21st Sunday after Pentecost [Pr. 24] October 21, 2007 “Series C”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, you sent your Son, Jesus the Christ, to reveal your will and grace for our lives. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to hear his word for our lives, and empower us to make it our own, as we seek to work for justice and to uplift those in need. This we ask in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
This past Wednesday morning, I attended Pastor Blair’s Bible study class, which focuses on a comparison of the four Gospels in their presentation of the life of Christ. He began by expressing that the Scriptures are a collection of writings by various authors who seek to express their encounter with God in their own way, sometimes with a specific audience in mind. As a result, there are specific differences between the Gospels, as the authors seek to express their understanding of Jesus the Christ, and his significance for our lives.
This is very similar to what I teach my kids in confirmation class. I tell them that the Bible is not a science book, addressing scientific questions, but a book of faith, in which the authors express their understanding of God. As a result, we need to interpret the Scriptures, not in a literal way, but from the perspective of faith.
This past week, Pastor Blair was addressing how the four Gospel’s differ in their expression of the incarnation, that in Jesus, God was somehow present to us in a special way. For example, Mark seems to associate the incarnation with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at his baptism. John, in his Gospel, expresses the incarnation in theological terms, as the Word of God becoming flesh. Matthew and Luke, on the other hand, attribute the incarnation as the work of God’s Spirit at conception.
The point is, however, that although we do not understand the scientific question as to how the incarnation occurred, all four Gospels are in agreement that Jesus was not just a human being, another prophet or a great teacher. All four Gospels are in agreement on the faith issue, that in the person of Jesus, we behold the presence of God.
I enjoyed Pastor Blair’s study, and would encourage more to participate. But this is not simply a plug for his class. Pastor Blair also explored the significance of the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise recorded in Luke’s Gospel. Here, in the Magnificat, even before Jesus was born, Luke sets down three themes of Jesus’ ministry.
First, Mary says “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts…” The kingdom of God, which Jesus will bring to fruition, will produce a moral revolution. Pride in one’s accomplishments will be turned upside down and replaced by the acknowledgement of our sinful nature and reliance upon the grace of God for our salvation.
Secondly, Mary says “He has brought down the powerful, and lifted up the lowly…” By this, Luke is telling us that the kingdom of God will bring about a revolution of justice. God will vindicate the oppressed and those whose rights have been trampled on by the powerful of this world.
Finally, Mary says “He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty…” By this, Luke is telling us that the kingdom of God will bring about an economic revolution. Those who are members of the kingdom of God are to share their wealth with the poor and those in need, rather than to amass wealth for their own security.
I share this with you this morning because in our Gospel lesson, all three of these themes are given voice. First, the economic issue. Women at that time, were not allowed to own property. They were completely dependent upon their parents to support them, or, after marriage, upon their husband’s support. If her husband died, she could not inherit their estate outright, and her parents would no longer be obligated to support her.
Widows, like orphans, were at that time, often the poorest of the poor. They were financially dependent upon the benevolence of others, who were, according to God’s law recorded in Deuteronomy, to care for them. This brings us to the second issue, that of justice. According to William F. Malambri, in his commentary on our text, “We might presume that this widow had not received the proper support due her from her deceased husband’s estate, since she was not allowed to inherit the estate outright. Doubtless her brothers-in-law were not living up to the arrangements of their inheritance.” End quote. In other words, they were not supporting their brother’s widow as they were obligated to do. Since they were men, they had the power, and the money.
So this widow brings her case before a judge. But this is not just any judge. According to this parable, we are told that this judge “neither fears God nor respects people’s rights.” Again, according to Malambri, “He was one of those judges who is more attuned to the dollar than the divine. If you want justice from him, you had better be the higher bidder. Or, you had better be persistent.
Having no advocate, or no money with which to bid, our widow just keeps coming back. Like a boxer who does not know when to throw in the towel, she continues, round after round, to stand up to the judge and swing. Finally, he concedes. That’s all we know – in this one instance, for this one accuser, the judge gives in, and grants the widow her claim.” End quote.
Thus we know from this parable that the widow was one of the most vulnerable of persons. She had no money, no man to support her, and depended upon others for her very existence. She personifies pain and suffering. She not only has lost someone that she has come to know and love, she also has to wrestle with an unjust judge in order to sustain her life. But by her persistence, she receives justice and financial support. Here, in this parable, we can see how Jesus, through his teachings and ministry, was proclaiming that in the kingdom of God, there will be true justice and economy for all persons. These are revolutionary concepts, according to our current world standards.
But this parable is also cradled by these words of Jesus. First, we are told that Jesus told this parable about the “need to pray always and not to lose heart.” And our lesson concludes with these words: “Listen to what the judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones… And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
In Jesus’ introduction to the parable, we are told that we are to pray consistently, and to not lose hope. This gives us the idea that the parable is about our need to be diligent in prayer. As the widow constantly pled her case before the unjust judge, so we should constantly nag God with our prayers, so that we can goad God into giving us what we are asking for.
Although I do not deny the need to be diligent in prayer, since this is the means by which we develop a true and meaningful relationship with God, I believe that this could diminish the significance of the parable. After all, the parable is about righting an obvious economic injustice. Thus, I would suggest that if we are to be consistent in prayer, we need to be praying that God’s economy and justice will become a part of our lives, not that being persistent, we can get what we want.
Clearly, at the time that Luke wrote his Gospel, the early church was undergoing tremendous persecution for their faith. It is too bad that our lectionary has chosen to skip the end of the 17th chapter of Luke, where Jesus is asked about when the kingdom of God will come, in which he answers, that not even he knows. For this, I believe, gives us an extra clue to understanding our text.
Jesus is aware of the fact that, although he has proclaimed what the kingdom of God will entail, it has not yet been realized here on earth. As a result, those who came to faith in Jesus, to trust in his proclamation that God’s economy and justice would uplift the poor and oppressed, have yet to see their vindication. The wealthy and the powerful continue to rule the world.
And this is where the third prediction in Mary’s song of praise comes into play. And that is, that in the kingdom of God in which Jesus inaugurates, there is a moral revolution. No longer does power and wealth rule, but neither does pride. We are called upon, as members of God’s kingdom to a new moral code, in which we are to trust in the grace of God for our redemption, rather than in our own merits.
It is, in reality, a matter of faith. Will we trust in the grace of God for our redemption, or will we slowly, but surly, through time, acquiesce to the
kingdom of this world. It is, in reality a moral question. Will we admit our sinfulness, and cling to the grace of God, trusting that Jesus was right, or will he, when he returns in glory, find no faith on earth?
This is a powerful lesson that is set before us this morning. It is one that urges us to be diligent in prayer that God’s kingdom may come to fruition here on earth. It is one that urges us to be humble and faithful to the gift of God’s grace. And it si one that urges us to care for those in need, as well as seeking justice in our world. And only, through the grace of God, in the power of his Spirit, will we be able to succeed.
Amen.
Quote: William F Malambri III, Pulpit Resource, 2007
