Wisdom 18:14-16; 19:6-9. Remember the marvels the Lord has done – Psalm 104(105):2-3, 36-37, 42-43. Luke 18:1-8.

The parable of the unjust judge

In one of the translation footnotes to this parable, the unjust judge grants the plaintiff’s appeal because he fears that if he doesn’t, she might (quote) ‘slap my face.’ There are quite a number of widows in the New Testament – this widow would seem to be a feisty one! In fact, neither of characters in this story are stained-glass images. A judge who has ‘no fear of God and no respect for anyone’ and a woman who has no fear of a rackety lawyer in charge. I think this story was told to the other guests at one of those ‘deplorable’ dinner parties that Jesus was fond of attending. Life can be very messy, and fairness elusive. Jesus knows how it is for people on the margins, graduates of the university of hard knocks. They need a God who will listen to the prayers of the broken-hearted. And so do I.