They say that the squeaky wheel gets the
oil . . . but, does that work with God?
The quick assumption from our reading this morning is that if one is
persistent—especially in prayer—he or she will be rewarded with what they are
asking for. Isn’t that what we assume as
we listen to this parable?
There was a widow who felt that she had
been unjustly treated by another person.
Each day she would go to the community’s judge and demand that she be
granted justice against this adversary.
The judge really did not care and refused to do anything with the
widow’s complaint. The judge did not
fear God, nor did he fear people. He
just did not care and was not worried about any retaliation from God or
others. He did not care.
But we learn that the widow was
persistent. Each day she went to the
judge and demanded justice. Day after
day she harassed the judge with her demands for justice. Eventually it worked. She was wearing the judge down. The judge was getting tired of seeing the
widow each morning, demanding justice . . . he was tired of being bothered by
her. The result? The judge grants her the justice she seeks.
Persistence pays off in the end. But is this about prayer or something else?
Even though the parable is framed under the
guise of prayer through the statement: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to
show them that they should always pray and not give up.” I contend that this has nothing to do with
persistent prayer being rewarded. It is
a bigger topic, and an even greater concern on the mind of Jesus. Jesus states its several times throughout the
parable. So, what is the bigger issue in
this story?
Think about it . . . what is it that the
widow is demanding? She is demanding
justice. Each day she confronts the
judge asking for justice. She wants
justice. In the end, it is justice that
the judge grants her. Then there is
Jesus’ wrap up of the parable in which he states that “God will bring about justice for
his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night . . . he will see that they
get justice, and quickly.”
Justice, not prayer, is the topic of the
parable. Prayer is the metaphor for
action . . . persistence is the key.
In the parable there has been an
injustice done against the widow. We do
not know what the injustice was, but we know that it irritated her to no end
that she felt that she had been wronged and wanted to set things right. The widow knows that her only recourse for
getting justice is to go to the stubborn and immovable judge . . . a judge that
does not care one way or another . . . a judge who does not fear God or any
person. It is a long shot at best, but
it is the only course she can take . . . thus, she begins her daily ritual of pestering
the judge with a demand for justice.
Repeatedly she demands justice.
She wants customer satisfaction.
She wants to right a wrong. The
only way that she is going to be able to accomplish this is to be persistent in
her actions for demanding justice.
My sister-in-law is educated as an
economist . . . both her bachelor and master’s degrees are in economics. She believes that the driving force in life
and in the world comes down to economics . . . comes down to compensation
whether it is money or some other reward.
It comes down to making a buck and no business ever wants to lose
money. That is why it is so darn
difficult to get one’s money back when a bum product or service is bought . . .
why it is so tough to get customer satisfaction. It does not matter whether the customer is
right, once they have the money, they are tight-fisted in letting it go. No one in control is going to give up wealth
or power even if they are in the wrong.
I think you all know what I am speaking
about . . . when it comes to customer satisfaction, we all know that we must be
persistent. We must be persistent if we
are to get justice.
I once bought a product from a store . .
. and, it did not work. I went back to
the store and asked for my money back.
No, they could not do that, but they could exchange it for one that
worked. Well, I can be stubborn too, so
I asked for my money back. Finally, they
agreed to give me my money back . . . but, it could only be spent in their
store. By this point, I didn’t want to
have anything to do with the store, and I asked for my money back in cash. Reluctantly they agreed . . . they would mail
me a refund check in a couple of weeks.
I got the check two months later.
I got my justice, but it took time and energy on my part.
We need to see prayer as more than words
. . . prayer also needs to be seen in the way that we live our lives . . . as
the actions that we take . . . as we strive to live in relationship with God
and God’s will. Because of this we must
consider that just as Jesus stepped up to defend and work for those who were
often mistreated and left out, we too must step up and make our lives—our
prayers—as action. God is a God of
justice . . . demands that right be done, and because of this it is up to us to
do likewise. We are to be like the widow
in demanding justice.
Jesus tells us that God will answer this
prayer . . . it might take time, but God will answer this prayer. Justice will prevail. Prayer is not simply talking to God, but it
is any expression of a demand for justice.
If that is the prayer one seeks to pray and live, God will answer the
prayer. In that case, this parable is
about prayer.
At the same time, Jesus has a concern .
. . a big concern. He is concerned
whether there will be faith when he returns . . . will there be a desire to do
God’s will . . . or will it disappear when people are either worn out from
their pursuit of living in relationship with God and others, or they become satisfied
with what they have? Will there be signs
of faith . . . of pursuing God’s will?
Will there be a persistence of faith . . . or prayer . . . that will
witness to this relationship with God?
Well, the answers are there in the
scriptures for us to see, though they are not in the places we would expect:
·
A
centurion who believes Jesus can heal a slave, even from a distance.
·
A
sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet.
·
Friends
of the disable man who are willing to dig through a roof to lower him down.
·
A
bleeding and unclean woman who touches the hem of Jesus’ clothes and is healed.
·
Samaritan
leper who returns and falls at the feet of Jesus in thanksgiving.
Jesus will find faith, but just not in
the places most of us would consider. It
will be found in places where the people are on the outside looking in . . .
the outsiders, the unlovable, the unclean, the outcasts, the sinners, and those
who are mired in injustice.
We live in a time and world where there
is much chaos . . . much unhappiness . . . much oppression . . . divisiveness .
. . anger . . . and little satisfaction.
I do not think that I need to point out to any of you what is
unsatisfying to you when you think about the world we live in and the world
which God seeks our help in restoring . . . I think you can see that for
yourself. I think we each know what is
unsatisfactory in our world and in our faith.
The question becomes whether it concerns us enough to seek a solution .
. . to seek justice . . . to pray. To
pray with persistence.
The prayer of persistence for God’s will
. . . God’s justice . . . God’s vision for all.
That is the life and prayer that Jesus wants for his disciples and for
us . . . one that exhibits faith. God
wants customer satisfaction. Jesus shows
us the way. Amen.
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