The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Our friend Bob Giolotto is preaching on this Gospel this morning at St. Matthew’s in Wilton. He is going to begin the sermon like this: “Persistence – Toilet Training.” Now, since I have no kids, you might think I have no experience with this situation. Aha, but I’ve raised several Chihuahua puppies so I assure you that I do! And, yes, it definitely takes persistence.

The first thing about the parable about which we need to be clear is that Jesus is not suggesting that God is like that judge—an unjust person who only gives in when he is badgered. In fact, the spotlight in this story is not on the judge, but on the widow. The key message here is there is a special place in God’s heart for vulnerable people—widows, orphans, the poor, the lost, the oppressed, and the broken hearted.

This parable has to do with the struggle and endurance of a poor widow who found new energy to continue resisting the unjust situation with which she dealt.  The setting of the story is a certain city, and we all know that there are authorities in every city who are too often corrupt and seek their own interest and expect to be adulated and revered by the people.

In the time of Jesus, they often made alliances with the priests, governors, military chiefs and the rich. In the writings of the Prophets, we read the critiques of the kings, judges, priests and false prophets of Israel and Judah. The insistence in the Scriptures on doing justice for the widow and orphan is due to the fact that for those living in poverty, there was no justice.

It is a simple, ugly fact of life: wherever there are money and power there is corruption.

Now this judge was a bad dude who did not fear God or respect human beings. He preferred to listen to those who had power, prestige and money than to those who sought justice. Twice the parable makes the point that this judge respected no one, not even God. He represented someone who was the opposite of the widow. She was poor, a woman, a widow—in other words she was totally vulnerable and defenseless—who had a legal case pending against someone who had wronged her.

In the culture of first century Palestine, widows, orphans and foreigners were the most unprotected persons, frequently overlooked and their rights often denied. It was the male-controlled, patriarchal system that was responsible for the problems experienced by widows. Women belonged to men as if they were little more than objects and did not have the right to make decisions about or for themselves. Widows were essentially on their own.

While the parable doesn't tell us what injustice had been committed against her, it was not uncommon for widows to have their homes violently taken away from them. We don't know why the woman went to the judge, but surely it had to be something important for her survival, since she insisted interminably that he hear her petition. Repeatedly this woman went before the judge saying, "Grant me justice against my opponent,” simply demanding her rights before the courts of justice.

One day the judge said to himself, "Because this woman keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” The judge didn't concede out of his own good will; the rights of widows did not interest him. The judge gave in because he was overcome by the widow's perseverance. He wanted her to go away.

The story tells us nothing about the woman’s appearance or personality. But by transporting her into this century, we can easily imagine her dressed in a shapeless old coat, an ancient felt hat and sturdy shoes. Like a traditional southern grandmother, I can imagine also that her weapon of choice would be a big floral parasol. She would thump that parasol on the floor in front of the judge — and look as though she were seriously considering doing damage to his honorableness.

Times have not changed that much in this regard, and this parable has real contemporary applications. Women still struggle for justice. American culture is not as oppressive as the culture in which this widow lived but there are many parts of the world where women are treated very poorly.

And in this land of the free, women have struggled for justice for the right to vote, for equality in academe and in the work place, for the right to ordination in the church. There is still great disparity between women and men in some arenas. We can add to this mix anyone who lives life on the margins just because of who they are.

The widow in this parable gives all of us a great example of how we have to keep working for justice in the present-day social order. We cannot simply accept the injustices that are committed against so many people in the world and just shrug our shoulders, cross our arms, and feel helpless. Yes, we must pray but we must also act; we must stand-up for; we must persevere.

When the odds are great, and there seems no hope for change, our God, who is not like the bad judge, will respond. In the end, justice will triumph. But even as we pray without ceasing, it is also our responsibility to be obstinate, and to remain steadfastly present in the struggle for justice.

When we challenge and wrestle with the wrongs of the world like Jacob in our first lesson, and do not collapse against the forces of injustice, we begin to attain what we seek. Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s words ring so true: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put all together that overwhelm the world.”