Just In Time

Cub Hannah, of Swamp Branch KY, was a mean drunk. And he was both mean and drunk on June 11, 1999, when he took a machete to his brother in law, Sam Lugar, out in Lugar's front yard... [and nearly severed his] little finger. Johnson County sheriff's deputies ...interviewed six witnesses and arrested Hannah, who spent the next twelve days in jail on a charge of first degree assault before being released on bond. Hannah waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and a judge sent the case to the Johnson County grand jury. And there Commonwealth v. Hannah stalled, without ever being prosecuted.

The Courier Journal has found that the outcome in the Hannah case was not unusual. The justice Kentuckians get depends greatly on the county where the crime is committed. Different approaches among judges and prosecutors, the lack of state oversight, and the absence of standards for keeping up with felony cases affect the time it takes to resolve cases — if they get brought up at all. Some felony cases take years to arrive at convictions or acquittals, while others linger so long that they are eventually dismissed for lack of prosecution. Statewide more than 2,000 indictments have been pending for more than three years. [In one county] ... more than 600 cases have been dismissed for lack of prosecution during the past eight years. [In another] hundreds and hundreds of cases [have been] backlogged over the past twenty years. (Alan Maimon and Jim Adams, The Courier Journal, October 14, 2003)

The idea that “justice delayed” equals “justice denied” is hard to argue with. But how you feel about it depends on which side you’re on, doesn’t it? I’ll bet Cub Hannah is just as happy as can be that his case hasn’t come up yet...

Now, most people seem to think the parable we just read is primarily about prayer. And of course it IS about prayer. But it’s also about justice, isn’t it? First, though let’s take a look at what Jesus is trying to tell us about prayer.

Let me read the parable for you again.

"In a certain city there was a corrupt bureaucrat who neither feared God nor respected people, and there was a single mother in the same city who kept coming to him and saying, “Make my landlord fix the furnace and replace the windows. I can no longer afford to pay the heat bills and my children are freezing.” For a while the bureaucrat refused to listen, but the woman kept coming to his office every day with her three children, and each day she would make her plea again. After several weeks of this, he thought to himself, if I don't give this woman what she asks, she will pester me to death. An order was issued and the furnace and windows were repaired."

Well, so I updated the setting a bit. But it still says the same thing, doesn’t it? And Jesus’ answer still fits:

And the Lord 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.” [v. 7]

What is Jesus trying to say here? Is he saying that God is like an unjust official who can be badgered into compliance? Is he saying that God can be worn down by constant nagging? Is he saying that if we use some sort of magic words like “justice” or “peace” or “love” or “health” that God can be embarrassed into coming through with the goods? I don’t think so.

This passage comes right after Jesus healed ten lepers. He continues teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God, and of how important it is to be ready for Jesus’ return. And so this parable has to be interpreted in the context of those lessons. Luke begins the passage preceding this one by quoting Jesus saying,

"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.' Then he said to the disciples, 'The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.'" [Lk 17:20-22]

Well, we know that the kingdom of God is characterized among other things by justice, right? And here we have a parable bemoaning how hard justice is to come by in this world. So part of the purpose of this parable is to contrast this world and the next, not to draw parallels between them. Part of the purpose of this parable is to emphasize that if, even in this unjust world, glimpses of justice can occasionally be seen, how much more certain we can be that when the Lord returns justice will be perfect and complete.