The Widow as Unsettling Force - Luke 18 Commentary
I was asked to write for the Political Theology website for the upcoming lectionary reading, Luke 18:1-8. This parable is well-known sometimes thought of as "the persistent widow and corrupt judge." My reading takes it in a different direction. Like all of Jesus' parables, this one has quite the hidden shock.
Here's the pitch:
This parable is very much about the widow being a “new and unsettling force in the complacent life” of this unrighteous judge and the structures which incentivize his brutality. To speak of the widow in terms of unsettling force is anything but a stretch in this text. In fact, I think you might be surprised at the turn that is coming.
Read more on the political theology blog:
The Parable of the Widow as an Unsettling Force | Political Theology Network
This parable is very much about the widow being a “new and unsettling force in the complacent life” of this unrighteous judge and the structures which incentivize his brutality. To speak of the widow…
C. Wess Daniels