“I DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE SEES IN HIM/HER!”

It’s an often-heard expression. The inability to see as another sees can have many causes. An implication of the condemnatory expression is that the ‘the other’, as opposed to our self, is suffering from a blind spot!In Jewish society, widows and orphans were defenseless, as well as being among the lowest. This widow clearly had character and determination. But was there something more? What did the widow, in this Sunday’s Gospel  (Luke 18:1-8) see in the corrupt judge?

Well, clearly this judge was not Jewish. Jews would take their claims to the elders and not to the civil courts. In cases of Jewish arbitration there would be a minimum of three judges – one chosen by the plaintiff, one by the defendant and one independently chosen.

This judge was a paid magistrate chosen by the Roman occupying force. Such judges were known commonly as ‘robber judges’ because their judgments could be bought.

Was Jesus recalling an incident of which he had personal knowledge? Might the woman in question have been his own mother, herself a widow after the death of his foster-father, Joseph? Might the incident have occurred while Jesus was away from his Nazareth home, for periods of time, working and preaching? Perhaps the woman was some other relative? It’s not uncommon for people to call on personal or family experiences as teaching aides.

What explanation can we conceive to explain the widow’s persevering and fearless character? Did she see her powerlessness as an empowering disability? Was she a woman committed to justice?

From his perspective did this corrupt judge realize that this woman could not be fobbed off? Was he unsettled by her honest forthrightness? Had the judge’s otherwise impregnable power been undermined by the woman’s honesty against which he had no defense?

Was the real power of this widow her Christlike love for another human? Did she see, within the judge not his corruption but a fragile ember of honesty, goodness and faith that had not been totally smothered by all that had almost engulfed him?

By her repeated appearance before the judge, was she putting aside self-endangerment in favour of rescuing a person trapped by evil?

Had this widow discovered a mission to the spiritually distraught and underdeveloped that grew out of her own apparent misfortune? Was her very powerlessness threatening to someone whose precarious hold on power was bolstered by corruption?

Perhaps, the fourteen or so questions above prompted by this Gospel text, may encourage you to ask more? You could try placing yourself among those to whom Jesus was speaking and imagine the reactions that could be heard around you. Might a quiet reflection on this Gospel enable you to become aware of your own conscience helping you to identify where your intervention may help resuscitate the faith of another?