And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? Luke 18:8 (TJANT)
Will He Find Faith – Widows and Judges Series – Part 5
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6
We’ve been studying the Jesus parable of the persistent widow that Luke wrote about in chapter 18 of his book. Yesterday, I mentioned that the in its original context, the widow was not seeking “justice” as we might perceive… the word originally used more closely translates to ‘vengeance.' Perhaps our widow was not the vulnerable, helpless woman seeking justice, but rather a shrewd and canny woman seeking vengeance who would go to violent means to get it.
But hang on… would a widow, a poor defenceless woman, who needs our care and support, seek vengeance? And threaten violence?
When we break down the stereotypes we bring to this parable, we can really dig into the story.
If this story is about justice, we have to ask:
What does justice look like for Jesus?
That someone pays their debt?
That a wrong is made right?
That the offending party is made accountable for their actions?
For Jesus, is the court the place where you’ll find justice?
And when Jesus promises us justice, what does that mean for those we seek justice from? And what about the justice they seek, too?
Jesus spoke about peace and grace and compassion. Forgiveness and freedom and redemption. He defended the woman who should have been stoned for adultery. He challenged his followers to pray for their Roman oppressors. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes; he healed people without asking whether or not they deserved it. He never used violence to exact justice. In fact, he peacefully submitted himself to an unjust system that manipulated every right that he had and murdered him for no other reason than religious animosity.
His message threatened their control and sense of security.
Now I’m not saying that we should let people walk all over us, that we should never seek justice; that people shouldn’t be made accountable for their actions. But if we lived in a world where justice was extracted for everything done to us, and everything we’ve done to others, we would all owe a debt we could never repay.
In the parable, the judge didn’t grant the widow justice because he thought it was the right thing to do. He did it because he didn’t want to be beaten up and bothered.
Was the widow justified in her accusations and demands? Was she right to threaten the judge with violence to get what was owed her? Don’t for a second think I’m judging her! If someone were to hurt my family or shortchange someone I loved, I would want them to be avenged, too.
This is the hook and challenge of this parable. And perhaps that's why at the outset of this parable, Luke said that it was about our need to pray continually. In a world bent on getting what it thinks it deserves, on vengeance, an eye for an eye; someone somewhere has to stop the cycle. Someone has to forgive. And if that’s not the message of the cross, I don’t know what is.
“All the figures in the parable, and we readers as well, have become enmeshed in, if not colluded with, this system set up at best for a “justice” whose legitimacy is never determined, revenge that by any other name constitutes vengeance. The problem is not ultimately the court. The court is only a system of the larger systemic concern: the human desire for vengeance, a desire that knows no gender or class boundaries, a desire that sucks everyone into its wake. Thus true systemic evil is revealed—and of course readers seek to deny it.” (1).
What does that mean for us?
It means we pray. We pay attention to Spirit, we submit ourselves to grace and redemption. We ask for forgiveness, and we give it, too. Or at least, we work on it. We stand up for justice, yes. But at some point, we have to make a decision about what Godly justice looks like, feels like, and tastes like.
That could be what Jesus meant when he said this after he finished the parable:
“And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Go to Part 6 – Labels are Like Material Possessions »
Written by Lizzy Milani
(1). Short Stories by Jesus. By Amy-Jill Levine. Pg 221 – 246.
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