Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Saturday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9 and Luke 18:1-8]Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
Comparison may be used to show how two things are alike or to show how they are unalike. It is the latter form that is in use in Jesus' story about the unjust judge. If the dishonest judge is reluctant and resistant to the widow and finally gives in only after very strong persistence on her part, will not God, who is all-justice, be far more ready to see that justice is given? The expected answer is "Yes, of course!" But it takes a lot of faith and persistence to keep at prayer when our expectations about when and how God is to give justice are saying to us, "It's no use!" Perhaps we need to take a hint from the widow.
The widow is not content with simply voicing her complaint, she takes public action that will make the judge look bad in the sight of his neighbors. In other words, she "gets in his face," and causes him to "lose face." What I am suggesting is not that we get in God's face, but that we go after the dishonest judges and others who are denying justice. If we think God is slow in responding to our prayers, perhaps we need to ask what WE are doing to help? It may well be that God's help will come in the form of the Spirit of Wisdom that will show us the way out of our dilemmas and challenges. Our expectations of HOW and WHEN God is supposed to help us can get in the way of seeing how God is helping us. AMEN