Sermon for Luke 18:1-8
October 21st 2007
Craziness has many definitions. I may be crazy in the sense of unsoundness of mind, and I may be going out a limb, but the more and more I study the Living Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, I sometimes believe God is also a little crazy in the sense of wild, fantastic, not sensible. Have I got your attention?
Seriously, I struggle with the manner in which God seems to work with us sinners, and I struggle even more when it comes to abundant and eternal life—especially how the price for this wonderful, incomprehensible, undeserved gift is absolutely free.
Folks that is some weird stuff! Think I’m nuts? Let’s take a look at today’s lessons and you might be pleasantly surprised to find out we might just have one crazy God.
In the Old Testament or as I prefer, the Hebrew Scriptures we have the story of Jacob also struggling with God and being renamed to Israel. Jacob if you remember is the grandson of Abraham—the father of the Jewish and Islamic faith. Anyway, Jacob’s name in Hebrew means “grabber,” because at his birth he came into the world grabbing hold of his twin brother—Esau’s ankle. From that day forth Jacob never did quit grabbing.
A sane person might think a sane God would perhaps use good people of decent character to get His message across, but either there are none, or crazier yet, it seems God chooses these individuals that cross the line of being cunning, liars, scoundrels, manipulators, con artists, schemers—like Jacob—the grabber.
Well we know for a fact that Jacob is crazy (unsound mind), because the text says he had two wives, two girlfriends. What man in his right mind would ever desire more than one wife at the same time? Top that with eleven kids—the man is certifiable nuts. But he is also evil!
He cheated his brother Esau out of his inheritance. He conned his own sick and dying father. He swindled his father-in-law. Ok maybe that one I could understand. And now this nut is struggling through the night with God Almighty for a blessing. That’s what I call nerve! Or down right crazy!
But is God any different? I mean, come on! What’s up with this? To make matter worse, God does bless this grabber, with questionable character, renames him Israel—meaning the one who struggles with God—and makes this scoundrel the father of the Jewish nation whose purpose is to witness through word and deed to a people who are certifiable nuts about a fantastic God, whose message we’re sent to share is about as foolish or not sensible as the one who sent us.
Let’s do that right now. Let’s take a look at the message, the Word’s of Jesus, that Word become flesh and see if our proclamation/our struggle makes any sense whatsoever?
“There was a certain Judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor respected public opinion.” This my friends is a bold stroke on the part of Jesus. He is taking the craziness of God and lays it bare for all to see…right here.
I hope you all remember the summary of the entire gospel for the past three weeks? That is love and forgiveness. But here in the court room love or forgiveness will play and should play no part, not from a judge who neither fears God nor respects your opinion.
This type of judge would look only at the facts of the case and judge accordingly—there are only two options—you are guilty or you are not guilty. Is this the type of judge you want to stand in front of?
Jesus continues the story by saying there was a widow in that city who came to the judge asking him to render her a favorable judgment. For a while, Jesus says the judge tells her to go fly a kite. She is a nobody, a loser in ancient days. Her complaint strikes him as nothing more than a nuisance. He will not have his calendar clogged up with a case that no self-respecting judge would even give the time of day.
But the judge does give the time, and Jesus tells of the judge’s reasoning for his change of heart. “Even though I do not fear God or respect public opinion,” the judge says to himself, “still simply because this widow is bothering me, I will grant her a favorable judgment—just so she doesn’t finally wear me out by her constant showing up in my courtroom.”
You see, he arrives at his judgment not on the merits of the case, or the letter of the law, not even on her reason or excuses, but simply on the basis of his position as judge. Simply put, because he can. This character is willing to be perceived as a bad judge just so he can have a little peace of mind. Therefore, he justifies the woman.
So what does this say about God? That God is willing to be perceived as a bad God—an unjust God for no better reason because he can, and perhaps wants to get the problems of the world off his back? Like the woman in the story we are justified.
Taking those words into account, ask yourself, how in fact does the New Testament say we are justified—or made right with God? The answer of course is the heart of the gospel—the heart of our Lutheran heritage.
We are justified by grace through faith—that is by our simple trust in the graciously wild unjust thing that God did when he fixed the problems by the death of Christ. Why? Simply on the basis of His position. Simply put, because She can.
The parable continues by saying, “Listen to what the unjust judge says; “And will not God judge in favor of his own people who cry to him for help day and night? Will he not have mercy?
Pay attention to what I’m telling you, Jesus says in effect. Do you really think it makes the least bit of difference to God whether anyone’s cause is just? Think about that. We may think we have a case, but remember all, all have sinned and fall short. God has heard more excuses and reasons that all the parents, teachers, pastors combine multiplied by infinity.
None of it matters a hill of beans to our God. God finds all the lost whether they think they’re lost or not. God raises all the dead whether they acknowledge their death or not. Don’t you see? It’s the bare fact of our lostness and death, not our interpretation of it, or our acceptance of it that cries out to this unjust God day and night.
Remember our past short stories—lost coins don’t make long prayers to get the housewife to hunt for them. Lost sheep don’t have to ask the shepherd to find them. All we have to be is plain lost—just plain dead. “Will not God judge in favor of his people….and have mercy on them?” His answer is “You bet he will—and soon.”
Within a few days or weeks Jesus did actually die and rise—and for me—hopefully for you—this crazy, wild, fantastic, not sensible act begins to govern everything we think, say, and do.
Like the unjust judge, God issued a totally disreputable verdict of forgiveness to an entire race of unrepentant, whining nuisances—sorry guys, but I’m included in this category. God was willing to drop dead to give us a break—because, like the judge who was tired of the widow’s hassling, God may simply be tired of having his creation rattled by a world full of idiots—He destroyed himself rather than having to destroy us!
Folks nobody but a crazy judge would issue a favorable judgment on our worthless cases, and nobody but a wild, fantastic God could possible have enough love and forgive to have been bighearted enough to go out of the judging business for the likes of us.
“Still,” Jesus concludes the parable, still, nevertheless, notwithstanding, in spite of all the lovely good news I’ve just given you when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” The implied sad answer, of course is no.
Just like we would not trust a judge who does not rely upon the law to render his verdict, neither will we trust a God who does not live up to our standards of Divinity.
And there, if you will, is the ultimate dilemma of our church. The one thing it does not dare proclaim—for fear of being laughed out of town—turns out to be the only thing it was sent to proclaim.
I can stand up in the pulpit and tell people that God will punish them for all their wrong doings, and sometimes they believe me. I can stand up in the pulpit and tell people that God will take care of them and solve their problems. They sometimes believe that too. I can even whip them into a frenzy of trying to please God with irrelevant remorse and bogus good behavior—with sacrifices of time and talent—offerings with a return on investment.
But despite Scripture’s relentless piling up of proof that God is totally certifiably nuts about us when it comes to forgiveness and love. If I stand here and tell you the truth that everything has already been taken care of. The verdict has been rendered. You have no case. Not-guilty by reason of insanity!
If I stand here and tell your God no longer cares a fig for your precious list of good deeds, responsible outlooks, and earnest intention. If I say to you that God has abolished all those oppressive requirements in order that He might freely offer the only solution to your sanity, to the world’s sanity by his death on the cross. If I do that you can only conclude one of three things: I am crazy, God is crazy, or we are all crazy.
But what’s really crazy is if all of us here at Gloria Dei, who aren’t a lot different than Jacob the grabber were to struggle with God. If we struggle with the fact that God deals with the Jacob’s of the world—you and me—cunning manipulative lying scoundrels constantly grabbing for God’s blessing.
If we struggle through the night we just might come to the realization that yes our abundant life and life eternal flow only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the price for this wonderful, incomprehensible, undeserved gift is absolutely free.
If we at Gloria Dei struggle persistently like that poor widow our wild, fantastic God will pour out his blessing upon you and this church—If we struggle we might in turn come to the conclusion that yes we are justified, made right with God simply by our faith. Then and only then will we be just crazy enough to take seriously our purpose.
To go out into the world and witness through word and deed to a strange people about a God offering love and forgiveness through faith and faith alone.
Please struggle with that foolishness this week, because if we do, guess what? Crazy things will begin to happen.
Why? Because we have one crazy God.
