Our Perception of Ourselves and of God

In a story known as the parable of the unjust judge, Jesus compares Israel to a widow who pleads for justice to an unjust judge against an unnamed opponent.  The unjust judge eventually relents and grants the widow what she is seeking to stop the widow's incessant nagging.

The central prayer of the Israelite faith for many centuries had been one that mirrors the plea of the unnamed widow--that justice be granted against Israel's adversaries.  Despite the fact that Israel prayed for centuries for liberation, Israel remained subject to one foreign power after another.  Israel was frustrated that God did not grant Israel the justice that it wanted.

Through the ironic message of this parable, Jesus tells Israel that its self perception is wrong as well as its theology.  As God has all power and authority, God could grant Israel the relief that it seeks, and yet God chooses not to.  On this basis, Israel saw itself as a powerless widow whose only hope was to keep repeating its petitions. And Israel saw God as an unjust judge who has chosen not to grant Israel's request, but might do so simply to get relief from Israel's incessant petitions.

In Jesus, God reveals that God is the opposite of the unjust Judge in the parable, and Israel is the opposite of the widow.  God had a new vision for the world, which was a plan for the redemption of the world.  God did not grant Israel's prayer because God had a greater vision in mind.

Too often our prayers are petitions for what we want here and now.  When our prayers are not answered, we see ourselves as the widow in the story, and we see God as an unjust judge who might eventually relent if we keep repeating our petitions.  What we should be praying about is discernment about the greater plan that God has for us and for the world, and for the diligence to fulfill God's purposes.