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 The Faithful and Persistent WidowBy Stacey Forrester When I was struggling to come to terms with my faith, I wrestled a lot with appeasing my feminist tendencies, along with my spiritual ones. I don’t mean any extreme or radical feminist beliefs, but rather my wishes and hopes for womankind, as I had been raised to be independent, tough and fully capable of running with (or without) the boys. Much of my daily prayer involves asking for guidance, asking the Lord to shed some light on how “little me” can make a difference. Women’s issues hold a particularly big piece of my heart. Sex-trade workers, HIV prevention, female genital mutilation, the escalating cases of female violence, eating disorders, teen pregnancy—the list goes on and on, and I wonder, What has happened to us? How does one help the world begin to heal? The world has seen a great deal of change since the times of the Bible. The challenges our societies face, too, have changed. However, the faith and the strength of character needed in times of tribulation remain the same. One particular woman in the Bible comes to mind. This widow, who struggled until justice was done, is an amazing example of perseverance, dedication, faith and even feminism. In the passage in Luke, Jesus is sharing with His disciples the parable of the persistent widow, teaching them about prayer and not giving up. “He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”’ “’For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’ “And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’” (Luke 18:2–8, TNIV) This fictional woman was a widow. She was poor. This can be translated into vulnerable and defenseless. Unfortunately, this structural injustice is also very real in today’s society. This woman was seeking fair judgment in a case where she was wronged. The man who had the power to right the situation was, like many people in power, corrupt and unjust. The woman was brave, perhaps running on pure instinct; maybe she had children at home, whose survival depended on her perseverance in this case, on her fighting the system. Whatever it was that drove her to be stubborn, to fight so hard to see right done, paid off. So what was driving her? It wasn’t a university degree, money, friends in power, bumper stickers with a fancy logo, pointing others to a slick website. She didn’t have T-shirts printed up to sell her cause, or corporate sponsorship or government funding. For all we know, she may not have even had a home. Sometimes we watch the news or read something that deeply affects us, and we hear God telling us to do something about it. Then we look at our schedule, our bank account, our to-do list, the laundry piling up in the hall and back at the daunting list of what seems like the needs of a very troubled world. It makes us feel small, and the task too big. Too often this is where our good will ends. Through this widow, Jesus reminds me that we have a responsibility to speak out about injustices against us and against our brothers and sisters. That not everyone is able to be courageous and vocal like the widow when they are wronged or living in oppressed conditions. This fictional woman is also Jesus’ way of telling us that we have all we need through Him. Jesus wraps up the tale by asking the crowd to follow the example of the widow and to pray without ceasing. To pray and struggle for justice, day and night. Even when it is difficult and there seems to be no hope for change, even when the problems look too big, God will respond. We have God’s Word that justice will triumph. With that in our hearts, it is our responsibility to carry the widow with us, to persist, to be stubborn in prayer and to remain steadfast and loyal in our struggle for what is right. Stacey Forrester is a nurse, writer, observer, garment maker and part-time pretend-rock star who collects things in the shape of a girl. Her sometimes-deep, and too-often-irreverent, musings, poetry, photos and records of life can be found at http://staceyfloats.wordpress.com. Back to Top |
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