EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Oct. 16, 2022.
This week's gospel: Luke 18:1-8
The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge
18 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’ 4 For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The message:
The important thing about great art -- be it music, film, a painting or a novel -- is that in its simplicity, it not only tells a story … but it also reveals a much deeper revelation about life.
I view Jesus’ parables in the same fashion.
Many of Jesus’ parables seem quite accessible at first glance. … Not all, of course, some just scramble a brain from the outside. … But, in many of Jesus’ stories, like today’s text of the “unjust judge,” the message seems pretty simple.
For instance, in today’s text, I think the easy answer to the question of “What is Jesus’ message?” is … “Pray always.” … If you read the front of your bulletin, it seems to agree with me … but with a little more explanation.
That’s the easy answer, of course.
And if you never wanted to dig any deeper into the message, I think Jesus would be just fine with that. … “Pray always. Do not lose heart.” … That’s Jesus’ encouragement today.
But, like great art, great parables can reveal so much more, can’t they?
So, if you’d indulge me, I’d like to dig a little deeper into the text today. … I’m guessing that doesn’t surprise you!
For instance, let’s take a look at the characters in the parable.
First, we have the judge. … And what do we know about this judge?
Well, the judge “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” … Jesus is not mincing words here, is he? Doesn’t sound like he holds the judge in very high esteem.
This isn’t mentioned in the parable, but for the people in Jesus’ day who were listening to this story, they would have inherently known about the vast power held by men who were judges in the 1st century Middle East. … Because it was always men.
Judges, in fact, held great sway in that society. … Because their decisions could only be overturned by governors or other ruling elites. … There were no balances of power. No appellate courts to turn to for those who felt wronged.
There also were both religious judges and secular judges. … So, pretty much, all of life for those who weren’t privileged … was governed in some form or fashion by these powerful men.
And this particular judge in Jesus’ story today doesn’t seem a very compassionate character, nor a very faithful one either.
Listen to his own words: “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”
Whoa. … Does that sound like the person you want deciding your fate?
A modern day translation might be: “I’m so sick of this lady bothering me, and although I really don’t care about her plight, I’m going to rule in her favor … because I just want to get rid of her!”
Sound about right?
Ok, so that’s character No. 1 in today’s parable.
Now, character No. 2. … What do we know about her?
Well, we don’t know what her specific plight is, but it’s likely serious if she’s been compelled to hound the judge day after day.
And, well, we know she’s a woman, right? … Because she’s a widow. … And that also should tell us a few things about her.
She likely could have been destitute, and that the matter she was pursuing in front of the judge could have been something relating to finances.
Because a widow in the 1st century Middle East, if she wasn’t taken in by a family member, or immediately married off to another man, was in trouble.
In this story, we might assume this was the case, because otherwise she would have had a son or a new husband -- some kind of male -- arguing this case before the judge for her.
And one other thing we know about this woman is that she is persistent, right? … Because we are told: “In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’”
So, what else can we infer about her that we haven’t already?
Well, I would add to the list fearless. … Because for a 1st century Middle Eastern woman to be bold enough to come back day after day to pester a judge … trust me, she also had to be fearless!
So, OK … let’s recap what we’ve uncovered by digging a little deeper into our text: We have a powerless, likely desperate, widower coming repeatedly before a compassionless judge, who doesn’t give much concern to her grievances but just would rather not be bothered by her anymore.
That is a very powerful story, is it not? … It’s heartbreaking.
So, please, for a moment, put yourself in the widower’s shoes! … Think about how futile the effort is of dragging yourself to the courtyard everyday just so that you could get an audience with a powerful judge who doesn’t give a rip about you, knowing you’re about to be humiliated again.
Yet, she persisted! Right? … How moving is that!
And so, Jesus’ message we talked about at the beginning of the sermon … isn’t so simple after all, is it?
Sure, on the surface his message is about living a life in which we … pray always.
But, that’s a message that is a tad easier to hear when you’re not a 1st century widow pleading with a powerful judge.
Let’s be honest, prayer for those who live in privilege comes a little easier. … So to persist in prayer in this woman’s circumstances -- without the prospect of a positive outcome -- now, that takes real trust!
Faith Family … that takes an unshakeable level of belief that isn’t so simple.
I know that it’s really simple to stand up here and preach to you every Sunday that you just have to believe … that you just have to pray about it … whatever it is that is troubling you.
But then what happens? … You go home and you pray and believe … and you pray and believe … and you wait and wait. … And it seems that God is just … silent.
So then what?
Well, the implication becomes if your prayers aren’t being answered, you must not be praying hard enough or you must not believe deeply enough.
Faith Family, that is not the message Jesus -- nor I -- want you to hear today.
My sincere hope is that what you go home with today is this: As believers, we are not promised any easier road than anyone else.
Even the most faithful of us at times are going to find ourselves in the same position as today’s widow who faces the unjust judge.
You’ll find yourself stuck, repeatedly having to go before the judge asking for relief, and going home without it.
And I wish I could tell you differently. … But I can’t.
The message I can share with you … however … is that if we do truly believe in a just God -- a God who loves us so much he shares his only son with us -- can we not believe that if the heart of an unjust judge can be changed, cannot our loving God be moved to intervene in our affairs?
And that, Faith Family, is the Good News for this Sunday, Oct. 15, 2022 … the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. … Amen.
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