Saturday 13 November 2010

Background

If you wish to understand a parable, a story with a hiddenmeaning, then it can help to must look for the contrasts withinit.

The two characters in this parable offer a contrast. First there isthe judge, who we are told did not fear God, and therefore did notproperly follow Jewish custom. He probably would have been a paidjudge appointed by King Herod or by the Romans. Such men werenotorious. We are told unless a person had influence and money tobribe the judge they had no hope of ever getting their casesettled.

By contrast there is the widow, who is a symbol of all who are poorand defenceless. It was obvious that she, without resources, had nohope of ever getting justice from the judge. But she had oneweapon. Persistence. This, in the end, won the day.

The judge is not offered as a picture of what God is like. Jesus isnot portraying God as some dour ungracious deity who needs to bebadgered into compliance. What Jesus means is that if this callousjudge could be moved to act by the widow's persistence, how muchmore will God answer the people's prayers for vindication!

Prayer is the way we commune with God. It is the life blood of theChristian. It was the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) whowrote, "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreamsof". And Jesus himself said of prayer:

"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock,and the door will be opened for you." (Matthew 7:7)

To Ponder

What other contrasts can you find in thisparable?

What does prayer mean for you?