Luke 18:1-18 February 28, 2010
Second Sunday of Lent –
The Prayers of Jesus, Part 2
“Don’t Give Up!”
Rev. Meagan Boozer
1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.
Usually with a parable (which is a short story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson), we have to wait until the end to know the meaning. Not so for biblical readers for this parable about the widow and the judge. The writer of this Gospel puts it right out there for us: Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. Luke obviously wants to make it clear for us. “Listen folks, until Jesus comes back and makes every right (which is what justice is), you need to pray all the time, and you need to keep your heart in it.”
What does it mean to lose heart? If you’ve been watching the Olympics these last weeks, surely you’ve seen some athletes who have lost heart. I was watching speed skating when they were skating the heats to determine the finalists for an event. Only two out of four or five skaters could advance. Several times, once the two fastest skaters put distance between themselves and their competition, I saw what appeared to be the last skater, lose heart. He stopped giving it his all. It was if he stopped trying. You’ve seen it, as I have, on the basketball court or football field when someone has a breakaway run and is so close to scoring that the other team just lets it happen as if running the player down is nothing but a waste of energy. That’s what it can look like to lose heart: to give up.
But what does it look like NOT to lose heart?
• It looks like Lindsay Von skiing with everything she had in spite of incredible pain that first week in order to bring home the gold.
• It looks like Joannie Rochette, the women’s figure skater from Canada, who went on to compete after her mother died suddenly of a massive heart attack – winning the bronze. It was written in an article about her performance: The throngs that rose to their feet to applaud her gutsy performance – a few wobbles, but more than enough heart to make up for them – walked out wide-eyed with amazement. She did not lose heart.
• And of course the classic moment in sports history in 1980, when the USA beat the Russians to advance to win the gold in ice hockey! Would you say they played with a lot of heart? You know it. They did not lose heart in spite of insurmountable odds.
And this is what Jesus is teaching about here in this parable: Pray always and do not lose heart – even when it seems that there is no way a situation is going to change.
A widow in biblical times had no power. She, along with orphans, was considered last and least. A judge, on the other hand, had power oozing out his fingertips. And so Jesus picks the powerful and the powerless to make his point.
Have you heard of corrupt judges? Sure we have. We hear about them all the time – judges who decide a sentence not based on the evidence, but based on the amount of cash reward they’re going to receive under the table if they rule in a particular way - judges who take bribes. Did you hear about those two judges in Pennsylvania who were accused in 2009 of sending not hundreds, but thousands of teenagers to juvenile prison in exchange for $2.6 million in bribes from the privately run detention facilities?
It happens, folks. We don’t like to think that it happens, but in these days it happens because sometimes people care more about what’s in their pockets than what’s in their hearts. But here’s what I think for many people is a shocking truth: It obviously happened in Jesus’ day, too. We think that everything is worse now than it’s ever been. But, just read the Bible; it was really bad then, too. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote (1:9), “There is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in the ages before us.” Corruption is corruption. Evil is evil. Adam and Eve had two boys – the first children to human beings ever born - and one of them killed the other! God’s justice had already been disassembled.
Last week, I went to the funeral of a dear woman who helped take care of me when I was little – Consuella Wallace. Consie was a beautiful woman of God. I heard wonderful stories of her faith at her funeral. I learned that Consie would be out in her garden, and call over to the neighbors, “Hey, let’s meet in the middle of the street, and pray for our neighborhood.” She influenced a lot of children in her days on earth. But her own son, taken over by the demons of drug addiction, beat her in her own bed. She died from those injuries.
Thursday night at 9 p.m., John and I were at home, settled in for the night, and the phone rang. It was my brother, Graham. “I need you to do something, he said.” “Okay,” I replied. “Can you come out here? Barb needs you.” My sister-in-law is a nurse manager at the Chambersburg Hospital. She is fantastic at what she does. Smart. Discerning. Compassionate. Professional. That morning, one of the young nurses who worked with Barb, was shot in her home. Kristin Runyan, was only twenty-seven years old. Barb held it together as best as she could for everyone else that day, but once she got home, she needed help. She was losing heart. So many tragedies these days, so much injustice, and it seems so senseless, doesn’t it?
Sometimes we lose heart. Sometimes we just want to retreat into our houses, or our churches – shut the door, pull the blinds, turn up the music, and pretend that it’s not as bad as it is.
The widow in Jesus’ story obviously couldn’t afford to shut the world out. We are not told what happened in her life that drove her to city hall. We don’t know. But we know one thing: she was desperate. Just like last week, Jairus was desperate for Jesus to come and heal his daughter, and the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years was desperate for Jesus’ healing power. This widow is desperate, too, or she would not be badgering this powerful man. He was corrupt. He didn’t care what God thought of him, and he didn’t give a hoot what other people thought of him. The text says that he neither feared God nor had respect for people. (Do you know folks like this? I do.) And yet, this powerless widow chose to come up against the reckless, ruthless power of the judge on her own, over and over and over again. Why?
She was desperate. Whatever she had lost, she needed it back, she needed things to be made right, and this judge was the only one who could reverse the course. And so, she badgered him. Consider this scenario:
• As he came out of his chambers to go across the hallway to the courtroom, she hollered from a distance, “Judge, I need justice.”
• As he crossed the hallway again to return to his chambers, she yelled, “Judge, grant me justice.”
• As he left the building for his chariot, she got through the wall of bodyguards shouting, “I need justice.”
• When he settled into his chariot, lo and behold, there were pieces of papyrus everywhere (sort of like sticky notes) She had written: “Judge, grant me justice.” “Justice for the widow.” “I need justice.”
• When he got home, she was already there, asking again, begging again, pleading again.
Apparently this went on for days and days, maybe weeks – maybe months. And finally he couldn’t take it anymore! But understand this – his giving-in wasn’t because he started to fear God. It wasn’t because he started to respect the widow. He didn’t all of a sudden have an attack of justice. He gave in because he couldn’t take it anymore. He selfishly gave in and granted her request to get her out of his life.
I used to have a children’s book at my house called The Teeny Tiny Woman. Do you know it? I’m going to read it. Are you ready? Don’t laugh at me – laugh with me.
ONCE upon a time there was a teeny-tiny woman who lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village. Now, one day this teeny-tiny woman put on her teeny-tiny bonnet, and went out of her teeny-tiny house to take a teeny-tiny walk. And when this teeny-tiny woman had gone a teeny-tiny way, she came to a teeny-tiny gate; so the teeny-tiny woman opened the teeny-tiny gate, and went into a teeny-tiny churchyard. And when this teeny-tiny woman had got into the teeny-tiny churchyard, she saw a teeny-tiny bone on a teeny-tiny grave, and the teeny-tiny woman said to her teeny-tiny self, 'This teeny-tiny bone will make me some teeny-tiny soup for my teeny-tiny supper.' So the teeny-tiny woman put the teeny-tiny bone into her teeny-tiny pocket, and went home to her teeny-tiny house.
Now, when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired; so she went up her teeny-tiny stairs to her teeny-tiny bed, and put the teeny-tiny bone into a teeny-tiny cupboard. And when this teeny-tiny woman had been to sleep a teeny-tiny time, she was awakened by a teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard, which said:
'Give me my bone!' And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head under the teeny-tiny bedclothes and went to sleep again. And when she had been to sleep again a teeny-tiny time, the teeny-tiny voice again cried out from the teeny-tiny cupboard a teeny-tiny bit louder, 'Give me my bone!'
This made the teeny-tiny woman a teeny-tiny more frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head a teeny-tiny bit further under the teeny-tiny bedclothes. And when the teeny-tiny woman had been to sleep again a teeny-tiny time, the teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard said again a teeny-tiny louder, 'Give me my bone!' And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, but she put her teeny-tiny head out of the teeny tiny bedclothes, and said in her loudest teeny-tiny voice, 'TAKE IT!'
The teeny-tiny woman
couldn’t stand it anymore.
Jesus teaches, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.”
One day, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. One day, when Jesus returns, all things will be made right. People will not be mistreated by one another, for there will be an inherent respect for all whom God has created to save. Employees will not be expected to work long hours without fair compensation. Husbands and wives won’t take each other for granted. Children will not be left alone to figure out life on their own. Violence will be replaced with compassion and mercy. The innocent will not be violated, accused, and oppressed; they will be protected, cherished, and free. There will be no more disease. No more cancer. No more arthritis. No more Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Aneurysms, Depression, Tumors, nothing. Nada! No more death, mourning, crying, and pain.
And Jesus says, “Don’t stop praying! Don’t lose heart. One day, it will all be perfect and whole again. Until then, don’t give up. Fight for what’s right. Don’t hold back. Because if this judge who is wicked, finally gave the woman (with whom he had no relationship) what she so desperately needed, won’t your Heavenly Father, who is perfectly compassionate and full of steadfast love, grant justice to his beloved children?”
Back in Genesis 32 we read part of the story of Jacob. It is a mysterious story, but an important one to help us learn what God is teaching us today. I want to read verses 22-30 (New Living Translation): But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.” But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won.” “What is your name?” Jacob asked him. “Why do you ask?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel—“face of God”—for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” Jacob wrestled with God. He wanted God’s blessing, and he wouldn’t let go until God gave it to him.
In 2 Kings 20, we read about King Hezekiah of Judah who had fallen sick and was at the point of death. He had heard those words, “You need to get your affairs in order.” But Hezekiah would not receive this death sentence. He pleaded with the Lord, “Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” We read that he wept bitterly - how many hours, days, or months we do not know. But God replied, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears: indeed, I will heal you…I will add fifteen years to your life.”
There’s something to be said for desperate, don’t-let-go sort of prayers.
Abraham bargained with God about destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city, will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” God agrees not to destroy the cities if he can find fifty righteous people there. Then Abraham asks, “Well, what if there are 45 righteous people there?” Abraham persists. What about forty, or thirty, or twenty, or ten? And God agreed not to destroy the cities even if only ten righteous people could be found there. Persistent prayer. Not-giving-up prayer. Faith-building, faith-drawing prayer. Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Or will he find us giving up on praying, or giving up on our relationship with God altogether because we selfishly only wanted the answers we wanted in our controlled time frame?
I believe we are being challenged here to be what we might consider ‘irritatingly’ persistent in our prayers. I think we are being invited to sound like a broken record in order to set things right. “Lord, I laid this request before you yesterday, and the day before, and in fact, last month, and yes, even last year. But here I am again. I want you to bring my friend to faith in Jesus Christ. I want you to break his addiction to alcohol, and I want you to grab him by the scruff of the neck and get him to see your glory. I’ll do my part, God, whatever part that may be, but you have to do your part, too. Your word says that you desire that none would perish. Well, I agree with that, Father. I agree that this guy should not perish, and so bring him to faith in you. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Do you hear it? It’s desperate, yet bold.
“God, I know you hate divorce. I know you established marriage as a life-long covenant between two people as a way of displaying the love of Christ for the Church. I know sometimes it just can’t be because of hardness of heart & rejection of your will. But today, as I did yesterday and the day before, I plead with you to restore the marriage of ____ & _____. I pray for hearts to be changed, for love to be reborn, for communication to be opened up, for reconciliation.”
“Gracious God, your word tells us that you heal all of our diseases. And yet, here I am, sick and worn – the same way I have been for years. God, give me healing. Touch me. Restore my body to a normal health for my age. Remove this pain from me. Remove this cancer. Remove, rebuild, reconnect, hydrate, etc.”
Do you get the point here? We are invited to pray always and persistently, with as much faith as we have been given, and not lose heart.
Are we then guaranteed that our deepest desires will be fulfilled for us? No, we are not. Any who have prayed for someone we loved to be physically healed, and they were not healed, know that what we want is often not what God gives. Based on the outcomes, it must be true that often our desires do not line up with the ultimate will of God. That’s hard – and it takes faith to keep believing & trusting in God’s goodness. But it must also be true, according to Jacob’s story, Hezekiah’s story, and Abraham’s story, that God’s will can sometimes be changed with persistent prayer.
God loves his children so much. He loves us so very much. He hears our cries to him for justice. He hears us as we cry out in the middle of the night. He hears us on our way to work. He hears the cry of your heart. God said to Daniel (10:12), “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” So, don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. Enlist others to pray with you and for you. Keep praying until the breakthrough comes, and in perfect timing, believe that it will come - because unlike the corrupt judge, God responds in patience, not irritation; God considers what will make you the best you can be, not what he can get out of it. God doesn’t want you to stop asking and go away; God wants you to keep asking and come closer, and closer, and closer.
And so, here’s what we’re going to do. It seems every year that we’ve had this cross, a perfect opportunity unfolds to draw us closer to the reality of God’s love demonstrated on the cross.
I want to help make this real for us today. And so, in your pews are index cards. Please pass them down your pews so everyone has one. (If you’re reading this at home, just get out a piece of paper and keep it in your Bible.) I invite you to write a prayer request on this card that is a new request, or something you’ve been praying about for a long time. Whatever it is, I’m inviting you to embark on persistent prayer about whatever you write down until (at least) Easter Sunday. We’re practicing the ‘praying always and don’t lose heart’ teaching that Jesus has given to us today. Commit to coming to the Lord with this in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and in the dark of night. Don’t give up. Pray always. And I’d like to also encourage you to tell others to pray with you, too.
After we collect the offering, after the choir has finished their offering of music, I invite you to come and attach your prayer request, writing hidden, to the cross. Be bold. Be persistent. Be free to make your request known to God today, and in the days to come so that when he comes, he will find faith in you and faith in me that calls forth God’s perfect mercy and God’s perfect justice to this broken world.
Let us pray: O Lord, you know the requests on our hearts. You already know them before we write them down, and you know whether we feel hopeful or hopeless about our requests. Increase our faith, O God. We want you to find faith in us – growing faith, life-altering faith. Teach us how to pray without ceasing, for your glory, and for the salvation of the world. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
