Director's Note on the Injust Judge and the Persistent Widow
As we enter 2025 amidst deepening injustice and an emboldened far-right, our director reflects on a parable from Jesus that offers urgent inspiration for our movement: the persistent widow who demands justice from an unjust judge. Like her, we must never lose heart. Though our cries for ceasefire, aid, and accountability are often ignored, our persistence matters. Read this message of moral clarity and unwavering hope as we recommit to relentless advocacy for Palestinian liberation in the year ahead.
Rev. J. Mark Davidson, Executive Director
1/3/20252 min read
I hope everyone has had some time to enjoy family and friends during the holidays, and to rest and shore up energy for what lies ahead in 2025. Notwithstanding the deeply troubling omens accompanying the incoming Trump administration, there are hopeful signs of a strong upsurge in activity for peace and justice in the new year.
As we gear up with renewed activism on behalf of the Palestinian people and solidarity with the marginalized and most vulnerable, I wanted to share with you an inspiring word from Jesus in a parable he told his followers about the need never to lose heart:
“In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”
Jesus was describing a situation not unlike the one we face – ruling elites and political authorities refusing the cries of the people for justice. Policymakers so out of touch with their moral compass that they turn away from horrific suffering. Even though we keep coming and demanding justice and peace, demanding ceasefire, release of hostages held by Israel and Hamas, arms embargo, humanitarian aid, boycott, divestment, and sanctions, our cries have largely fallen on deaf ears. The death and destruction continues unabated.
But I hear him telling us not to give up, to emulate the unstoppable widow, never to lose heart. In the end, even though the unjust judge was totally lacking in compassion and mercy and was utterly hostile to the merits of her case, he relented and granted her demands. Her persistence, her willingness to keep pounding on the door and increasing his discomfort, finally wore him down. She refused to take No for an answer. Because she insisted on the justice of her cause, and never backed down, she prevailed.
May it be so for us, as we stand with the Palestinian people.
Rev. J. Mark Davidson, Executive Director