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.

“In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people,” Jesus told his disciples. (Luke 18:2) The story begins with some challenging circumstances, and the person forced to take up these challenging conditions was a widow seeking justice against her opponent. As Jesus told this story in Palestine of the first century, there was no one less likely to achieve success against an unjust judge who cared little for God or people than a widow, a person without any privileges of her own and a woman without the support of a husband. This poor widow seemed to have no chance of success, no reasonable hope that she would succeed in her case…all available information pointed against her case. But the widow did not listen to the information of the times, she did not lose hope that she might prevail against the unjust judge, she simply continued to ask for justice. And for her persistence, the unjust and uncaring judge finally granted her justice. Jesus implies from this short story, if the unjust judge can grant good things to the widow, then will not God be even greater in caring for us? The story seems to have a simple lesson – be persistent when you are in the right and justice will eventually be yours. However, this is a parable and parables should catch our imaginations and turn them upside-down. Jesus concluded his story with a question: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

The story of the judge and the widow is a story we can easily grasp. We have seen and heard real-life stories of people facing difficult and bureaucratic circumstances, and they have eventually prevailed upon these challenges. Even our friends in Washington were able to re-open the government after two weeks! We are confident that we can find information that gives us some understanding of the world, some hope in how to navigate the challenges of this world; but what of God’s actions in our world? Certainly God is more caring, more gracious, more just than the unjust judge, but are we familiar with the information of God’s good grace? Are we more comfortable with discerning and believing the information of this world than with our relationship with God? Jesus’ parable is meant to challenge us in our prayer life; his lesson meant to ask us to examine our relationship and confidence in God’s presence in our lives through prayer. Prayer connects us to God. Jesus was teaching his disciples and is teaching us about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. Prayer connects us to God; prayer enlightens our understanding, enlivens our souls, and strengthens us for the work of ministry. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 20th century spiritual guide and author, wrote of prayer and the work of ministry in this way: “Prayer is no panacea, no substitute for action. [Prayer] is, rather, like a beam [of light] thrown from a flashlight before us into the darkness. It is in this light that we who grope, stumble, and climb, discover where we stand, what surrounds us, and the course which we should choose. Prayer makes visible the right, and reveals what is hampering and false. In its radiance, we behold the worth of our efforts, the range of our hopes, and the meaning of our deeds.”^[i]

The widow’s strength and persistence are gifts given to her through the illuminating light of prayer. She could not have maintained her hope against the powerful and unjust judge without the extraordinary depth of faith that gave her hope beyond all reason. Pray always and do not lose heart, said Jesus. Prayer is our personal and communal connection to God, prayer is the foundation of our relationship with Christ and the source of our strength when the challenges of the world stand before us. We discover our God given gifts for ministry through prayer. We uncover the mysteries of God’s grace through prayer. We deepen our relationship with God and grow in God’s love through prayer. The Son of Man is among us – close the almanac, say a prayer, and do not lose heart, for we are children of God. AMEN.