The Persistent Old Lady
I love Jesus’ parable of the old widow lady and the corrupt, unjust judge. It is a classic example of our Lord’s use of humor in his teaching ministry. You can read the story for yourself in chapter eighteen of Luke’s gospel. It goes something like this -
There’s a widow in a certain town who is being taken advantage of by a ruthless and clever adversary. Probably some charlatan out to take her property and home. So, in an effort to obtain justice and relief from this unscrupulous and greedy con man, this old lady takes her case to the local courts. Unfortunately, the judge in charge doesn’t give two hoots about her or her problem. In fact, he is described as neither fearing God nor respecting people.
But this old lady is undeterred. She keeps pestering this unjust judge seeking a ruling on her behalf. At first, he refuses to help. He couldn’t really care less about this lady or her problems. But after her relentless requests, the judge finally settles the case, ruling on behalf of the widow.
But he doesn’t do this out of a sense of justice or compassion for the old lady. He does it, because, in his own words, “I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me.” (Lk. 18:5)
This is where we see the humor of Jesus. The phrase, “come and attack me” was used in that day to describe a boxer who lands a knockout punch. Think about it: an old lady who strikes fear into the heart of a grown man! I’ve known a few old ladies like that! In fact, Koreans have a name for them - Ajummas.
I went shopping with one from our church in Seoul one day. It was an experience I’ll never forget. She literally pushed people out of the way to get to the front of the line to help me buy my wife a gift.
But I digress. Back to the story.
Jesus is making a point about God’s willingness to provide justice for his children. It goes something like this - If an unjust judge who neither fears God nor respects people will grant justice if harassed long enough, how much more is God willing to act on behalf of his people who cry out to Him for justice?
This story of Jesus is meant to encourage you and me to pray, in the words he taught us, for God’s kingdom to come, God’s will to be done. We look around at our lives and our world, and it seems that justice is nowhere to be found. It can be discouraging, to say the least. But like the little old lady in the parable, we must never give up. We must continue to pray, asking God to right the wrongs in this broken, sinful world.
What it all comes down to is this - Are we going to trust God in spite of the mess our world is in? Do we have faith that someday God will bring complete and perfect justice to our world?
That’s the question Jesus leaves with us as he concludes the story: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8, NIV)
It’s a haunting question. Haunting because it strikes at the heart of our willingness to believe that, however bad things may seem, God is in control and that someday He will, in the words of Revelation 21:4, God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
Are you living your life in the light of God’s coming justice? Are you praying for His kingdom to come, His will to be done in your life and in our world?
In Christ,
Dan