by Fr. Tommy Lane
Sometimes we have to do a bit of work to figure out the meaning of a parable, but Luke was kind to us in today’s Gospel (Luke 18:1-8) because he told us the meaning of Jesus’ parable even before he told us the parable: Jesus’ parable was about the need to pray always. Of course, he does not mean to pray non-stop but to pray regularly, every day.
In this parable a widow has suffered an injustice of some kind and she keeps pestering a judge until she will get justice. The judge is certainly not a model person as he doesn’t respect God or people but because the widow keeps pestering him, he decides for the sake of peace to give her justice. As people listened to this parable they would have laughed because there is humor in it that we do not see in our English translation. Luke wrote his Gospel in Greek and in his Greek the judge said he would give the woman what she wanted because otherwise he feared she would give him a black eye! Perhaps we are to imagine a pious elderly lady giving a thump to the judge and turning him black and blue! What Jesus wants us to understand is if an unjust judge, who cares neither about God nor others, will give that widow justice because she keeps pestering him, how much more will our heavenly Father assist those in trouble.
Jesus did not say everything would be resolved immediately but he did say to remain with God in prayer until it is resolved. There is suffering in waiting for the answer, but we are to remain with God in prayer during that suffering while awaiting resolution. When bad things happen, like whatever happened to that poor widow in the parable, some blame God and as a result turn away from God because we humans are very strange sometimes. We find it very difficult to separate pain and suffering and bad things that happen to us from God in the sense that we sometimes blame God. But God did not do whatever happened to the widow and if ever there is a temptation to turn from God as a result of pain and suffering and the cross, the very opposite, turning ever more to God, is what will help. When the apostles were in the boat and there was a storm (Matt 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25), they went to Jesus in the boat and asked for his help during the storm. That incident is an example for us. When the storm hits, go to Jesus and Mary all the more. Like that widow not giving the judge rest, remain with Jesus and Mary in prayer. They are the ones who can help us through a storm as we await God’s answer. So, pray to Jesus and Mary every day. Make Jesus and Mary a special part of every day. Let Jesus and Mary be your closest companions all the days of your life. When someone has a particularly difficult suffering, they may in a moment of desperation wonder if God loves them. But Jesus and Mary love you more than you can ever imagine. Receive their love for you in prayer every day.
As well as remaining with Jesus and Mary while awaiting an answer, we can also turn to the Bible for assistance. The second reading today says
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,
equipped for every good work
Just as we have to feed our bodies, we also need to feed our prayer, and we can feed our prayer with our spiritual reading and reading the Bible. One way is to read a paragraph from one of the Gospels as you begin to pray, and then reflect on it and allow it to help you enter into prayer.
Just as we sometimes have to wait patiently in prayer for an answer, God has to move slowly and patiently with us, waiting for us! Moses raising his hands in prayer in our first reading, is a war, although in self-defense (Exod 17:8-13). God had to patiently and gradually teach our forebears that war is not how you accomplish things. Later in the Old Testament, we see the prophets challenging injustice and violence. Passages in the Old Testament such as the first reading are a reminder to us to be humble because God had to slowly teach us, and God too had to be patient waiting for us just as we have to be patient awaiting God’s answer.
When we are suffering like that widow in Jesus’ parable, the important thing is to remain with Jesus and Mary in prayer. When someone has a particularly difficult suffering, they may in a moment of desperation wonder if God loves them. Jesus and Mary love you more than you can ever imagine. Jesus told the parable in today’s Gospel to encourage us to pray always, to pray regularly. If an unjust judge, who cares neither about God nor others, will give that widow justice because she keeps pestering him, how much more will our heavenly Father assist those in trouble. Let Jesus and Mary be your closest companions all the days of your life. Receive their love for you in prayer every day.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday of Year C
The Parable of the Persistent Widow: Persevere in Prayer 2010
Related Homilies: Homilies on Prayer
stories about persistence