October 17, 2004
Exodus 17:8-13 + 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 + Luke 18: 1-8
It is about prayer, but in the mind of Luke, it is also about justice.The two are not separated, and in the context of our instructions about the qualities of a disciple during this Journey to Jerusalem,we ought to perk up and pay attention.The widow of this parable gives us more than a lesson on persistence.She teaches not just how to pray, but also what to pray.Nameless as she is in the context of this Gospel,she becomes symbolic, not just of the poor, but symbolic of the church itself. Disciples of Jesus (that’s the church) learn from the Masterthat perseverance in prayer is important,and that injustice is not to remain where disciples live.
This instruction by Jesus to those who would be His disciples insists that we do not just persevere in prayer, but also that we cry out for justice.Those who believe in Jesus will do so.Those who would follow Jesus to Jerusalem will not leave things the way they are.If we are to be disciples of Jesus,then we cannot be like children playing at home or at school.We cannot know what is right and fail to speak up when something is wrong.We cannot blame a “system” because we are the system.We cannot say: “That’s just the way things are.”because it is our silence that keeps things that way.
God calls believers to speak up and put themselves on the line.It was not easy for that widow to stand again and again before that judge,but she would not be silent while there was injustice.Besides, who knows about him?I wonder sometimes if his change of heart was not more than simply being worn out.Perhaps, he was tired of being part of a system of injustice,and in his heart he thought, “It’s not fair. I am going to do something about it.”
I wonder as well if we might not benefit from shaking up the usual way of hearing this parable.Perhaps we should switch sides and listen to again with us as the judge and God as the woman.It would be a little like the parable of the unjust steward who is clever enough to manipulate his master’s debts to give himself a comfortable retirement.In switching roles here, God would be the one who implores,who will not give up, who continues to persist in calling us to justice.With the hope that even if we are not moved by the right motives,the coming of God’s Reign, we might respond simply out of awarenessthat it will give us some relief!However we hear this parable,the joining of persistent prayer and the cry for justice are not to be separated.
It is not the nature of our God to turn away from injustice whether it be personal/individual acts or systemic injustice in cultures, economies, and politics.We pray again and again, day in and day out the words:”Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done…..”The greatest obstacle to the coming of God’s Reign among us is Injustice.The Church has spoken again and again of this.The Holy Father has said it aloud in the United Nations.True and Lasting Peace comes only when there is Justice.Then all people know the benevolent God who reveals His love for us.Then all people will have a just and fair share of God’s gifts and the resources of this earth.This is the image of the Reign of God Luke proposes to us.To disciples on the Way to the New Jerusalem, God comes along nagging, pestering, urging, pleading, and crying out to us for Justice.It seems to me that the sooner we make Justice a priority in our lives and in our prayer, the sooner our prayers shall be answered, and the Kingdom will Come.