Persistent Prayers—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 19C/Proper 24 (Luke 18)

Luke 18:1-8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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 opponent.’ 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?”

 

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                To be human is to pray. That’s who we are designed to be. In other words, there appears to be an innate sense of God’s presence that creates within us a need to be in communion with God. I’ve always found John Calvin’s concept of the sensus divinitas or “sense of divinity” intriguing. Calvin writes early in the Institutes of the Christian Religion: “There is within the human mind, and indeed by natural instinct, an awareness of divinity.”  That is, “God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty.” [Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1:3:1]. Now, for Calvin, this explains why we’re all condemned because we’ve failed to honor God by consecrating our lives to God. I realize that’s part of the package, but for me, it’s the sense that religion is not an arbitrary invention. It's a natural expression of a sense of connection to the divine. We might get it wrong, but it’s there. Perhaps a more promising perspective when it comes to prayer is found in Augustine’s Confessions, where he famously writes: “Nevertheless, to praise you is the desire of man, a little piece of your creation. You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” [Augustine, The Confessions, Book 1:1 (Oxford World's Classics) (p. 3). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition]. We pray because communion with God is in our bones.

While we may feel this sense of connection with the divine, even if we can’t fully explain it or comprehend it. We might fill that sense of connection with other things—idols—that for a moment meets a need but ultimately fails to serve as the connection. In this reading from Luke 18 that the Revised Common Lectionary offers for our consideration, the message is one of persistence. Even if God seems reluctant to answer, keep pressing because God will answer. It’s in God’s nature to do so.   

                When Jesus shares parables as a way of revealing the nature of God’s realm, he often compares/contrasts human and divine actions.  To give an example—in Luke 11 Jesus asks whether a human father would give his child a scorpion when the child asked for an egg. Any sane person would reject a scenario in which a decent human father would give his child something dangerous rather than the item asked for. If that’s true of human parents, then humans, 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!” (Luke 11:13). Now, we might want to push back on this word about humans being evil, but the point is the contrast. So, if we ask God to send the Holy Spirit upon us, then surely God will do that for God is by nature good not evil.   

               We see something similar here in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. The parable serves to raise our awareness of God’s character by way of comparison because that is, in Jesus’ mind, the most effective means. Jesus assumes that if we are created in the image of God, then something about God is reflected in our being (minus the “evil” mentioned earlier). Of course, we do not perfectly reflect God’s nature/essence. That’s the point of Genesis 3 and the story of the fall. It’s why we are called to confess our sins before God. It’s why Jesus suggests that we should take care of any dysfunctional elements in our human relationships before we bring our gifts to the altar. This word of wisdom is not found in Luke; it’s present in Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount.” There  Jesus declares: “So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt. 5:23-24).

At issue here is the character of God. If we take the position, as outlined by the prologue of John’s Gospel, that Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh (John 1:1-14), then Jesus reveals the character of God. While the Gospels offer a complex picture of Jesus’ life and ministry, with Jesus often saying things that can make us uncomfortable, the Christian movement assumes that Jesus’ life and teaching as revealed in the Gospels reveals something about God’s character.

When we come to the parable of the widow and the judge, Jesus speaks to God’s character, though subtlety, as well as the nature of prayer. The two characters in this story are a judge and the widow who petitions him seeking justice. According to the parable, the judge is not only too busy to bother with this woman’s concerns, but he doesn’t fear either God or humans. When it comes to the woman, well he has nothing to fear from her since she is probably poor and has no influence in society.

This is a scene that’s played out in courts every day in America. If you have money and influence, you can get the attention of the judge (quickly). If you’re a former President, you might even appeal to the Supreme Court for relief. That’s not something a poverty-stricken widow could hope to do. Yes, even in America, money can buy justice. Indeed, apparently, you can get away with murder if you suffer from a malady called “affluenza.” This is the human justice system at work, and too often those without means simply give up.

In this parable, the plaintiff, this widow Jesus draws our attention to, refuses to give up. She wants justice, and even if the judge wants to push her away, she’s not going to give up until she gets justice from the judge. Well, she’s so persistent that this judge, who would rather deal with the needs of people of a higher social-economic position (after all he has nothing to gain by adjudicating the woman’s claims), due to her persistence, the judge gives in. The judge decides that this woman—whom we can imagine comes every morning to the courthouse and sits in the front row requesting an audience—won’t go away until he addresses her concern. So, when he grows so tired of her appearances that he can’t bear it anymore he gives her the hearing she’s been requesting. As a result, justice is served. The reason she gets justice is not that she has wealth or influence, but because she refuses to go away. She persists.

We’ve heard the story, but now comes the application. Jesus asks the audience a question about prayer and God’s character. He pushes the envelope a bit, offering a view of God we might find odd. His question involves a contrast/comparison of the unjust judge and God. If an unjust God grants justice to one who shows persistence, surely God would do the same. If this judge who, we might say is evil, does what is right because of the woman’s persistence, surely God who is just wouldn’t delay in responding to our requests. The widow got her way due to persistence, so does God need reminding? That shouldn’t be the case if we are right in ascribing to God the virtues of justice and mercy. Won’t God respond favorably to those whom Luke calls God’s chosen ones, and by chosen ones I don’t mean the upper crust, the ones with the most power and influence? Of course, God would be much quicker than the unjust judge in responding to God’s chosen ones!

As for the identity of the chosen ones, they would, in this context, be the people of God. We might want to expand the definition of who God listens to, but at the very least, Jesus would likely have in mind the ones Paul calls the “elect” (Rom. 8:33). As for the identity of the elect/chosen ones, I will leave it to the interpreter to decipher. It does appear, however, that God hears the cries of those who cry out to God.

Regarding how God responds to our cries/prayers, we should assume that God will act without delay in responding to the cries of those suffering injustice. It’s good to remember here that the situation for a widow in the first century was precarious. There was no social welfare net—no Social Security, no pension benefits, no Medicare or Medicaid. The only resource they had to turn to for help in time of need was the local judge, with the hope that the judge would hear their petition and grant relief.

Of course, when you go before the judge, you’re hoping that he (normally a male) would be receptive to one’s story and would give relief. Unfortunately, in this case, the judge was neither just nor merciful. This judge did not even fear God and fearing God was central to life among the people of God. That’s because the “fear of God” was linked to keeping the commandments (Deut. 5:29).  Despite not responding out of a just heart, the judge does respond out of sheer exhaustion he experienced due to having to face this widow every day when she appears in his court to plead her case. God, on the other hand, doesn’t need to be badgered.  In other words, God is good and not evil (God is not fallen/morally imperfect).

If parables (at least many of them) are designed to reveal something about the realm/reign of God then if this parable reveals something about God and the way we communicate with God (prayer) then what is being revealed? One of the core values present in the parable is divine justice. The assumption here is that both hears our cries and responds with dispatch! In fact, God hears us whether it's day or night. While this is true of God, what about us? As Jesus concludes the parable and affirms God’s willingness to act decisively on behalf of God’s chosen ones, the passage takes on an eschatological tone. Jesus points to the future and asks whether the “Son of Man find faith when he returns?” God is faithful, but are we?

The question that gets raised at the end with this eschatological/apocalyptic note has to do with accountability. Since the parable uses the image of a judge to get the point across, Jesus introduces the matter of divine judgment into the conversation. So, as Arland Hultgren writes:

The church is reminded by this parable and its application not only of the need to be persistent in prayer, but also to be accountable. The Son of man will come in judgment. The question of “faith on earth” will be paramount. Evidence for faith on earth will be a church that prays with persistence, even in the face of possible persecution. [Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus, p. 260].

So, it’s not just persistence on our part, but also accountability. It’s one thing to be persistent in seeking relief from God through prayer, but will we be equally persistent in living the life of faith? Is that not the purpose of prayer? Persistence in following the way of Jesus?