Sermon 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who is persistent in love.

            This parable is usually called the parable of the widow and the unjust judge or the parable of the persistent widow. In our parable we have two main figures, the widow and the judge, and through the widow’s persistence of bothering the judge he eventually gives in to her demands for justice. Jesus ends the parable by saying, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”

            The comparison that often pops up about this parable is between God and the unjust Judge. The unjust judge takes all this badgering in order for the widow to get the justice that she wants. And it could come across that God is like an unjust judge, who also takes badgering to grant justice. The point is not that God is like an unjust judge who will eventually relent to the persistent petitions of the widow. This parable is constructed like the instructions about prayer from chapter 11. There is says, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” So, we might read today's comparison in a similar way. "If even the most unjust of judges will finally relent to the ceaseless petitions of a defenseless widow, then how much more will God -- who is, after all, a good judge -- answer your prayers!"

            That’s how wee have to start looking at this parable and then, of the two titles we have for this parable I prefer the title of the parable of the persistent widow, because the story is not about the judge, but about this widow who persists in her calls for justice and it asks of us, how are we like her? How often do we pray? How persistent are we in our prayer?

            Do we pray only here on Sundays? Or just at meal times, or at bed times? Do we work to have a regular prayer life? I think that part of Jesus message here is for us to be like this widow, asking God for the things we need, asking for the big things, demands for justice. Like the widow we need to pray, because we need to talk to God, we need to tell God what’s going on in our lives. Not because otherwise God won’t know, but because we need to get it off our chests.

            Christ is asking for us to be persistent in our prayer, because otherwise we hold onto issues longer than we should, and they become deeply rooted within us, and can hold onto us just as strongly as we hold to them; Issues of frustration, at others, or even at God; Issues of forgiveness, our inability to forgive others, or our frustration and dread that others have not forgiven us; Issues of pain, hurt, and fear, all those things that dwell upon us.

            We need to be persistent in praying about these things, because that’s how we give them over to God.

            And we need to know of God’s persistence in responding, God’s persistence in giving us grace, mercy, and forgiveness. God’s persistence in holding onto us.

            And so we see that this story isn't really about courtrooms and judges and poor widows; it's about persistence in prayer and faithfulness in living and that God does not "grant us justice," to get rid of us, or because we disturb the divine repose, or to avoid embarrassment. God is just as persistent in responding to our prayer with grace and mercy throughout our everyday lives.

We do our best to live a good prayerful life, giving to God and neighbor generously, praying and attending worship.

Being faithful to our wives or husbands; showing our family members that they can rely on us to be there for them in time of need; raising our children with gentleness, discipline and generosity; pursuing our work with both diligence and honesty; 

And yet; sometimes things fall apart; sometimes the roof caves in, sometimes the light goes out; sometimes we find ourselves trapped in the darkness of our souls, with no sign of hope; with no glimmer of grace; with not even a whisper of love.

And when that happens; how do we hang on? How do we keep faith through the dark night of the soul? How do we keep on praying when things keep getting worse instead of better? How do we find the will to get up and go out each day trusting God to see us through when nothing we do seems to work? What does it take for us to stay the course in difficult and perilous times?

            I think there is one more persistence in this story. And as usual it does not have to do with us, but with God. God is yes persistent in responding to our prayers with grace, mercy, and forgiveness. But, God is just as persistent in trying to reach us and asking us to reach out in prayer.

            God is persistent in calling our neighbors to lend a comforting hand, in giving a smile on the street, or the welcome of a friend, in asking us how we are doing and that we are cared for. God is persistent in telling us that we are loved, and that we are not alone, and in those times when we don’t feel like we can reach out to God, God reaches out to us. Because God is persistent, even when we cannot be.

Let us pray,

God of persistence, we ask you to continue to reach out to us, continue to answer our prayers, and continue to ask us to pray. Ask us to give to you our fears and concerns, our own demands for justice. For we know that you love us, and you care for us, and you forgive us.

Amen.