10162022 – Luke 18. 1-10
Let’s talk about “the widows’ faith.”
“Pray ALWAYS and DO NOT LOSE HEART,” Jesus said.
The widow of this parable was exemplary of that kind of faith.
BELIEVE. TRUST. HAVE FAITH. VISUALIZE IT. SEE that IT IS going to happen. KNOW that it WILL HAPPEN.
EXPECT IT. That is “the widow’s faith.” She knows that she is IN THE RIGHT. All she seeks is JUSTICE. She is NOT seeking mercy, just justice, just her do.
All she wants is for justice to take place.
Fairness, equity – is it too much to ask for? (The naysayers will always say, YES!) The faith of the widow says NO!
So, day after day, she shows up.
Like a dirty penny, there she is.
Day after day she speaks of the injustice done to her.
She will not be silenced.
She will not be quieted. She doesn’t have to be. And no one can make her.
She has no man to speak for her. She is alone. She is a widow. She is poor. BUT she is capable. She can speak for herself. And so, SHE DOES…
Day after day she holds her PAIN and her ANGUISH before the judge, before the world, and before God.
To anyone who will listen, she will share her story. She is COMPELLED to. In her mind, it is all about receiving JUSTICE. HER JUSTICE. She has been WRONGED. And she EXPECTS IT to be RIGHTED.
To pray ALWAYS does not mean giving God a “to do list” and then sitting back expecting God to “MAGICALLY and MYSTERIOUSLY “fix” everything FOR YOU.”
It doesn’t work that way!
To pray ALWAYS means that we offer our “petitions,” our “intercessions,” our prayer “bids” to God and then we do “WHATEVER WE CAN” to bring about “the CHANGE we seek” TRUSTING, BELIEVING, that God also “is already doing” WHAT God NEEDS TO DO.
You can’t rush him. We do not set the timeline. You can’t put God on YOUR time schedule. Setting a timer will not help!
But then, You know HOW WE ARE – we want what we want, when we want it! We want things NOW. We want things TODAY. We want things THIS instant!
And, if we do not get them, then, God is NOT listening, God IS NOT hearing, God IS NOT caring…we blame it all on him.
Maybe that means we seek counseling or a support group. Help for ourselves.
We feed the hungry. (Help for others in need.)
Maybe, we offer compassion to the grieving…or care for the homeless.
Perhaps we speak and teach against hatred and prejudice and bigotry, respecting the dignity of every human being and every human life.
Maybe we strive for justice and peace for others.
We make our case not just BEFORE God but WITH God…and BEFORE OTHERS…
We join God in answering OUR prayer…and in answering the prayers of OTHERS around us.
Some believe that prayer is about convincing, cajoling, persuading, or “wearing down God” so God will DO what WE ask. I have never been part of that school.
It is the idea that God is out there somewhere and not here, that God is either UNAWARE or UNCARING about us and this world. (Almost a deistic view)
So, we have to PERSUADE God to show up and to act on our behalf.
Some will say and teach: That ONLY HAPPENS if we are “GOOD enough,” “BELIEVE the right things,” and “SAY the right things” enough times. Or GIVE the right amount. Nope, I have never been a part of that school, either.
That is NOT what it means to pray ALWAYS. If that is what we have been taught or come to believe THIS PARABLE says otherwise.
God is nothing like the unjust judge. God sees our suffering. God hears our cries. God cares. The widow’s faith always involves WAITING.
How long? No one knows for sure…
WAITING does not mean God is absent, WAITING does not mean God is uncaring, WAITING does not mean God is NOT already active.
You see, the widow does NOT wait ON God. She waits WITH God. She does her part. To pray always is what keeps her from losing heart.
It keeps her showing up day after day trusting that God SEES, HEARS, LISTENS, CARES, and WILL indeed ACT.
To pray ALWAYS is what keeps us, in THOUGHT, WORD, and DEED, present, TO and IN relationship with God, so that when God does act WE WILL BE THERE.
Imagine the tragedy if one day the widow just gave up and said NO MORE.
No more prayers, no more believing, no more trusting, no more showing up. Stick a fork in me! I AM DONE.
If that were the case, she would have never received HER JUSTICE.
To pray always is what insures WE ARE PRESENT so that when the Son of Man comes, he will find “faith on earth.”
He will find US, the believers, the faithful, with the WIDOWS FAITH (who refused to let the unjust judge have the final say.)
To live the widow’s faith may be some of the most difficult and necessary work we do.
But God has already given you, everything you need. And it all starts with simple prayer.
Pray and do not lose heart!
Amen.