Pesky widows are a power to be reckoned with. I know. I had a pesky widow for a mother. Jesus’ choice of a pesky widow with a legal concern in this Sunday’s parable lauding prayer is intriguing. Jesus reverses the Old Testament reading lauding prayer. Moses, a man and a warrior, is praying for victory in war. The pesky widow is a woman and a peacemaker. In Jesus’ culture women could not speak for themselves (Numbers 30). Men spoke for them. Therefore, as a widow, the woman in the parable had no right to her own voice and no one to legally plead her case. She had no standing before a judge. The consequence from the culture was that she likewise had no standing before God.
Jesus’ listeners knew this truth about the non-existent status of women, widows in particular. We need to give more credit to Jesus being a revolutionary. He is a man who challenged and transformed his culture’s classism, racism, and, in this Gospel case, sexism. All the more radical then that Jesus chose a seemingly bereft widow when addressing our relationship to our God in prayer. Jesus was letting us know that no one is excluded from divine care. Are there people we exclude from care? Are there people we allow others to exclude from care? Are we pesky about getting people in need of care the care they need? Prayer disposes us to be in communion with our God and others so that such care is extended. We can pray in communion with the whole of us for the whole of creation. Physical movement, in prayer, while outside with nature, is a good way to engage in prayer. We can pray while on walks and connect with our neighbors, especially older or infirmed neighbors. We can pray as we care for our homes and yards. We can pray while we garden. We can also create prayer gardens; intentional places to nurture our relationships – with God, ourselves, friends, and all creation. Whatever the surroundings, our prayer practices can flow from a basic belief within us that we are all of us in an intimate relationship with a loving power. We can be pesky about that truth with people who want to limit divine care.
When the Gospel encourages us to pray always it’s encouraging us to respect the love relationships we share.
Prayer: Spirit of Love, love surrounds me and grows within me.
Question: What are the practices I can maintain or start to strengthen the prayerful love I show?
October 20, 2013 Gospel Luke 18:1-8 Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time