August 25, 2024 | Rev. Loren McGrail
The parable of the widow’s persistence is introduced to us as a parable about prayer and not giving up, then moves into a story about justice, and ends with a question about faith.
The parable begins with the introduction about a judge who does not fear God or people who have no status like the widow who pursues the judge until she wears him down and he ends up giving her the justice she demands. This is what he said, ‘Though I have no fear of God and
no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming’ (Luke 18:4-5). Before we get into who is God in the parable or what does this mean, I would like to share another story that I learned from Diana Butler Bass in her sermon Pray Always, Trust the Work of Justice:
There’s a story told about the day that Mother Teresa went to visit Edward Bennett Williams, a legendary Washington criminal lawyer. He was a powerful lawyer. He at one time owned the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Orioles and he was the lawyer for Frank Sinatra and Richard Nixon, among others. Evan Thomas' biography of Williams tells the story about when Mother Teresa visited Edward Bennett Williams because she was raising money for an AIDS hospice. Williams was in charge of a small charitable foundation that she hoped would help. Before she arrived for the appointment, Williams said to his partner, Paul Dietrich, “You know, Paul, AIDS is not my favorite disease. I don't really want to make a contribution, but I've got this Catholic saint coming to see me, and I don't know what to do.” Well, they agreed that they would be polite, hear her out, but then say no.
Mother Teresa arrived, a little woman sitting on the other side of the big mahogany lawyer’s desk. She made her appeal for the hospice, and Williams said, “We're touched by your appeal, but no.” Mother Teresa said simply, “Let us pray.” Williams looked at Dietrich; they bowed their heads and after the prayer, Mother Teresa made the same pitch, word for word, for the hospice. Again, Williams politely said no. Mother Teresa said, “Let us pray.” Williams, exasperated, looked up at the ceiling, “All right, all right, get me my checkbook!”
Dear Ones, is this your understanding of praying unceasingly? Do you think we can badger God to do what we want or bring us what we need? But what if God is not the judge but the widow and we are the judge? What if God is the one persisting in loving and forgiving us as Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber claims or that “the persistence of our prayer is nothing more than our spiritual exposure to the persistence of God’s longing for a world of justice and beauty—a world where we are finally no longer alone but connected to God and each other in ways that are as surprising as a parable.”
Let’s explore some other interpretations. The parable begins with an exhortation not to lose heart in our spiritual lives. What happens when you lose heart? Do you begin to lose a sense of direction and purpose? Do you become cynical and irritable? Do you begin to doubt God’s intentions? Let’s look at the persistent widow. Is this how the widow comes across? No, I don’t think so. She is purposeful, full of clarity and direction. She knows what she needs and knows its urgency furthermore she knows where to go in order to get her needs met. She is like the many widows we meet in the Bible; she is merciful and driven, “Give me justice! I will not shut up until you do.”
Dear Ones, have you ever prayed like this widow? Please turn to your neighbor and share your thoughts about persistent prayer or the way you pray.
Scripture tells us that God not only hears the cries of the helpless and the marginalized but is in their cries. God dwells with the unseen, unheard, unloved, and unwanted.
Dear Ones, God is the wronged widow crying for justice, pleading with us to listen, to care, or to keep our hearts open.
Now turn back to your neighbor and share who are the widows crying out today in our world? What are they saying? Are they being heard? What justice issues do you feel called to pursue or fight for yourself? What keeps you going?
Dear Ones, if God is the widow, then we have a choice. We can be like the judge who couldn’t be bothered until we are worn down or we can follow God’s example and be like this persistent widow or Mother Theresa and persist until our demands are met.
In light of this election season, I would like to remind you of a story of persistence around the right to vote about the Selma to Montgomery Marches for Voting Rights. In 1965 there were a series of three nonviolent protests that took place in Alabama to protest Jim Crow’s racist system that prevented Blacks from voting.
During the first March on March 7th, the state troopers and local police blocked and attacked the marchers with tear gas and billy clubs on the Pettus Bridge in Selma. This was called Bloody Sunday. The March was televised so all could witness what happened.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was called in to lead the second March. On March 9th he tried to lead 2,000 across the bridge but turned the March around when the state troopers ordered it to stop and to comply with a court order that prohibited further demonstrations. Instead of crossing, he knelt down and led them in prayer. This March was called Turnaround Tuesday. Later that night three white clergymen were assaulted and one died from his injuries.
On March 15 President Johnson addressed Congress, identifying himself with the demonstrators in Selma in a televised address: “Their cause must become our cause too because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”
The following day the Selma demonstrators submitted a detailed March plan to Judge Johnson who approved it and demanded Governor Wallace and law enforcement to refrain from harassing and threatening the marchers. On March 17th President Johnson submitted the Voting Rights legislation to Congress.
The federally sanctioned third March left Selma on March 21st. The marchers included leaders from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). They were accompanied by celebrities like Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne. They were protected by Alabama National Guard and the FBI. On the 25th of March, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the steps of the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, after walking a 5-day, 54 mile march to demand their right to vote.
On August 6, in the presence of King and other civil rights leaders, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Dear Ones, this is what praying for justice without ceasing looks like. Prayer is not something we do only in church or at the end of the day before bed. It doesn’t require a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. It is more than a praise song or even a thank you. We pray with our words, our hearts, and our feet.
After our worship service today, you will have an opportunity to write postcards that remind people to get out and vote.
Your contribution to getting out the vote is an act of persistence in continuing to remind people of their rights to participate in our democracy.
Dear Ones, our parable ends with a reference to the coming of the Son of Man and imagining what he might find. Will Jesus find us praying for and working for justice?
Dear Ones, I invite you to pray without ceasing and become an answer to that prayer. Only then will the kin-dom of God come on earth as it is already in heaven. Only then.