Within each one of us is a seed of
the goodness of God, a seed of the image and likeness of God. Sin cannot
totally erase this indelible image that is ours in the sacrament of our
Baptism. Hence, even the story of a corrupt judge's dealings with a widow can
still be a parable of God, in one way or another. The way God deals with us in
our prayers and supplications is, of course, far more benevolent than that of
the corrupt judge.
Thomas Keating, the Cistercian monk
who is known worldwide as the founder of the Centering Prayer movement,
advocates a fresh way of meditating on the Parable of the Widow and the Corrupt
Judge. He says that it may be good to get the story out of the limited context
of Luke's narration. For one thing, even biblical scholars maintain that the
present parables of Jesus could have undergone a good deal of reinterpretation
as the evangelists wove them into their interpretative account of the life
of Jesus. This is the whole point of what they call "redaction
criticism."
Taken out of the Lucan limitations,
the Parable of the Widow and the Corrupt Judge stands out as a story about the
Kingdom of God. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God was the justification and
foundation of his life, mission, and preaching. From this pristine point of
reflection, then we realize that God cannot be compared to anyone unjust and
corrupt like the judge. We are the ones who are corrupt and unjust in ways. Not
only are we unjust with others, but with God. Many times, adsorbed in the
affairs of the earth, we fail to give God what is due. God is the begging
widow. Though strong, he chooses to be helpless and gentle like a woman
(cf. also Lk 15:8-10).
The Parable we have today then is an
invitation of God: "Do me justice... give me the time and the thanksgiving
and the adoration that is due to me." God is the Divine Widow pounding on
us morning, noon, and night. God continues to come to us through persons,
events, our own thoughts and feelings, our consciences, our readings. Many
times we put "her" off. In the end, many times, we finally give the
Divine Widow her due not because we have turned just, but because we simply
cannot stand the importunities of grace.
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