Year C
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 121
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jacob wrestled with an angel\u2026 and is re-named Israel\u2026 which means\u2026 striven with God<\/em>\u2026 2 Timothy tells us to be persistent in proclaiming the message\u2026 because\u2026 the writer claims\u2026 the time is coming when people will not put up with sound<\/u> doctrine\u2026 but will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires… and will turn away from listening to the truth<\/em>\u2026 Jesus told the disciples the meaning of the parable in advance\u2026 which he didn’t usually do\u2026 he told them not to lose heart\u2026 that they need to pray always\u2026 and isn\u2019t prayer a kind of striving\u2026 isn\u2019t prayer when we seek not our own will\u2026 but God’s\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because if we\u2019re already whole\u2026 then prayer would be superfluous\u2026 but Israel doesn\u2019t only mean striving with God\u2026 it also means striving with\u2026 contending with each other\u2026 as Jacob strove with Laban over Leah and Rachel\u2026 and with his brother Esau for his father\u2019s blessing\u2026 and now\u2026 in today\u2019s reading from Genesis\u2026 Jacob is on his way home to make amends with his brother\u2026 he is prepared to make a gift of 550 goats\u2026 rams\u2026 camels\u2026 cows\u2026 bulls\u2026 and donkeys\u2026 so after Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright\u2026 he is seeking justice for\u2026 and reconciliation with him\u2026 but he is afraid of seeing Esau face to face\u2026 he is afraid of not being forgiven\u2026 but all that night\u2026 he wrestled with God\u2026 and he received blessing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The theme of justice has been important to Luke since at least chapter 14\u2026 the Great Banquet\u2026 the Prodigal Son\u2026 the Unjust Steward\u2026 the Cleansing of the Ten Lepers\u2026 and now we have the Unjust Judge\u2026 we’re told that this is a city judge\u2026 ancient country people knew about cities\u2026 impersonal places where hardened\u2026 cynical people often took advantage of the weak\u2026 so this city judge is immediately recognized for who and what he is\u2026 but let’s think for a moment about this woman who comes to him\u2026 the Hebrew word for widow means\u2026 one who has no voice<\/em>\u2026 theologian Robert Capon writes\u2026 this woman is a 24 karat loser\u2026 widows\u2026 especially in ancient times\u2026 were people who had lost not only their husbands\u2026 but their social standing\u2026 they had\u2026 in a word\u2026 lost their life as they knew it\u2026 and like the Prodigal Son\u2026 when he first works out his confession\u2026 she is figuratively dead… and she knows it\u2026 but she has not really accepted her death because she still hopes\u2026 like the Prodigal\u2026 that she can ace out the system\u2026 and get some old-style\u2026 if only marginal satisfaction from it\u2026 she has the gift of desperation\u2026 we don\u2019t know what kind of opponent she has\u2026 whether she\u2019s an older woman whose husband has passed on\u2026 or perhaps she\u2019s a young mother with a mouth or two to feed\u2026 and now she seeks reparations so she doesn\u2019t have to resort to begging\u2026 or prostitution\u2026 but as John Shea wrote\u2026 her voice is all she has\u2026 her only hope is that she keeps coming\u2026 persistence is not her fallback strategy\u2026 it is her only strategy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And she must keep coming\u2026 because she deserves to be treated like a human being\u2026 and because she comes to a judge who has no fear of God\u2026 and no respect for anyone\u2026 she is vulnerable\u2026 aware of her predicament\u2026 she knows how the social systems of her time can work against her\u2026 and she cannot rely on those who have no respect for her\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when the judge says\u2026 so she doesn’t wear me out<\/em>\u2026 the Greek phrase also means\u2026 so she doesn’t give me a black eye<\/em>… it may only be a figurative translation\u2026 but getting a black eye means getting a tarnished reputation\u2026 and a judge who’s supposed to give justice\u2026 doesn’t want to be known for not giving justice\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it doesn\u2019t matter whether this judge was appointed or elected\u2026 because he is a caricature\u2026 because in giving in to her\u2026 he avoids a tarnished reputation\u2026 because a judge who’s supposed to give justice\u2026 doesn’t want to be known for not giving justice\u2026 so the widow is using the little power she has\u2026 to fight injustice\u2026 her persistence becomes her prayer\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gospel starts out with Jesus telling us the point of the parable\u2026 Jesus doesn’t unravel the mystery of answered and unanswered prayer for us\u2026 he simply says to pray constantly and to not lose heart\u2026 knock and the door will be opened\u2026 seek and you will find\u2026 and prayer can help us realize\u2026 that while we participate in systemic injustice regularly and innocently\u2026 we can soften to it\u2026 and not only learn about it\u2026 but wrestle with ways to eliminate it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Debbie Thomas wrote in The Christian Century\u2026 the point of the parable is that God is not<\/strong> like the unjust judge\u2026 but is a loving and just God who does not delay\u2026 and who grants justice when her children cry out\u2026 the problem with this understanding is that too often\u2026 our lived experience doesn’t bear this out\u2026 too often what we desire is delayed\u2026 too often\u2026 our most fervent prayers for healing\u2026 for justice\u2026 for peace\u2026 for joy\u2026 go unanswered\u2026 too often our experiences with prayer lead us to perceive God as an unjust judge\u2026 turned away from the urgency of our requests\u2026 for reasons we can’t begin to fathom\u2026 but theologian Huston Smith said: When the consequences of prayer and belief are worldly goods\u2026 focusing on these things turns religion into a service station for self-gratification and churches into health clubs\u2026 religion’s role is to de-center the ego\u2026 not pander to its desires\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In an article I read this week\u2026 about today’s Gospel lesson\u2026 Lutheran Pastor Diane Roth\u2026 distills this story into just two words\u2026 prayer and justice\u2026 at the retreat I attended this week\u2026 the Rev. Bill Nicholson observed that we can distill our Christian walk into almost the same two words\u2026 love and justice\u2026 in the Two Great Commandments\u2026 Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart… soul\u2026 and mind\u2026 and to love our neighbor as ourself\u2026 and in our baptismal vows\u2026 we commit to respect the dignity of every person\u2026 and strive for peace and justice for all persons\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book The Road Less Traveled\u2026 author M. Scott Peck claims that love is a verb\u2026 and when we love\u2026 we support the physical\u2026 emotional\u2026 psychological\u2026 and spiritual well-being of our partners\u2026 those in our families\u2026 and our neighbors\u2026 whoever they may be\u2026 it’s not about right belief\u2026 it’s about right practice\u2026 in the Parable of the Good Samaritan\u2026 when the lawyer agrees that it was the Samaritan who acted with mercy\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 Go and do likewise<\/em>\u2026 not\u2026 Go and believe likewise… but do<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n So maybe this parable isn’t about God at all\u2026 maybe it’s about us\u2026 maybe what’s at stake is not who God is\u2026 but who we are\u2026 maybe it’s about the state of our hearts\u2026 and the things for which we pray\u2026 and how we might fortify our spiritual lives through prayer\u2026 how we might put less value on doing\u2026 and more value on being\u2026 so that as we become increasingly established in the Ground of Being\u2026 our doing\u2026 the doing that we do\u2026 will increasingly reflect God’s will for us as community\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to how plainly\u2026 prophets like Isaiah put it\u2026 the fast that I choose\u2026 is to loose the bonds of injustice\u2026 to let the oppressed go free\u2026 to cover the naked\u2026 to share bread with the hungry\u2026 to house the homeless\u2026 and then\u2026 I shall be called the repairer of the breach\u2026 the restorer of streets to live in<\/em>\u2026 and perhaps\u2026 as we continue to strive with God\u2026 we too shall be renamed\u2026 like Jacob was\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice\u2026 love\u2026 and prayer\u2026 let us pray\u2026 Holy God\u2026 g<\/em>uide<\/em> us to perceive what is right\u2026 and grant us both the courage to pursue it\u2026 and the grace to accomplish it\u2026 through Jesus Christ <\/em>our Lord<\/em>\u2026 Amen<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year C Genesis 32:22-31 Psalm 121 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 Luke 18:1-8May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 Jacob wrestled with an angel\u2026 and is re-named Israel\u2026 which means\u2026 striven with God\u2026 2 Timothy tells us to be persistent in proclaiming the message\u2026 because\u2026 the writer claims\u2026 the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine\u2026 but will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires… and will turn away from listening to the truth\u2026 Jesus told the disciples the meaning of the parable in advance\u2026 which he didn’t usually do\u2026 he told them not to lose heart\u2026 that they need to pray always\u2026 and isn\u2019t prayer a kind of striving\u2026 isn\u2019t prayer when we seek not our own will\u2026 but God’s\u2026 Because if we\u2019re already whole\u2026 then prayer would be superfluous\u2026 but Israel doesn\u2019t only mean striving with God\u2026 it also means striving with\u2026 contending with each other\u2026 as Jacob strove with Laban over Leah and Rachel\u2026 and with his brother Esau for his father\u2019s blessing\u2026 and now\u2026 in today\u2019s reading from Genesis\u2026 Jacob is on his way home to make amends with his brother\u2026 he is prepared to make a gift of 550 goats\u2026 rams\u2026 camels\u2026 cows\u2026 bulls\u2026 and donkeys\u2026 so after Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright\u2026 he is seeking justice for\u2026 and reconciliation with him\u2026 but he is afraid of seeing Esau face to face\u2026 he is afraid of not being forgiven\u2026 but all that night\u2026 he wrestled with God\u2026 and he received blessing\u2026 The theme of justice has been important to Luke since at least chapter 14\u2026 the Great Banquet\u2026 the Prodigal Son\u2026 the Unjust Steward\u2026 the Cleansing of the Ten Lepers\u2026 and now we have the Unjust Judge\u2026 we’re told that this is a city judge\u2026 ancient country people knew about cities\u2026 impersonal places where hardened\u2026 cynical people often took advantage of the weak\u2026 so this city judge is immediately recognized for who and what he is\u2026 but let’s think for a moment about this woman who comes to him\u2026 the Hebrew word for widow means\u2026 one who has no voice\u2026 theologian Robert Capon writes\u2026 this woman is a 24 karat loser\u2026 widows\u2026 especially in ancient times\u2026 were people who had lost not only their husbands\u2026 but their social standing\u2026 they had\u2026 in a word\u2026 lost their life as they knew it\u2026 and like the Prodigal Son\u2026 when he first works out his confession\u2026 she is figuratively dead… and she knows it\u2026 but she has not really accepted her death because she still hopes\u2026 like the Prodigal\u2026 that she can ace out the system\u2026 and get some old-style\u2026 if only marginal satisfaction from it\u2026 she has the gift of desperation\u2026 we don\u2019t know what kind of opponent she has\u2026 whether she\u2019s an older woman whose husband has passed on\u2026 or perhaps she\u2019s a young mother with a mouth or two to feed\u2026 and now she seeks reparations so she doesn\u2019t have to resort to begging\u2026 or prostitution\u2026 but as John Shea wrote\u2026 her voice is all she has\u2026 her only hope is that she keeps coming\u2026 persistence is not her fallback strategy\u2026 it is her only strategy\u2026 And she must keep coming\u2026 because she deserves to be treated like a human being\u2026 and because she comes to a judge who has no fear of God\u2026 and no respect for anyone\u2026 she is vulnerable\u2026 aware of her predicament\u2026 she knows how the social systems of her time can work against her\u2026 and she cannot rely on those who have no respect for her\u2026 And when the judge says\u2026 so she doesn’t wear me out\u2026 the Greek phrase also means\u2026 so she doesn’t give me a black eye… it may only be a figurative translation\u2026 but getting a black eye means getting a tarnished reputation\u2026 and a judge who’s supposed to give justice\u2026 doesn’t want to be known for not giving justice\u2026 And it doesn\u2019t matter whether this judge was appointed or elected\u2026 because he is a caricature\u2026 because in giving in to her\u2026 he avoids a tarnished reputation\u2026 because a judge who’s supposed to give justice\u2026 doesn’t want to be known for not giving justice\u2026 so the widow is using the little power she has\u2026 to fight injustice\u2026 her persistence becomes her prayer\u2026 The Gospel starts out with Jesus telling us the point of the parable\u2026 Jesus doesn’t unravel the mystery of answered and unanswered prayer for us\u2026 he simply says to pray constantly and to not lose heart\u2026 knock and the door will be opened\u2026 seek and you will find\u2026 and prayer can help us realize\u2026 that while we participate in systemic injustice regularly and innocently\u2026 we can soften to it\u2026 and not only learn about it\u2026 but wrestle with ways to eliminate it\u2026 Debbie Thomas wrote in The Christian Century\u2026 the point of the parable is that God is not like the unjust judge\u2026 but is a loving and just God who does not delay\u2026 and who grants justice when her children cry out\u2026 the problem with this understanding is that too often\u2026 our lived experience doesn’t bear this out\u2026 too often what we desire is delayed\u2026 too often\u2026 our most fervent prayers for healing\u2026 for justice\u2026 for peace\u2026 for joy\u2026 go unanswered\u2026 too often our experiences with prayer lead us to perceive God as an unjust judge\u2026 turned away from the urgency of our requests\u2026 for reasons we can’t begin to fathom\u2026 but theologian Huston Smith said: When the consequences of prayer and belief are worldly goods\u2026 focusing on these things turns religion into a service station for self-gratification and churches into health clubs\u2026 religion’s role is to de-center the ego\u2026 not pander to its desires\u2026 In an article I read this week\u2026 about today’s Gospel lesson\u2026 Lutheran Pastor Diane Roth\u2026 distills this story into just two words\u2026 prayer and justice\u2026 at the retreat I attended this week\u2026 the Rev. Bill Nicholson observed that we can distill our Christian walk into almost the same two words\u2026 love […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[189,190,158],"class_list":["post-1825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","tag-justice","tag-love","tag-prayer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Untitled-design-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1827,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions\/1827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}