Though eighty years old, Mawanda held vigil each Friday at noon in front of the local police station. For years, she had endured Zimbabwe’s brutal dictatorship without protest as farmlands withered, thugs confiscated whatever they chose, and dissenters disappeared into secret torture camps. Then her husband and son were arrested, driven away in hoods, and never seen again. Now, Mawanda stood in protest. Enduring beatings, tauntings, and public strip searches, she had held weekly vigils for over three years. Justice seemed an impossible dream.
One of the militia taunted her, “Why do you keep this up, old woman? You have no hope. We are too strong. We will beat you down until you can’t get up and we will be here to stay.”
Mawanda replied, “I hope because the power within me is stronger than the power of this world. God hears the cries of the oppressed and will raise the lowly up. You can beat me down, but I will rise up out of the grave if necessary. The power of justice, the power of God, does not die. Maybe today, maybe in a thousand years, tyranny will fall, and God’s righteousness will reign across the land.”
Today’s text was written several generations after Jesus’ death. His followers expected him to return and establish God’s reign within a few months of his death. Now those months stretched into decades. Scoffers were rampant, chastising Chris- tians for continuing to believe.
God will return. Oppression, in all forms, will be vanquished. Truth and justice will be secured. It will happen like a thief in the night, like the Berlin Wall crumbling in a moment. So wait steadfastly. And keep your hope unblemished. Stand up for righteousness with courage, for the impossible dream is God’s guarantee.