The Widow Said

Jesus had just told Pharisees that they will not know when the Kingdom of God is coming.  It would come, not with things that could be seen, because it is already among them. 

Then Jesus told the disciples that the day would come when they would long to see the coming of the Son of Man, but they would not see it.  Jesus told them that everything would seem just as always: people would eat and drink, get married and have babies, work and plant, build and sleep and suddenly, without any warning, everything would be different.  Some people would see and some people wouldn't.  This made the disciples anxious and frightened.

So Jesus told them this parable.  He said,

"You must do as the widow did.  The widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that same city, there was a widow.  The widow wanted justice against her opponent so she went to the Judge.  But the Judge wouldn't listen to her.  And the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"So the widow returned to the judge day after day.  And each day the judge refused to hear her case.  And each day the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"Day after day after day the widow returned to the judge.  And day after day after day the judge turned her away.  And day after day after day the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"This went on for a long time.  The widow making her plea, the judge refusing her and the widow saying:

I will pray and trust in God.

"Finally, the judge said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'

The widow rejoiced and said:

I will pray and trust in God!

"Listen to what the judge says," said Jesus.  "And will not God grant justice to the chosen ones who cry out day and night?  Will God delay long in helping them?  I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to them.  And yet, when the Kingdom of God comes, will God find people who pray and trust in God?"

And so when we are feeling fear and doubt, anxiety and injustice, frustration and oppression, may we have the faith the widow had, may we do as the widow did and may we pray as the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.