Here we have a widow who appears before a wicked judge. Widows didn’t have money to pay a lawyer. Or, in this case a male family member to speak on her behalf. She is alone, in a vulnerable situation, and she is desperate. Being already deprived of everything of value in this society, what else does she have to lose? Her life? All she had was an adversary, a case, and a claim that justice be served. Not much going for her where the judge “neither feared God nor respected any human being.”
After being brushed off by the judge when she first came to his court. What could she do for him as she possessed no money or power? That night she gave it much thought and prayer. “What should I do tomorrow?” The answer became clear to her – she would do the only thing she could. She would go back to court and plead her claim for justice again. And she did. No new evidence, no different legal strategy. Each night praying her prayer to God and the same plea the next day and the next and, yes, the next. Her plea was a simple one: “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.”
But, the widow had one other possession—an unquenchable will – a stubbornness – tenacity – and in the end: perseverance through prayer. We have this same perseverance if we follow these ten steps to success.
- Try
- Try again
- Try once more
- Try a little differently
- Try it again tomorrow
- Try and ask for help.
- Try to find someone who has done it
- Try to fix what is not working
- Try to expand what is working
- Just keep trying until you succeed
Moses teaches us the same thing about prayer and persistence. Moses.stands on the top of a hill where he can see a fight going on below, one he has ordered. To give his general, Joshua, victory over enemy forces, he holds out what our reading calls “the staff of God” over the battle. He has to continue holding it out, straight-armed, until the combat is completely done. If he lowers his arms the enemy starts to win. This goes on for a long time and Moses’ arms grow weary until he has help. Moses gets fatigued as he is doing the equivalent of prayer.Through sheer persistence she wears down the unscrupulous judge until he gives her justice. He does vindicate the widow against her adversary. Against all odds, the widow has gained a real hearing for her case and has been judged rightly. Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) to give his disciples hope and confidence in God’s unfailing care and favor towards us (grace). Persistence pays off, and that’s especially true for those who trust in God.
St. Luke tells us that this parable of Jesus is about prayer and about the character of God. Because our God does care for the poor ones, the widows and outcasts, our prayers always need to include intercessions for these the powerless.
Every prayer in the Mass (worship service) is consistent with the virtues of the one who hears our prayers and works for justice. Prayers for ourselves, our forgiveness and healing are offered: “Say the word and I shall be healed,” we pray. But our prayer does not stop when we have prayed for ourselves. The needs of the church are our first concern as the faithful offer their communal prayer. Then our focus is directed to public authorities and the salvation of the whole world. Then we pray for those burdened by any kind of difficulty, anywhere in the world. And turning our attention to our local community, we pray for issues and people who are in leadership and who are in need.
It was in St Paul’s Letter to the young bishop, Timothy, one of Paul’s former traveling companions that he tells Timothy the two secrets for holding onto his Christian faith.
- “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it.”
- “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, and equipped for every good work.”
All of us here today value our faith, that’s why we are here. We know that we are weak and short-sighted. We know that our faith, which God has given to us as a gift, is the source of the strength and light that we need in order to weather life’s storms and find true fulfillment. None of us wants to lose our faith. It would be good for us to apply to our own lives Paul’s advice to Timothy.
Jesus ends his parable with a probing question for us. Will you and I have faith? The kind of faith that doesn’t give up or lose hope in God, but perseveres to the end of our lives, and to the end of this present age when the Lord Jesus will return in glory as Ruler and Judge of All? Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. We could not believe, trust, and persevere with hope if God did not first draw us to himself and reveal to us his merciful love and care. If we want to grow and persevere in faith until the end of our days, then we must nourish our faith with the word of God and ask the Lord to increase it (Luke 17:5). When trials and setbacks disappoint you, where do you place your hope and confidence?
Our greatest privilege, is to be with Jesus. To be with Jesus in his suffering and to be with Jesus in his triumph. To belong completely to Jesus, and to possess him as the great love of our souls. We need to be able to say with St Paul, “the life I live now is not my own, but it is Christ living in me.”