Widows generally had no independent means of income and were dependent on others for their livelihood; widows lacked power in society.  Judges on the other hand had positions of some importance.  Yet in Jesus’ parable,  the widow beats the judge through her sheer dogged persistence.  A general message we can take from the parable is to “pray always without becoming weary.”  In its context in Luke’s’ Gospel, the parable also has a more specific meaning.  Jesus had just spoken of the time after His resurrection when His disciples would long for His return.  Some might grow weary praying your Kingdom come when it didn’t seem to happen.  Jesus exhorts His disciples to be persistent in prayer nevertheless, and remain steadfast in their faith until His return.

The parable of the persistent widow does not suggest that we visualize God as an unjust judge. Rather its point is this: if even an unjust judge will yield to the persistence of a widow, how much more will our loving Father respond to our prayers.  We should always be persistent in our expectation of the coming of God’s Kingdom even if its arrival seems delayed.

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell