By the Rev. Jim Rushton
First Lutheran Church, Glenville

The parables of Jesus have always intrigued us. There is a richness and a depth to them that give us glimpses of the kingdom of God — and what his kingdom brings us.

The gospel of Luke holds many parables.

The parable of the unjust judge is one of them.

I wonder about this unjust judge.

I wonder if he always carried this kind of distain toward God and toward those around him.

Maybe one case after the other made him disillusioned about man’s inhumanity toward man.

But, in any case, this judge is not one we would care to have presiding over our case.

We understand that because there is a single judge in this case, it involves a money matter.

And here is a widow, who we also understand has no rights in those days — and is too poor to bribe the judge.

Her only leverage is her persistence.

She pleads with the judge over and over again until the judge becomes so sick and tired of her nagging. He caves in to her request.

The judge has no interest in being fair or impartial in her case, he simply wishes to be left in peace.

Now, Jesus says, compare this judge to God.

The glaring contrast is obvious.

Here is our God who listens to our pleas with unwavering patience — and does so speedily.

So, let there be no doubting of God’s power, his goodness or his willingness to help us.

Our verses began with these words, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

Now, we can pray for many things – certainly that our merciful God would meet our needs, but perhaps most helpful of all to pray that our wills would conform to his — to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

In a world always reeling from one tragedy from another, may God not only heal our wounds, but lead us to carry out ministries directed toward justice and peace in this world which God loves, the world for which God sent his only son, Jesus Christ our Lord.