a sermon on Luke 18.1-8
by David C. Mauldin
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Mobile, Alabama
Every child knows the power of badgering. “Will you take me for ice cream?”
“No.” “Please, will you take me for ice cream?” “No, we can’t today.” “Pleeease.
I want ice cream.” “No. You’ll spoil your dinner.” “No, I won’t. I promise to
eat all my dinner. So can we please go get ice cream?” “No.” “Why?” “Because I
said no.” “But I want ice cream. Please.” “No.” “Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice
cream!” Pity the poor parent who gives in after a long siege. That child has
just learned a dangerous lesson: I can get what I want if I drive Mom and Dad
crazy.
Today’s scripture reading is a parable Jesus told about a widow who did just
that. Widows in ancient Israel were particularly vulnerable. For the most part,
women depended on their husbands to make a living. When a man died, his widow
could not inherit his property. It went to the deceased man’s sons or brothers.
If she were older and had grown sons, they were expected to care for her. If she
did not, she became dependent on the kindness of extended family. Because widows
were so vulnerable, the Old Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance God
placed on their care. Taking advantage of a widow, an orphan, or a foreigner
made God angry. And yet, of course people did it.
In ancient Israel, justice was dispensed at the city gates by the elders or a
judge. There was no jury. If you had a complaint against your neighbor, you took
it to the judge, who would hear both sides and then in the presence of the
elders and other neighbors would decide the case. The judge had a lot of power,
and the Old Testament hits this point repeatedly too: A judge must render
justice, never showing favoritism or taking bribes. God loves justice and hates
corruption. And yet, of course there were corrupt judges.
In the story Jesus tells a widow has cause for complaint. Someone has done her
wrong, and she wants justice. So she goes to the judge. Initially he refuses to
hear her case. Why? Jesus says he neither fears God nor respects other people.
In other words, he recognizes no higher authority than himself. He cares only
about what is best for him. If he feared God, he would care about justice. If he
even had a modicum of respect for other human beings, he would take an interest
in justice. But he doesn’t. Jesus doesn’t spell out why the judge refuses the
widow. Is he waiting for a bribe? Has he already had one from her opponent? It
really does not matter. He is a wicked, unjust judge; and he refuses to hear her
case.
Unfortunately for him, the widow is persistent. Most people eventually give up
and go away. Poor customer service is based on this principle. If they keep
people with problems on hold long enough, most will give up. This widow was the
exception. She kept coming back, over and over. Pestering. Persisting. Badgering
the unjust judge like a kid who wants some new toy. “Give me justice.” “No.” “I
want justice.” “No.” “Hear my case.” “Won’t you please go away?” “Not until I
get justice.”
Then the unjust judge did what no parent should ever do when bombarded by the
same request over and over. He gave in. Now this judge knew himself. He knew
that granting the widow’s petition had nothing to do with justice. He just
wanted to get rid of her. But she got what she wanted. She persisted until her
petition was answered.
Jesus goes on to say that God is exactly unlike the unjust judge. Remember the
series I preached on the Sermon on the Mount? Toward the end of the Sermon on
the Mount, in Matthew 7, Jesus says what I consider to be one of the most
helpful and hopeful passages in the entire Bible: “Is there anyone among you
who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a
fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to
those who ask him!”
The human heart is exceedingly wicked. As Calvin says (and I paraphrase), if you
could ever see the depths of your own heart the way God does, it would make you
sick. We need grace. Every human being is so broken and so far from God that
there is no hope except God’s grace. Thanks be to God, he is gracious beyond our
wildest expectations. But the point I want to make here is: Even apart from
God’s saving work, sinful and evil though we are, we are still capable of doing
some good. Jesus names a prime example. We are capable of giving good things to
our children. Since this is the case, why would we ever doubt that God will give
good things to us and take care of us? God is not evil. God is good. God is
love. If we can do it, God can do it even better.
The parable of the unjust judge makes a similar comparison. If a persistent
widow can get justice out of an unjust judge, why would we doubt that God will
answer our petitions? God loves justice. God loves truth. He is not corrupt or
selfish. He wants to rescue his children and vindicate them. Jesus says he will
do so quickly. We are to be persistent in prayer, but it should not take a lot
of persistence. God is quick to help.
Let’s think for a moment about why Jesus told this parable and what it means for
us. Remember what I said a few weeks back: Jesus’ parables tend to be about the
kingdom of God. In some sense this one is too. I think it has a lot to do with
the surprising way the kingdom comes. Jesus’ contemporaries (even his own
disciples it seems) thought the kingdom of God meant Israel defeating the
pagans, gaining independence, and all the nations of the world acknowledging
Israel’s God. They expected all this to come about by military conquest. But
when the kingdom came, it was not what or how they expected. Jesus brought the
kingdom of God by dying on a cross at the hands of the pagans. Here is a
situation where this parable would be helpful. Jesus dies, and his friends know
this is not right, but they are overwhelmed by despair. How could things go so
wrong? Where was God? Jesus said God would not delay; he would quickly help his
chosen ones. And he did. On the third day the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
Hearing the parable this way helps us make sense of that last line: “When the
Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” This is not some stray thought
tacked on to a cute story about prayer. Nor is it about the Second Coming of
Jesus. I believe in the Second Coming, as all orthodox Christians do; but I
think this particular verse is about something else. In the Gospel, Jesus is on
his way to Jerusalem. The Son of Man is coming. When he arrives, will he find
faith? In the people? In the leaders? In his own disciples? He wants his
disciples especially to believe and to not lose hope, even though he will die.
Of course, the parable is not limited to that one moment in time. Jesus’
disciples (then and now) live between the resurrection of Jesus and the final
consummation of all things. Is the kingdom of God already a reality right here,
right now? Yes. Christ has died. Christ is risen. He lives and reigns and he is
at work. Is the kingdom here in all its fullness? No. God has more work to do.
We know he will do it. He has both the love and the power necessary to do it. We
know this because of Jesus’ resurrection. So the kingdom of God is already here
in one sense and not yet here in another.
Therefore, you and I live conscious of two overlapping realities. We are
conscious of God’s power and goodness. We know them because we have experienced
them. Jesus did not just die; he died for you. In your baptism … in the Lord’s
Supper … and through your faith, he has given himself to you. Once you come to
know Jesus, you know his goodness and love and power so deeply that they are
always there no matter how bad your circumstances get.
And that’s the other reality. The world is not yet everything God desires it to
be. We need the parable of the widow and the unjust judge because we find
ourselves in the widow’s place. We want justice. We want peace. We want things
to be right. And they are not. We are not. We cannot deny God’s love and
power—they are simply too real; we have experienced them—but we also cannot deny
the brokenness of human existence—including our own.
So how do we live between these two undeniable truths? The space between them
can be a mighty tight squeeze. Some people fool themselves that live is all
good, no bad. Others, hit by pain and trouble, cannot believe God is both loving
and powerful. Jesus offers us a way to be honest and live with hope. God will
set things right. God will care for you. Jesus says quickly. Sometimes it does
not feel quick to us. When God seems to delay, don’t give up. Be like the widow.
Persist.
I would like to give a number of practical examples, but in the interest of time
I will mention one. When we baptize a child, we do so in recognition of God’s
grace. This child is loved by God, adopted by God as his own dear child, and
promised eternal life because of what? The child’s goodness? Our goodness? The
child’s faith? Our faith? No. Simply because of the grace of God. Jesus died for
this child. God calls this child. God’s hand is on this child. So we baptize,
hoping and praying that God will bring this child to faith. Faith is essential.
Baptism does not somehow magically save us apart from faith. We Presbyterians
are not concerned whether the faith comes before or after baptism, but we know
it must come. This is a circumstance that calls for patience, persistence, and
prayer. As this child grows, we pray for faith and trust God to work. We do our
part, certainly. We teach. We set an example. All that. But the outcome is
decided somehow in that mysterious interplay between divine sovereignty and
human freedom. The child must choose Jesus, and God has a hand in that.
This can be a long, difficult road for parents, grandparents, and friends. Ask
anyone who still prays for a grown child to come to faith in Christ. I cannot
explain to you God’s actions and timing. But I can say to you, on the authority
of Jesus himself, that you should persist in prayer and never give up. Jesus
said: “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.” Amen.