Pentecost 22 (Luke 18:1-8)  10/20/2013

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Information is an important part of our society today. We are connected to the news of the world in ways that were unimaginable just a few short years ago. Information feeds our curiosities and gives us confidence that we are in touch with our world. However, information of the “here and now” is not the only information that peeks our interest. We are not quite halfway through the fall season and I have already spotted my first winter prediction in the newspaper. Predicting the coming season’s weather has been a fascination with people for generations. I remember reading the Old Farmer’s Almanac as a young boy, intrigued that the details of the weather could be known so far in advance, and I soon learned that the Almanac was not always correct. Long-term predictions would have struggled to capture the fierce storm from nearly two years ago, an epic October snow storm that disrupted our way of life for a week or more. Throughout those days, many of us sought some solace, some hope in the power company’s outage maps and restoration predictions. And as the days dragged on through the week, it became difficult to believe the information given to us and not lose heart with our circumstances. This morning, our Gospel lesson offers us an interesting twist on how we might inform our lives, how we might live a life of faithfulness and hope-filled confidence by telling a story of a determined woman and an unjust judge who sat in judgment of her future. Continue reading →