Persistence

A Sermon by Patricia Koons

February 17, 2008

Luke 18:1-8

It was 1839 when Adventist William Miller and his publicity agent, Joshua Himes, began a crusade preparing people for the second coming of Christ. Miller firmly believed that Jesus would return in the year 1843. In 1840 they began publishing a newspaper in Boston titled The Sign of the Times. By 1842 The Midnight Cry was being printed in New York. Within two years journals were being published in places like Philadelphia, Rochester, and Cincinnati. Through these and other publications the Adventist's cause grew to national proportions. Miller and his many followers, called Millerites, sold their homes and belongings; quit jobs, left behind their former ways of life and gathered together to wait vainly for Christ to appear in 1843 and pointlessly again in 1844.

William Miller was not the first, nor will he be the last, to predict the date of the second coming. What possesses some to think they can make such predictions? What need in others does it fulfill that they so readily believe them? How could they prepare for such an event? And what, pray tell, does all of this have to do with my text for the morning?
         
If we look carefully we see that this parable of the widow and the unjust judge follows on the heals of Jesus teaching about the coming of the kingdom. In the last 18 verses of chapter 17 he is answering a question put to him by the Pharisees asking when the kingdom of God is coming. He answered them, "the kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.
         
He continues to teach his disciples telling them that in the days before his coming it will be like the days of Noah and the day of Lot. People then were eating and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and being given in marriage, until the flood and the fire and sulfur came to destroy them. He warns his listeners that those who try to secure their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives will keep them. Two will be together in bed or in the work place, one will be taken and the other left. For the ungodly, the second coming will be an event of unrelieved disaster. For God's elect, the chosen, it will be the day when all the wrongs they have ever suffered will be put right.
         
No one will be able to determine when Jesus will return. Even the Lord himself did not know; he told his disciples, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only . . . Therefore, you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

And so we come to the parable of the poor widow and the unjust judge. What seems at first glance to be a story about prayer is actually one of God's vindication, that is, God's upholding, justifying, forgiving and confirming the saints who keep the faith.1 Jesus begins by teaching his followers that when his return appears to be slow in coming they need to be persistent in prayer never losing heart. They should not give up, they should not give in, they should not give way to the fear that will threaten to undo them. They must not succumb to the evil that surrounds them. Rather, they are to keep on praying, keep on believing that he will come again at the proper time.

The widow is their example. All alone in the world, on her own in her pursuit of justice from an unjust judge she is persistent. He hasn't the foggiest idea who she is and, frankly, he doesn't really care. She has nothing with which to pay him off as her wealthy opponent does. It would be to his advantage to grant the case to her oppressor rather than give her the justice she seeks and no doubt, deserves. The widow is well aware of the situation, but she's not about to let this be an easy decision for him. She'll plead her case before him; she'll use physical force if she must. Apparently she gets the idea across to the judge who finally grants her justice lest, she wear him out by her stubborn returns. The phrase "wear me out," might be more accurately be translated, "blacken my eye." The fact is, he's come to the realization that this woman is so determined to get justice she'll stop at nothing to get it, even if it means giving him a shiner. So he gives in, literally, to save face.

Jesus goes on, not to compare God to the judge, rather, to show the stark contrast between them. "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And 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."  Unlike the widow who is unknown to the judge, believers are quite well known to God. This divine Judge created them and has called them by name. This Judge is not unjust, far from it; this One is just, perfect in love and righteousness. Therefore, believers can come freely to God and must continue to pray always for the coming of the day when they will be vindicated and all the powers of evil will be broken once and for all.

I don't know about you, but when I see the violence, destruction, and injustice that exist in this world I cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" As the number of both military and civilian casualties in Iraq continues to rise, I pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" When the news reports tell of at least four school shootings in less than a week, I plead, "Come, Lord Jesus!" Reports of hate crimes perpetrated just because one person can't accept another's skin color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, you name it, cause my heart to scream, "Come, Lord Jesus!" When, oh when, will you come and stop the madness?

Through the ages believers and non-believers alike have suffered injustice and persecution of one sort or another. And if we take scripture seriously, we are told that there will be greater suffering before the second appearance of Christ.

I struggle to understand; how does all of that fit with the later versus of the text: "Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them." In this instance further reading on the text makes the intent of the passage clearer. Another translation reads, "He is long suffering over them." which means that God is patient and slow to anger. Why does God delay? In 2 Peter (3:9) we are told that, "The Lord is not slow about his promises as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that an should perish but that all should reach repentance.

Alright, God is patient; slow to anger, long-suffering and all, but what about this quickly stuff? It says he will grant justice to them, the elect, his chosen and he will do so quickly. I'm ready. I'm tired of seeing the faithful put down by the godless. I've seen enough injustice dished out to the widow, the orphaned, the powerless. Personally, I've heard enough lies and broken pledges. Isn't it about time for this promised justice?

Well, once again, as is usually the case when Jesus speaks by way of a parable, the words go deeper than mere appearance. When that time arrives, that exact time which only God knows, God will act quickly and without delay to put an end to the distress into which believers have been thrust by an evil and hostile world that hates God and God's little ones. There is no doubt, Scripture has made it clear, Jesus will come again and God will make the righteous cause of the faithful triumph forever.

Craddock points out that the parable presents "prayer as continual and persistent, hurling its petitions against long periods of silence."2 And we being human, and living as we do in a world of instant results along with a variety of toys that make silence avoidable, have a very hard time with delay and silence, even from, maybe especially from God. As one writer states; We become faint very easily. How many times have we not earnestly resolved in our own minds to pray for certain people and for certain causes, only to find ourselves growing faint? We were not willing to expend the effort. And little by little we ceased to interceded for others.3

And, I might add, how often have we ceased even to offer our own supplications because we've become convinced that either God doesn't hear or doesn't care. Still, Jesus encourages us to pray always trusting God even in the silence.

The final, and possibly most important question, asked in the text is, " . . . when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Will the followers of Jesus be persistent in their faith? When Christ returns will he find that people have held on to the promises and pursued righteousness? Will he find disciples still praying that justice will prevail? His question is a warning to believers not to let faith waiver. When his return seems long in coming don't give up, don't give in, don't give way to the fear that can so easily over come. Instead, be persistent in prayer, pray always, pray without ceasing, pray even when you don't feel like praying anymore, just pray.

Paul writes to the Romans, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer." (12:12) Endurance is critical, perseverance imperative, persistence essential because affliction and tribulation are inevitable companions of believers in this world. Believers are asked to endure and be steadfast in the face of the anguish and trouble, because we know that the final issue is not uncertain. As the pressure from without grows and the heartache increases, there is the natural danger of giving in to the anger and disappointment within and throw in the towel. Jesus would not have us let go; rather he says to pray, pray always.

And what if we find it hard to pray? Frederick Buechner offers this advice.

Whatever you else it may or may not be, prayer is at least talking to yourself, and that's in itself not always a bad idea.

Talk to yourself about your own life, about what you've done and what you've failed to do, and about who you are and who you wish you were and who the people you love are and the people you don't love, too. Talk to yourself about what matters most to you, because if you don't, you may forget what matters most to you.

Even if you don't believe anybody's listening, at least you'll be listening.

Believe Somebody is listening. Believe in miracles . . .

What about [those times] when, listened to or not listened to, the prayer goes unanswered? Just keep praying, Jesus says. Remember the sleepy friend, the crooked judge. Even if [your prayer goes unanswered] keep beating the path to God's door, because the one thing you can be sure of is that down the path you beat even with your most half-cocked and halting prayer the God you call upon will finally come, and even if [God] does not bring the answer you want, [God] will bring you [God's own self]. And maybe at the secret heart of all our prayers that is what we are really praying for.4

Only in reliance upon the God who comes to us do we have any hope of holding on to our faith to the very end. Only through dependence on the Creator of our souls will we be found believing when at last Jesus comes to reign in glory.

Which brings us back to the Millerites, those interesting people we met at the beginning of this sermon. They were at least somewhat on track. I have no idea what made William Miller think he could predict when Jesus would return. Clearly Scripture would give no support of his efforts. One thing is certain, however, He was convinced that Jesus would return and that people needed to be ready.

What caused some to buy his story to the point that they sold all they had to hold vigil in anticipation of Christ's return? My guess is that people, even then, had had more than enough of what this world had to offer. People have long looked forward in hope to a better life to come. The Millerites may have fallen for a wacky story, but they at least had part of it right, they were seeking to be ready for when Christ would come again.

We in the UCC don't often think about or pray for Christ's return. We don't allow ourselves to get very caught up on being ready for that day. Maybe it's because many have become comfortable with life in this world. It could be some have given up and don't expect his return any time soon, if ever. Possibly, just possibly, we need to be a bit more prepared for when that day does come, because it will come. Perhaps we need to be a great deal more persistent in clinging to a prayer life that will keep us strong until his appearing. When he does come, my friends, will he find faith on the earth? Will he find faith in you?

Heed his words, be persistent in prayer and do not lose heart!

Notes

1. Craddock, Fred P., Interpretation Series, Luke (JKP:1990) p 208
2. Ibid., p. 209.
3. O. Hallesby, as quoted in Daily Readings from Spiritual Classics, Paul Ofstedal, ed. (Augsburg:1990) p. 340
4.  Buechner, Frederick, Wishful Thinking: A Seekers ABC, (Harper Collins: 1993) pp. 86-7