Working on Spiritual Crises!

Saturday, November 15, 2025

Wis 18:14-16, 19:6-9; Lk 18:1-8

Today’s Gospel highlights the depravity of the human soul when it loses touch with God.

The Gospel text bears the heading ‘The Parable of the Persistent Widow.’ But in the former translations, it had the title ‘The Parable of the Unjust Judge.’ I believe this is a welcome change because in the former times we largely focused on the unjust judge glossing over the virtue of fortitude with which the woman seeks justice. However, today, for the purpose of our reflection, I would like to concentrate on the depravity of the unjust judge.

For today’s reflection, I rely on St. Augustine’s concept of Libido Dominandi (lust for domination or mastery), which is central to his understanding of war and its justification. He viewed war as a fundamental human flaw, a consequence of original sin that fuels conflict and leads to unjust wars because war is usually fought for dominance. Hence, for Augustine, the lust for domination runs counter to the ethic of love or service of others. 

This idea of Augustine forms the backdrop of our reflection on the Parable of the Unjust Judge because he viewed earthly conflicts as reflections of inward spiritual struggles. For this reason, Augustine saw depravation of self, depravation of relationships, and depravation of truth closely intertwined. 

The unjust judge would reflect the threefold depravation in his self-talk, which reads, ‘It is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being.’

In teaching this parable, Jesus already gives us a glimpse into how someone could be unjust. The self-talk by the unjust judge reveals that his life stands stripped of a relationship with God, and therefore he does not fear God. It becomes hard for someone who does not fear God to respect fellow humans because love of God is closely tied to the love of one’s neighbors. The void of relationship with God leads to the absence of relational harmony with others. At this stage, a person begins to live fully for him/herself by choosing to follow their own standards. Thus, such a selfish life ends up dominated by falsity and given over to injustice. 

We must remember that the judge is unjust not only to the widow but to all others. There is no way that he respects one and not the other. Jesus constructs the story in such a way that we discover the moral depravity of the judge who is forced to deliver justice thanks to the widow’s importunateness. After all, a person who is unjust himself won’t be willing to deliver justice. Thus, Jesus shows that the woman conquers the unjust judge through her ceaseless efforts. 

Jesus wants us to understand that injustice or selfishness is a deep spiritual crisis, and the only way we can mend it is by repairing our relationship with God. 

Let us pray that we may work on our spiritual crises by relying on and relating with God. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar