Persistence . . . typically our scripture reading this morning is presented as persistence in prayer. Persistence in prayer will eventually get our prayers answered. So, it seems in the parable that Jesus shares. A widow feels that she has been wronged by an adversary and she wants justice. In seeking justice, she persistently harasses the local judge who is known to be a cold and callous guy. But each day she stands on the road as the judge passes by and demands justice. For the most part the judge ignores her. But her persistence pays off. The judge begins to fear what this woman can do to him . . . fears that she might harm him. Worn out by her persistence, fearful of what she can do, the judge gives in and grants her justice.
The moral of the parable? Persistence pays off . . . so pray with persistence!
I don’t know about you, but I have found that persistent people can be a royal pain in the rear end. I can remember watching my children bother their mother when they wanted her attention . . . especially when she was trying to take a nap. They would stand at the door and bang . . . mommy . . . mother . . . mama . . . mom . . . mommy . . . mother . . . mama . . . mom! Over and over the mantra would go until eventually their mother would give in, open the door, and ask what they wanted. Typically, the person responding to their persistence was not usually in a receptive mood. I tried to warn them to let sleeping bears lie.
But here is the point. Most people are going read or hear this parable and conclude that persistence is going to get them what they want . . . especially when it comes to prayer. Is that what Jesus is talking about in this parable? I am not so certain. I think that the parable goes a little deeper than telling one to be persistent in prayer. At the end of the parable Jesus poses a question: “. . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The central character in this parable is the widow. What was it like to be a widow in the time of Jesus . . . to be a woman? The society in which this parable takes place . . . in the time that this takes place, was not a society in which everyone was entitled to their day in court. This was especially true for women in the time of Jesus. Women had no rights. Women had no access to judges. They were nothing but a piece of property in a male dominated world. Add to this the fact that the woman in the story is a widow, she has no man to stand up for her. She is effectively walled out of the world in which she lived. Women were property and treated as such. In this society the widow would have no voice . . . she would be silenced.
Yet, this woman demanded justice. She had been wronged and she wanted justice. She believed she should receive justice. Believing this she does the only thing that she can do . . . she heckles the judge. Each day she stands on the road and demands justice as the judge passes by on the way to work. She is persistent.
The judge, on the other hand, really doesn’t care about the concerns of the woman. From what we hear the judge doesn’t care too much about what anyone wants. But this woman is persistent. She is there each and every day . . . crying out . . . badgering . . . demanding justice. She does this not because she believes in the judge. She does this because she believed in the process . . . believed in the cause . . . believed that the right thing should be done. She does not believe in the judge. She believed in justice. Justice would be served.
God believes in justice. It says so throughout the old and new testaments of the Bible. Jesus even says so in our reading this morning: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Jesus believes in justice. And justice takes action . . . action on the part of those who witness and suffer the injustice . . . action on the part of those who perpetuate the injustice. Together justice is delivered through action . . . persistent action.
Why does this woman succeed? She succeeds because she believes . . . she has faith that she will receive justice and she isn’t going to give up until she gets it. She believes that she will get justice. Her faith makes her persistent.
At the story’s end Jesus wonders if such faith will be found on earth when the Son of Man returns. Will God’s will be done? Will justice be found? Will the kingdom be realized? Or will nothing have changed? Will the Son of Man discover a faith based on love . . . loving God and loving others as God has loved them?
Life is tough. These are chaotic times that we are living in. Scary times. All around us we see the signs of how difficult life is. There is war. There is crazy weather. Divisiveness. Injustice. And so much more that points to how difficult the times and our lives are becoming. And through it all, each week, each day, we lift up our prayers to God . . . deliver us! Save us! It all seems so bleak.
But this is where the widow becomes the teacher. The widow had no rights. She was nothing in the society in which she lived. She had no access to the judge . . . no access to the legal process to receive her justice. Yet, she believed. She kept right on calling, trusting despite all the evidence to the contrary that there would be a breakthrough in her hopelessness. She believed and because she believed she kept on trying. And through it all, God was with her. God felt her pain. Felt her despair. Heard her pleads for justice. God was always there with her.
The question would become whether or not anyone else heard her.
Eventually the judge did, and justice was served.
Faith is demonstrated in the act of not giving up despite the seeming unattainable odds. Faith is demonstrated in persistence of striving towards the goal of what is being sought. For Jesus, faith doesn’t fix things as much as it gives the capacity and courage to bear the unbearable as one strives towards the goal. Faith is what keeps us alive and working towards God’s will . . . of establishing God’s kingdom in our lives and times.
And that seems like a daunting task considering the craziness of the world and times we are living in. Life doesn’t follow the script we write for it, but instead seems to wander around taking us into situations that we rather not be in. A lot of those situations seem to be a far cry from what God desires. Yet, we need to trust. We need to trust that we are not alone. That God is with us. That God hears our prayers. And we need to trust that good things will come . . . that we will see the Kingdom of God in all of its perfectly imperfect glory.
“Will the Son of Man find faith upon the earth?”
I don’t know about you, but yes. Yes, if people who are immersed in dark nights of suffering dream, rather than despair. If people hang tightly to their belief in the power of God’s love. And, if they live their belief with a persistence that never stops until the dream is realized. The widow believed enough to never quit despite the long odds against her. So, it is for us if we truly believe. God believes in us, let us believe in God. Amen.
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