The first line of today's Gospel gives away the meaning of the parable that Jesus tells us. That first line says, "Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always, and not to lose heart." Usually, parables are supposed to be puzzling and provide a surprise for the listener, but here we are given a heads up at the start: pray unceasingly and do not lose heart. This is an odd parable, and a potentially dangerous one. This parable is one that can lead to a Pollyanna approach to prayer and to life if the parable is considered in a certain light. At first glance it appears that Jesus is saying the unjust judge is like God. This unjust judge who capriciously responds to requests to stop a widow from pestering him, he does so not out of care or compassion, but to give himself some peace. Based on this first glance, we could think that Jesus is saying God does not have a compelling reason to be merciful to us. But Jesus is not saying that. Luke's parable does not liken God to the unjust judge, but the character of the unjust judge is used as a contrast to show how much more God will listen and respond to our prayers. And there is a surprise in this parable: the unjust judge does what is right, for the wrong reasons, but this individual ends up doing what is right. After all, we are told that this judge "neither feared God nor had respect for people," but still he helps the widow.  

We lose the humor in the translation of this text that we hear today. The original Greek gives a fun twist. We hear in our version that the unjust judge grants the widow's request so that "she may not wear me out." Other translations say "exhaust". These are more metaphorical translations of the original Greek. The literal meaning of the Greek word is to "strike under the eye". This judge was afraid of getting a black eye from this widow! There is an important nuance to this widow's persistence in asking for justice in Jesus' parable. She is in this unjust judge's face, berating him to grant her petition. Luke wants us to laugh at this scene, but at the same time there is a serious point underpinning this comic tale. Jesus seems to be indicating our prayers need to be as persistent as the widow's. This confuses me some. Does God grant every prayer request because we simply keep asking?

The pairing of this Gospel with the Genesis story we heard makes more sense now. Jacob wrestles with an unknown opponent and Jacob wins. Jacob wrestled through the night with this individual and Jacob's persistence wins the day, but at a cost to him physically, a lame hip. But Jacob also got something else, a new name, he became "Israel" on that morning.  Jacob's actions are analogous to our praying to God. Jacob says at the end of our Genesis lesson today "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." Jacob demanded God be just and God did not strike him down, but blessed him with a rebirth, a cleansing, a new beginning, with a new name, a new task, and God sent him off with a limp. Jacob faced his fears and was changed for the better.