Rev. Eugene N. Nelson, Jr.
The Community Church of Sebastopol
August 11, 2002
Luke 18: 1-8
Many stories have been told about Saint John Vianney, who was the long time pastor of Ars, France. Here is one of those stories: For over fourteen years a church group of seemingly pious women had Father Vianney say the 6:00 A.M. mass “for a special intention.” As the years went by they kept requesting the same special intention. Finally the good priest asked these ladies just what impossible favor they were asking from the Lord, which had not been granted in fourteen years. They replied, “We’ve been praying that you get transferred.”
Certainly that is one example of persistence. Here is another. A.J. Cronin was not always the celebrated novelist with best sellers like The Citadel and Keys of the Kingdom. He was, at first, an obscure and unhappy physician who finally decided to give up everything a write a novel. He took his family to a remote Scottish farm and, while they roamed about, he confined himself – not without a good dose of self-pity - to a writing desk. He struggled for weeks and then, in a burst of bitterness, he told his family that it was all pointless drudgery. He then went out and threw his unfinished manuscript on an ash heap.
He took a long hike. Along the way he encountered a Scottish farmer who was ditching a bog, trying to make a pasture out of it. As they visited, Cronin began to share his frustration with his writing career, or lack thereof. The Scotsman patiently listened, then said, “No doubt you’re correct and you should be done with writing. But I tell you this…my father ditched this bog all his days and never made it a pasture. I shall ditch it all my days. But succeed or no, it is a task that needs doing. So I dig. For I know, as my father knew, that if only I dig enough, a pasture can be made here.”
A.J. Cronin, who told this story on himself, returned to the ash heap, rescued his manuscript, poured himself back into his work and, in the end, produced his first novel, Hatter’s Castle, which sold three million copies.
Persistence, seeing it through, especially when it comes to our often-frustrating life of prayer. Surely this is the dominant theme of the parable which is our text for today, another one of those parables where Jesus makes his point using a rather unsavory character.
“In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.” Those hearing the parable would dislike this judge after just that one sentence. First the judge doesn’t care about God, has no respect for God, is not a man of faith. Any appeals to the God of justice in his court will fall on deaf ears.
And his lack of respect for God is exceeded only by his lack of respect for his fellow human beings. New Testament scholar, Kenneth Bailey, points out that the phrase, “had no respect for people,” could also mean, “had no shame before people.” Remember, as I have said before, Middle Eastern culture then and now, is very much a shame-pride culture, and shame is to be avoided at all costs (something, hopefully, that those who shape our Middle East policy are aware of and are sensitive to!) The worst thing than can be said about a man in that culture is, “He does not feel shame.”
That phrase would describe this judge. He might do something shameful, such as hurt a destitute widow, and all the world will cry “Shame!” But it will make no impression on him. He does not sense the evil of his actions, he is shameless. In Bailey’s words, “There is no spark of honor left in his soul to which anyone can appeal.” No regard for God, no inner sense of what is right and what is shameful; not a very nice guy.
“In that city was a widow who kept coming to the judge and saying, ‘Grant me justice’, which is to say, ‘vindicate me – against my opponent.’” You already know the position of the widow in the Bible. With no real legal rights or means of support other than her deceased husband’s family or his own children, or maybe a piece of his estate, the widow, particularly in the Old Testament, was the typical symbol for the innocent, the powerless, the oppressed. She has no one to protect her or to advocate on her behalf, and she is much too poor to buy justice. Maybe she could bribe this judge but she has no money.
But still she cries out for justice and protection, not once but many times. She “kept coming to him,” we read. It is an issue of money because money cases in Israel could be decided by a single judge sitting alone. Something – a debt, a portion of her husband’s property, some kind of financial pledge – is being withheld from her. But for some reason, even though it is rightfully hers, the judge will not hear her and seems to favor her adversary…who perhaps can afford to pay bribes. Perhaps her adversary is a man of influence and it is in the judge’s best interest to let him have his way and ignore her. Whatever it is, case closed. A judge without shame, with no respect for God or people. The outcome of this case won’t be hard to predict. She doesn’t stand a chance.
One of baseball’s greatest hitters, Joe DiMaggio, once found himself mired in a hitting slump, highly unusual for him. When asked what he was going to do about it, he responded simply, “I’m just going to keep on swinging.” The widow in our parable would understand just what “Joltin’ Joe” was talking about. When nothing seems to be working, keep on swinging. Which is just what she does.
Describing the tenacious persistence of the widow, Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “When she found herself all alone without anyone to help her, she did not lose heart. She knew what she wanted and she knew who could give it to her. Whether he gave it or not was beyond her control, but that did not matter to her. She was willing to say what she wanted – out loud, day and night, over and over – whether she got it or not, because saying it was how she remembered who she was. It was how she remembered the shape of her heart…’Give me justice!’ she yelled at the judge. ‘Do your job! Answer me now or answer me later, but I am coming back every day and every night – forever – until you deal with me.’ She did not know she could roar until she heard herself do it.”
Finally, the judge says to himself, “Even though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice.” What a guy! At long last, and through no small effort on the part of the persistent widow, justice is done. It wasn’t easy, but justice is done.
Again it would seem clear that Jesus’ point in telling this story is to encourage persistence in prayer. Even when life seems discouraging and hopeless, even when fear and anxiety grip your heart, continue to pray ceaselessly, persistently, keeping the example of this poor widow always in your heart.
Sounds good, but what about this judge, this arrogant, corrupt individual who finally, with great reluctance, grants the widow’s request? Is this how Jesus would have us view God – some distant judge who might finally listen to us if we bug him enough? Not exactly a flattering image. But note that, in spite of all his negative characteristics, the judge does finally grant the widow’s request. Could this actually be a parable of reassurance? Could Jesus be saying, “If this slimy judge could finally be convinced to grant justice to a widow who pestered him, can we not trust God, who is not a harsh judge but who is in fact a loving parent? Can we not trust that this God will meet our needs and act in our best interest? In the words of one colleague, “We need not be afraid to approach God with confidence, with honesty, knowing that God loves us even when our competence is gone, our control has fled, and even our gracefulness is shattered.”
Peter Heinrichs, a UCC minister, tells this story: “I was once asked to visit a woman in the hospital. She was middle-aged, thoughtful, highly competent in her professional life, and really angry with God. A simple winter virus had severely damaged her heart and she would spend the rest of her life as a semi-invalid at best. She was also terribly afraid because she had a son who was severely disabled whom she felt her husband would not be able to care for alone. She said to me, ‘Well, I’ll just I have to think positively.’ I said to her, “I respect your desire to overcome the negative, but is that all you have to ask God for?’ She was quiet for a while, and then through tears she cried, ‘No, dam nit, I want to know that somebody loves what’s left of me!’” Says Henrichs, “This highly competent, very beautiful person was no longer in control of how others experienced her. She could not fix her life, or anyone else’s at that moment. She could only ‘get in God’s face’ and demand a blessing.”
Which, it seems to me, is precisely what this parable invites us to do. Again, if a sleazy judge will finally grant a persistent widow justice, how much more will a loving God do for us? But Jesus asks, “Will the son of man find faith?” Will we hang in there? Will we keep bothering God? When justice doesn’t come, will we hang in there? When grief continues to grip our hearts, will we hang in there? When the pain of life just finally seems too much, will we hang in there? For it just might be that the most important time to pray is when our prayers seem meaningless; the most important time to engage God is when God seems absent. Says Barbara Brown Taylor, “Trust the process, regardless of what comes of it, because the process itself gives you life. The process keeps you engaged with what matters most to you, so do not lose heart. Prayer keeps our hearts chasing after God’s heart. It’s how we bother God, and it’s how God bothers us back. There’s nothing that works any better than that.”
Many of you have no doubt heard this Winston Churchill story. In one of his last public addresses, he spoke to a graduation class. He went to the podium, gazed out upon the eager young graduates, and said solemnly, “Never give up.” After a long pause he continued, “Never give up.” The class anxiously awaited for him to go on. Finally, after yet another long pause, he said, “Never give up.” With that, he walked away from the podium and sat down.
But if you listen closely, you just might hear Jesus saying “Amen to that!”