bondage in Egypt. Jesus frames the corrupt judge of the parable as a clownish
surrogate for God. In rich Semitic sarcasm, He asks his disciples to picture this
all-too-familiar scenario of a self-important public official dismissing the just
claims of an insignificant (in his mind) woman as a matter of pure indifference.
However, the woman has a resource that even the powerful judge cannot with-
stand: persistence. In his cavalier rejection of justice, this official didn't make the
matter "go away" in the manner he expected. Finally, just to preserve his mo-
mentary comfort, the judge reluctantly and unintentionally grants real justice to
the oppressed widow. Jesus wryly asks his followers if they think God is likely to
do a little better in the justice arena than the petty judge. He challenges them to
keep faith and expect the ultimate arrival of the power of Goodness.
The story must have been a refreshing parody of all that Jesus had been showing
and saying to his followers about the long-range care and reliability we can all
expect the Father. He was rephrasing the ancient biblical credo that, while jus-
tice may not keep
our
timetable, it will arrive. Be persistent as if you can count
on it, because you can. Sooner or later, unlike the wisdom in the prevailing cul-
ture, all things will work for good, and creation will end where it began--it will
end with a Word and a Divine assessment, "And God saw that it was good."
All in good time, of course.
Prayer
God of All, help us find strength in your miraculous gifts of past and present.
Encourage us to brace each other as we endure the storms of life and hold on for
the rainbows.
_______
Don Milici
Parishioner