Keys to God’s Kingdom - week 4
Luke 18:1-6
This is a good week to think about stereotypes, because there are plenty of them found in parables like the one we heard today. A stereotype is a widely-held, set idea about someone or something (based on their actions or behaviors); stereotypes are often oversimplified. They can be positive and accurate, or untrue and unfair. Let’s see if you can identify some stereotypes from the 1950’s in America. I’ll name a task or role and you tell me whether a male or female would have typically done that:
Congrats! You have accurate knowledge about gender stereotypes in mid-century America. Some of you lived through those days, others knew people who’d experienced that era. Stereotypes change with time, due to a range of influences. If I used the same list of tasks and roles, but in the context of 2022, how many would change? Some… most… all of them?
In today’s parable we need to clearly see the main characters, the widow and the judge, through accurate, conventional stereotypes from their day and culture. Without that knowledge we’ll miss the shocking elements. What unsettled and challenged Jesus’ original audience, his 12 disciples, will strike us once we perceive the parable as they did.
We’ll start with the judge, who described himself as someone who “doesn’t fear God or respect people”. That immediately sets him up as a distasteful character, certainly not the hero in the story. This description points to apathy, or maybe just a strong anti-social personality. If that assumption is true, he wouldn’t have respected people he saw at work or in his community; he would have been isolated. A man without meaningful relationships with other people, a loner of sorts. Since that’s how he goes through life, when the widow comes to him repeatedly, we can easily imagine his dislike of that. He brushed off others, it seems, so ignoring her wouldn’t have been too hard.
To our surprise, the judge one day made a judgment in favor of the widow. We’re caught off-guard by this, but glad to hear this outcome. If the story ended there, we might conclude that the judge redeemed himself. But we’re told that he just relented, threw in the towel, because he was sick and tired of the woman’s badgering. It was the only way he knew to make her stop. Hearing this, the pendulum, at least for me, swings toward having sympathy with the judge; he sounds henpecked and in need of relief.
This parable has a lot of layers to it, but an ideal place to start is with an understanding of a judge’s job description in Jesus’ day. It’s very different from what’s practiced these days. Back then, when one or more individuals came to a judge, they explained their case; the judge would ask questions until he felt he fully understood the conflict. He’d then become an arbiter, helping people see their problems more clearly. He may have brought the civil or religious laws of the land to their attention. He likely did the same when it came to the cultural norms of the day. People sought the counsel of a judge believing there’d be a just resolution. While a judge had the power to mete out punishment in serious cases, his primary role was to help people be reconciled.
With these insights about being a first-century judge, let’s return to the parable and see if we have any fresh insights. When our ears heard that the judge didn’t feel reverence for God - he wasn’t “religious” - was that a troubling concern for you? Would you be concerned if a presiding judge had no faith? We don’t generally think about the faith life, or lack thereof, of judges these days.
In Jesus’ day Jewish judges were expected to be faith-filled, both as a role model and in making wise rulings. I suspect that many of us here today have been in a courtroom for one reason or another. If you have, how do you think your experience might have been different if the judge was a devoted Christian? Do you think they might’ve made a different ruling in your case? Would they be more likely to advocate for reconciliation, or an amicable separation, rather than a punitive judgment?
The judge in today’s parable got fed up with the widow’s frequent petitions. We aren’t told whether she petitioned him only where he held court. The woman could have followed him to the market where he shopped, or to his home. She may’ve harassed him unreasonably. The scope of her pursuit is unknowable.
I find it interesting that this parable has often been called “The Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge”. The word persistent has a positive meaning: someone is admirably devoted to something. Another word that could be used to describe her is begging, a much more negative word. Begging portrays someone of a lower status, desperate, asking a person with more power or resources to grant them what they need right away.
Do you think the widow was persistent or begging? One is a positive character trait; the other is usually an unsuccessful strategy. The key to unlocking the answer is actually found in a Greek word. The way the widow interacts with the judge is described using a boxing term. The plainest way to put it is that she was “pummeling an opponent”. Jesus chose a provocative verb here; his disciples would have laughed because their worldview didn’t have women doing such things. Can you picture the widow as a lightweight compared to the judge? Her sparring blows could never be as forceful as a welterweight. But her constant petitions worked; they were like repeated jabs to an opponent in the ring. They had a cumulative impact.
It’s obvious that the judge isn’t a hero figure, but we may feel some sympathy for him. He sounds a bit harassed by a plaintiff who was close enough to him to get in frequent jabs. Nowadays, that kind of behavior can result in a judge getting a well-deserved order of protection.
Now, let’s look more closely at the widow. She defies the stereotype in every way possible; she would have shocked the disciples. For example, many widows were poor, but she was able to seek out the judge many times; could that imply she had financial security and could spend her days as she wished? Also, widows were typically dependent on the husband’s extended family, but this woman comes alone, which is puzzling. Other gender stereotypes might lead people to think she was quiet or reserved, not assertive or feisty. Some might assume she’d lack the ability to capably state her case, but she seems capable of doing that independently. And rather than be passive, or a victim, she pursues the judge proactively. If a man did that, he might be called assertive, but a woman is more likely to be accused of harassment. Would you agree?
This woman in Jesus’ parable would not have been someone his disciples could relate to at all. She was unconventional, not following long-held norms for a female, especially a widow. A more comfortable portrayal would present her as reserved and silent; she’d likely show her subservience to a man with great authority by kneeling before him, head bowed, waiting to be recognized. Jesus shattered that stereotype, didn’t he? He gave us a character more likely to raise her fist in the air and boldly approach with her request - like someone protesting who won’t give up! This image captures the parable’s message: Jesus said, “Always pray and don’t ever give up.”
Now we’ll step back far enough from this parable to see Jesus’ provoking questions for our lives. First, have people ever made assumptions about you based on your gender, stereotyping you? Have you ever had honest conversations with others about that? Can you speak truth to power if something’s important to you? How much stamina do you have, when you’re in a corner facing something fearful, false, or unjust? Do you pray and ask God to help you? How do you persevere and not give up during what might be a long fight or ordeal?
I have to mention one more shocking thing about today’s widow, even though it isn’t flattering at all: she wasn’t pursuing justice when she came before the judge - she wanted to be avenged. That shifts our view of her, doesn’t it? She wasn’t considering reconciliation; she wanted her opponent hurt in some way. Maybe punished financially, or by ruining their reputation. Perhaps having them lose their job. She wanted punishment meted out, and to be a spectator when it happened. If we were rooting for the widow as the parable began, her toxic desire for revenge should turn us away from admiring her. She may have been a feisty, gender-norm-busting, savvy widow but her motives were flawed. Let’s be careful as we pray and live in this world so that we don’t find ourselves seeking revenge.
This ending feels bitter. Neither the judge nor the widow is admirable. She wanted harm to fall on someone, no second chance or compromise. Has someone ever refused to forgive you? It’s hard when relationships are fractured, but it’s excruciating when they are terminated, especially against our will.
From a far distance God looks down at our lives. Jesus knows the temptation to hurt others when we get hurt. But vengeance should never be something we seek. Some things need to be dealt with in a higher court than what we have here on earth. Jesus told this parable purposefully: he knew that any disciple of his who “always prayed and never gave up” could live through all things, good and bad.
Instead, let’s remember that God is like a judge who listens and understands all aspects of a problem. He wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to think carefully about the goodness of His laws and pattern our lives after them.
For whatever time we have left, God wants us to seek Him and read His word when we need an arbiter, or wisdom, so we can be reconciled. And if that fails, we ask to be shown a way we can amicably part one from the other.
Someday in heaven, God who is just and righteous will restore us one to the other. We shall know peace and walk in joy. Until that day comes, I pray God keeps us united in faith, a community bound together with Christ’s great love. May it be so, amen!
- High school principal
- Office Secretary
- President of the United States of America
- CEO of a large corporation
- Person who cleans and cooks in a family
- Parent who handles serious discipline problems with their children
- Person who prepares lunches to be served in school cafeterias
- An airplane pilot
- Person most likely to sew or buy clothing for themselves, or their family
- Person taught to drive a large tractor on a farm
- Most likely to make a dessert using jello for a potluck
- A judge
- A nurse
- A pastor of a church
Congrats! You have accurate knowledge about gender stereotypes in mid-century America. Some of you lived through those days, others knew people who’d experienced that era. Stereotypes change with time, due to a range of influences. If I used the same list of tasks and roles, but in the context of 2022, how many would change? Some… most… all of them?
In today’s parable we need to clearly see the main characters, the widow and the judge, through accurate, conventional stereotypes from their day and culture. Without that knowledge we’ll miss the shocking elements. What unsettled and challenged Jesus’ original audience, his 12 disciples, will strike us once we perceive the parable as they did.
We’ll start with the judge, who described himself as someone who “doesn’t fear God or respect people”. That immediately sets him up as a distasteful character, certainly not the hero in the story. This description points to apathy, or maybe just a strong anti-social personality. If that assumption is true, he wouldn’t have respected people he saw at work or in his community; he would have been isolated. A man without meaningful relationships with other people, a loner of sorts. Since that’s how he goes through life, when the widow comes to him repeatedly, we can easily imagine his dislike of that. He brushed off others, it seems, so ignoring her wouldn’t have been too hard.
To our surprise, the judge one day made a judgment in favor of the widow. We’re caught off-guard by this, but glad to hear this outcome. If the story ended there, we might conclude that the judge redeemed himself. But we’re told that he just relented, threw in the towel, because he was sick and tired of the woman’s badgering. It was the only way he knew to make her stop. Hearing this, the pendulum, at least for me, swings toward having sympathy with the judge; he sounds henpecked and in need of relief.
This parable has a lot of layers to it, but an ideal place to start is with an understanding of a judge’s job description in Jesus’ day. It’s very different from what’s practiced these days. Back then, when one or more individuals came to a judge, they explained their case; the judge would ask questions until he felt he fully understood the conflict. He’d then become an arbiter, helping people see their problems more clearly. He may have brought the civil or religious laws of the land to their attention. He likely did the same when it came to the cultural norms of the day. People sought the counsel of a judge believing there’d be a just resolution. While a judge had the power to mete out punishment in serious cases, his primary role was to help people be reconciled.
With these insights about being a first-century judge, let’s return to the parable and see if we have any fresh insights. When our ears heard that the judge didn’t feel reverence for God - he wasn’t “religious” - was that a troubling concern for you? Would you be concerned if a presiding judge had no faith? We don’t generally think about the faith life, or lack thereof, of judges these days.
In Jesus’ day Jewish judges were expected to be faith-filled, both as a role model and in making wise rulings. I suspect that many of us here today have been in a courtroom for one reason or another. If you have, how do you think your experience might have been different if the judge was a devoted Christian? Do you think they might’ve made a different ruling in your case? Would they be more likely to advocate for reconciliation, or an amicable separation, rather than a punitive judgment?
The judge in today’s parable got fed up with the widow’s frequent petitions. We aren’t told whether she petitioned him only where he held court. The woman could have followed him to the market where he shopped, or to his home. She may’ve harassed him unreasonably. The scope of her pursuit is unknowable.
I find it interesting that this parable has often been called “The Persistent Widow and the Unjust Judge”. The word persistent has a positive meaning: someone is admirably devoted to something. Another word that could be used to describe her is begging, a much more negative word. Begging portrays someone of a lower status, desperate, asking a person with more power or resources to grant them what they need right away.
Do you think the widow was persistent or begging? One is a positive character trait; the other is usually an unsuccessful strategy. The key to unlocking the answer is actually found in a Greek word. The way the widow interacts with the judge is described using a boxing term. The plainest way to put it is that she was “pummeling an opponent”. Jesus chose a provocative verb here; his disciples would have laughed because their worldview didn’t have women doing such things. Can you picture the widow as a lightweight compared to the judge? Her sparring blows could never be as forceful as a welterweight. But her constant petitions worked; they were like repeated jabs to an opponent in the ring. They had a cumulative impact.
It’s obvious that the judge isn’t a hero figure, but we may feel some sympathy for him. He sounds a bit harassed by a plaintiff who was close enough to him to get in frequent jabs. Nowadays, that kind of behavior can result in a judge getting a well-deserved order of protection.
Now, let’s look more closely at the widow. She defies the stereotype in every way possible; she would have shocked the disciples. For example, many widows were poor, but she was able to seek out the judge many times; could that imply she had financial security and could spend her days as she wished? Also, widows were typically dependent on the husband’s extended family, but this woman comes alone, which is puzzling. Other gender stereotypes might lead people to think she was quiet or reserved, not assertive or feisty. Some might assume she’d lack the ability to capably state her case, but she seems capable of doing that independently. And rather than be passive, or a victim, she pursues the judge proactively. If a man did that, he might be called assertive, but a woman is more likely to be accused of harassment. Would you agree?
This woman in Jesus’ parable would not have been someone his disciples could relate to at all. She was unconventional, not following long-held norms for a female, especially a widow. A more comfortable portrayal would present her as reserved and silent; she’d likely show her subservience to a man with great authority by kneeling before him, head bowed, waiting to be recognized. Jesus shattered that stereotype, didn’t he? He gave us a character more likely to raise her fist in the air and boldly approach with her request - like someone protesting who won’t give up! This image captures the parable’s message: Jesus said, “Always pray and don’t ever give up.”
Now we’ll step back far enough from this parable to see Jesus’ provoking questions for our lives. First, have people ever made assumptions about you based on your gender, stereotyping you? Have you ever had honest conversations with others about that? Can you speak truth to power if something’s important to you? How much stamina do you have, when you’re in a corner facing something fearful, false, or unjust? Do you pray and ask God to help you? How do you persevere and not give up during what might be a long fight or ordeal?
I have to mention one more shocking thing about today’s widow, even though it isn’t flattering at all: she wasn’t pursuing justice when she came before the judge - she wanted to be avenged. That shifts our view of her, doesn’t it? She wasn’t considering reconciliation; she wanted her opponent hurt in some way. Maybe punished financially, or by ruining their reputation. Perhaps having them lose their job. She wanted punishment meted out, and to be a spectator when it happened. If we were rooting for the widow as the parable began, her toxic desire for revenge should turn us away from admiring her. She may have been a feisty, gender-norm-busting, savvy widow but her motives were flawed. Let’s be careful as we pray and live in this world so that we don’t find ourselves seeking revenge.
This ending feels bitter. Neither the judge nor the widow is admirable. She wanted harm to fall on someone, no second chance or compromise. Has someone ever refused to forgive you? It’s hard when relationships are fractured, but it’s excruciating when they are terminated, especially against our will.
From a far distance God looks down at our lives. Jesus knows the temptation to hurt others when we get hurt. But vengeance should never be something we seek. Some things need to be dealt with in a higher court than what we have here on earth. Jesus told this parable purposefully: he knew that any disciple of his who “always prayed and never gave up” could live through all things, good and bad.
Instead, let’s remember that God is like a judge who listens and understands all aspects of a problem. He wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to think carefully about the goodness of His laws and pattern our lives after them.
For whatever time we have left, God wants us to seek Him and read His word when we need an arbiter, or wisdom, so we can be reconciled. And if that fails, we ask to be shown a way we can amicably part one from the other.
Someday in heaven, God who is just and righteous will restore us one to the other. We shall know peace and walk in joy. Until that day comes, I pray God keeps us united in faith, a community bound together with Christ’s great love. May it be so, amen!