The Persistent widow
Luke 18
Need: banner with the words Justice Now! written on it.
OHP picture of some sort of situation of injustice (poverty, war, homelessness etc.) as a prayer focus.
Jesus told a story
There was once a woman whose husband had died. She had to struggle to bring up her children. She had very little money. Life was a struggle.
Then one day one of her neighbours cheated her out of what little money she had and she was left with nothing.
Her children were hungry. She was hungry. But what could she do? No one would listen to her or help her to get her money back.
They didn’t have police in those days, but they did have judges – people whose job it was to help others sort out their problems and their arguments,
She decided to go to the judge and ask for his help.
As she walked towards his house she thought to herself – I hope he will help me. He ought to help me – but I’m just a poor widow – perhaps he won’t listen…
She got to the place where he worked, and knocked on the door. His servant answered. She poured out the story. I’ll tell the judge you’re here, he said.
He went into the judge’s room. There’s a woman here to see you sir… she says her neighbour has cheated her.
Oh, said the judge…is that so?
Yes, sir. Shall I send her in?
Is she a rich woman?
No, sir, not at all, her clothes are in rags
Is she an important woman?
No not at all.
Well – tell her to go away then. If she’s not rich and she’s not important there’s nothing in it for me. What does it matter to me if she’s been cheated? I don’t care…!
So the servant went and told the woman.
But he’s a judge – she said – it’s his job to help me, isn’t it?
The servant just shrugged and slammed the door in her face.
The widow turned sadly to go away, but then she thought. Hang on a minute. It is his job to help me, and when people have been given a job to do they should do it! He’s not getting rid of me that easily…
So she made herself a banner. It said: Justice now!
And she stood outside the judge’s office and began to shout – Justice now!
All day she shouted and walked about with her banner. When it was time for the judge to go home from work, the woman just followed him, shouting all the time. When he looked out of the window, there she was. When he opened the door there she was. When he went down to the shops, there she was. When he went to work, there she was. Shouting, shouting, shouting… and all the time waving that banner – Justice Now!
The judge got crosser and crosser – why couldn’t she just go away?
In the end, the judge was just worn out…
OK, OK, he said – what was it you wanted to tell me about?
And the woman told her story, and the judge sorted out the problem and ordered her neighbour to pay back all the money, just so she would go away. And the woman went away and left him in peace…
What do you think of the judge?
What do you think of the woman?
It would have been easy for her to give up. The judge thought she wasn’t important, and she started to think that too, but everyone is important and deserves for things to be fair.
The world isn’t a very fair place. Some people have lots of money and some people haven’t even got enough to eat. There are some people who everyone listens to, and some people who no one seems interested in. Making the world fair is a very big job – it isn’t something that we can just do easily. But Jesus’ story reminds us that we shouldn’t give up. We should keep trying, because God wants the world to be fair.
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