Scripture Notes: The Persistent Widow (Luke 18)

Jesus is the master storyteller. His parables are compelling, creative, and often shocking. At the beginning of Luke 18, Jesus offers the story of the persistent widow. This woman apparently has a lawsuit in progress. She has an adversary, someone who is trying to oppress her, and she wants justice. But the judge in the town simply does not care. He does not fear God nor any human being. He is going to do what he wants when he wants no msatter how it affects others. And in this case, he has no intention of giving justice to the widow.

But the widow keeps pestering him, over and over. She refuses to give up. She demands justice, literally in the Greek, vengeance or punishment for her adversary. This person has wronged her, and justice must be served. And as a widow, she has no one else to advocate for her. She can hardly advocate for herself, for a woman’s word holds no power in a court of law. Unless the judge acts with justice and mercy, she cannot prevail.

Yet the widow persists, to such an extent that the judge gets annoyed and even a little frightened. She keeps bothering him, and apparently things escalate to the point that the judge fears she might come and strike him. The Greek is literally give him a black eye. This wouldn’t look good at all. A distinguished judge like himself walking around with a black eye! It would be very difficult to explain. So justice and mercy and decency aside, the judge decides he will settle the widow’s lawsuit in her favor just to get rid of her, and to avoid embarrassment for himself. 

Jesus uses this little tale to make a point. If this unjust judge, who cares nothing for God or human beings, responds to persistence, how much more will the perfectly good, perfectly loving God respond to the persistence of our prayers. He will, Jesus declares. He will answer, and He will make sure justice is done speedily for those who cry out to Him. 

That word “speedily” might catch us, for sometimes it seems like God is anything but speedy in answering our prayers. God’s timing is always perfect, of course, but it is definitely not our timing. God often makes us wait and pray more, for as St. Augustine says, our prayers stretch us and make us able to hold more of the wonderful gifts God wants to give us. 

So like the widow, we must be persistent in prayer, knowing that we are not pestering an unjust judge but coming humbly and lovingly before our loving God so that He can stretch us out and then fill us up with all the best.