There are only two characters in this short parable which Jesus told to his disciples. One is a man; the other, a woman. But what an odd pair they are. It is difficult to imagine a more striking contrast between two people than that between the judge and the widow. Neither is named, but their very titles suggest the contrast. "Judge" calls to mind authority, power, representative of the law, dispenser of justice. "Widow" in the culture of Jesus' time suggests helplessness, humility, poverty, vulnerability, loneliness, isolation.

One would expect, then, that in any conflict between the two the widow would not stand a chance. We would expect her to make her plea timidly in a trembling voice, and then at the first roar of the judge's resounding "No" to slip unobtrusively away into the shadows. But not this widow!

She keeps coming back to the judge's court. It is not likely that she brings with her an assortment of high-priced lawyers. It is doubtful that she comes into court with an armful of law books or stacks of briefs and precedents. I cannot imagine her raising her voice or pounding the table. Nor can I see her with downcast eyes nor hear her whimpering her request through piteous tears. The only line she is given in the story is a straightforward, legitimate request: "Grant me justice against my opponent."

We are not told who her opponent is nor what injustice she has suffered. But she seems to have no advocate, and her status as a widow makes her easy prey for a variety of unscrupulous characters. Her case is probably like many the judge hears every day. It may seem unimportant to the judge, but it is of crucial concern to her. Between her and justice is the judge sitting on his high bench in his somber robes. From him she has a right to expect vindication for her situation. But not from this judge!

He is characterized as one who "neither feared God nor had respect for people." He himself acknowledges this assessment of his character. Since he does not fear God, the judge feels no compulsion to make proper moral judgments. He has no sense of accountability to an authority higher than his own. He is a law unto himself; therefore, he can make rulings which are arbitrary, judgments based on his own whims. Since he has no respect for people, one can hardly expect compassion from him. When he sees the widow standing before him and listens to her request, he does not see a person in need of justice. He regards her only as an annoyance, only another petty nuisance, not worthy of his time. He can easily dismiss her with no pangs of conscience at all.

What weapons does she have against such an adversary? Surely her arsenal is empty and she stands helpless before the judge. But not this widow! Her weapons are those for which the judge has little respect or understanding because he does not possess them himself. Among her weapons are patience, persistence, integrity, a strong sense of justice, and confidence in the rightness of her cause. She has the faith to believe that at the end of the day right will win out over wrong, justice will triumph over injustice, good will conquer evil.

Day after day she comes to the judge's court with her request: "Grant me justice." Day after day he ignores her. Time and again he will not consider her case. The judge is sure that eventually she will give up. But not this widow.

Did she become discouraged? I am sure she did. Did she ever wonder whether she had a ghost of a chance to break through this judge's hard and callous shell? Perhaps. Was she ever on the verge of becoming bitter because of the treatment she was receiving from this powerful man? If so, one could hardly blame her. Did she ever consider giving up? Not this widow!

How long she keeps coming to the judge we are not told. But one day he looks up from his bench, and there standing before him once again is the widow. Can't you see him putting his head down on his desk, and wailing in a plaintive voice, "Oh, no, not again, not again"?

The judge does not undergo a sudden change of character. He does not experience a dramatic conversion. He admits that still he does not fear God nor respect people. But at long last he grants the woman justice. His motives have nothing to do with morality or compassion or concern for the oppressed. His motives are self-centered and cynical.

He has discovered that this widow, for all her seeming helplessness, is a formidable woman. Somehow he has to get rid of her. She is like a burr under his saddle, a pebble in his shoe. His reason for granting her justice is: "This widow keeps bothering me, so I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming." It is for his own protection, his own peace of mind, his own comfort that he finally makes the decision which he should have made when the widow first appeared before him.

Luke gives this parable an introduction which suggests why and to whom it was first addressed. "Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart." Jesus is speaking to people who have been taught to pray and who do pray. But these same people may well be in danger of "losing heart." There must have been times when Jesus' contemporary followers were in danger of losing heart because of rejections, lack of understanding on their own part, and the sheer weary routineness of the road.

This story about a helpless widow who by patience and persistence prevails over a ruthless judge should give them courage for the long haul. It should bolster their resolve to continue in patient and persistent prayer. Surely it was a great source of hope for those first Christians. Many of them held on to hope. Many of them never wavered in their faith. Many of them showed incredible patience and were persistent in prayer. Had they not done so, the Christian church would not have survived.

This parable not only encouraged them to be patient, but it gave them a basis for their hope. Ironically, they could see in the character of the judge the basis for their hope. They grasped the truth that God is not like the judge. Jesus himself makes the point by posing a question which sets the character of God in stark contrast to that of the judge: "Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them." God does not have to be cajoled, pestered, hounded or worn down before he will hear the cries of his people. If a ruthless judge will finally and grudgingly respond to patience and persistence, how much more will God?

Throughout the ages the people of God have had to wait with patient and persistent faith for God to act to give them justice. Think of the children of Israel enduring slavery in Egypt for hundreds of years before God sends Moses to Pharaoh, an unjust tyrant, to demand, "Let my people go!" Again and again Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh to plead for the release of the slaves. Over and over the king of Egypt refuses. Then after a series of plagues Pharaoh relents. He lets the people go, not because he has finally developed a sense of justice and compassion, but because these people are about to wear him out. He wants to get rid of them.

Come to more modern times and think of the civil rights movement. Remember the African-American slaves of recent centuries singing spirituals in the cotton fields of the South. They took up the cry of the Hebrews in Egypt, "Go down, Moses. Tell old Pharaoh, 'Let my people go.' " With persistence and patience they continued to pray and hope for freedom and justice. There were many times when they could cry to God, "How long, O Lord?" But at last in the middle of this century things began to change. African-Americans finally won a measure of freedom and equality in this country. They were granted the right to vote in places where that right of citizenship had long been denied; they no longer had to sit at the back of the bus. They were no longer barred from certain restaurants and schools. Of course, full and complete justice has not yet been attained by the descendants of former slaves. There will always be need for patient, persistent prayer and pressure in pursuit of justice. Faith in the faithfulness of God makes such patience possible.

Jesus knew that through the coming ages there would be times when his followers would be tempted to lose heart. At the climax of the age would they still be holding firm? Therefore, at the conclusion of the parable he poses a question which gives promise of his final return and challenges his disciples of every age to pray always and not lose heart. "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" We cannot avoid this question for ourselves by projecting it far into some vague, remote future. It faces us here and now. Surely the unnamed widow of Jesus' gripping story can encourage us to continue to trust God to deal with us graciously in whatever circumstances come to us.

We need not fear to struggle with God in prayer. We need not be hesitant about bringing all our needs, doubts, and fears to God. For when God sees us coming God never wails, "Oh, no, not again, not again." God invites us to keep on coming."