{"id":1437,"date":"2010-10-09T11:22:02","date_gmt":"2010-10-09T17:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/mainlineportal\/?p=1437"},"modified":"2010-10-09T11:22:02","modified_gmt":"2010-10-09T17:22:02","slug":"1437","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2010\/10\/1437\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sermon We’re Not Going to Preach: Lectionary Reflection on Luke 18:1-8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Lectionary Reflection for October 17, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Widow and the Unjust Judge: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sermon We\u2019re Not<\/em> Going to Preach\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 18:1-8<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

I tell my preaching students that when they have an illustration that very clearly connects with the point they\u2019re making (in other words, is self explanatory), it insults people\u2019s intelligence to say \u201cThe reason I am about to tell you this story is to illustrate the point that\u2026.\u201d Or \u201cI told that story so you would see that\u2026\u201d People can figure out why we\u2019re telling them a story if the story is connected to the point.<\/p>\n

So I have to hope my students aren\u2019t familiar with this parable from the 18th<\/sup> chapter of Luke, where Luke goes against my homiletical advice. \u201cThen Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.\u201d (18:1)<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t look deeper at Luke\u2019s listening cue, here is the short, superficial sermon on this text we would preach.<\/p>\n

The Sermon We\u2019re Not<\/span> Going to Preach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opening statement: <\/strong>\u201cPray always and do not lose heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read widow and judge story. Tell several stories of people who prayed to God and received cures, upticks in finances and better relationships.<\/p>\n

Grand finale:<\/strong> \u201cThe judge finally answers the widow\u2019s prayer because she tired him out. God is a lot kinder than that!\u201d \u201cPray always and do not lose heart.\u201d Amen.<\/p>\n

Segue to Offering or Altar Call:<\/strong> Then, depending on the church, the preacher will say either, \u201cThe ushers will now come forward for the morning offering\u201d or \u201cI invite any of you who feel moved to commit or recommit yourselves to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to come and kneel at the altar at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

I agree with Luke\u2019s listening cue. The parable of the widow and the Unjust Judge is about our need to pray always and not to lose heart. But it\u2019s not just a personal message which nudges us to pray for a cure for a family member, a new job, or financial stability. \u00a0It\u2019s about a particular type of praying:\u00a0 for vindication for those whose needs are not being met in our society, praying that they will receive what they need and what is rightly theirs.<\/p>\n

Some notes on the characters and situation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The judge does not \u201cfear the Lord.\u201d He, a judge himself, does not take the judgment of God seriously.<\/p>\n

He is legally required to give precedence to a widow.<\/p>\n

As a widow she is probably not a person with resources. She comes repeatedly asking this judge to procure justice for her, defined, not as revenge, but as securing the rights of a wronged person. The open ended nature of the text (we aren\u2019t told her specific complaint) opens the text up for contemporary applications.<\/p>\n

Vindication<\/em>, a word used 3 times in 18:5-8, doesn\u2019t just refer to an answer to prayer. \u00a0There is an eschatological dimension to the vindication.<\/p>\n

God will vindicate his chosen people (symbolized by the widow) when they experience unjust suffering. If we have resources and influence, we are to use them to work toward the vindication of others whose rights are being trampled.\u00a0 This is how we exercise our faith and prepare for the coming of the Son of Man.<\/p>\n

Questions with Obvious Answers? <\/strong><\/p>\n

In verses 6-8 Jesus asks two rhetorical questions.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Will not God grant justice (or vindication from the verb ekdikeo) to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?<\/li>\n
  2. Will he delay long in helping them?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We know that rhetorical questions are supposed to be questions with obvious answers that are asked to remind people of what everyone already knows. Jesus expected the answer to question #1 would be Yes! And to #2 No!<\/p>\n

    I know there are people in my congregation and probably in yours for whom the answer to these questions would be reversed. \u00a0Add to that those beyond our congregations. Will God grant vindication to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? No! (Unless I\u2019m not one of the chosen. That would explain the fact that I\u2019m not getting any answers.<\/p>\n

    And #2 Will God delay long in helping them? Yes! (Unless I\u2019m not one of the chosen. That would explain the delay in my getting help)<\/p>\n

    For many reasons, many people have difficulty affirming that God grants justice to the suffering and that God grants that help quickly.<\/p>\n

    Between verse 7 and verse 8, I wonder what people\u2019s responses were? What was their body language and facial expression? If they had been nodding in agreement with smiling faces, would Jesus have needed to answer both of his own questions in one reassuring statement?
    \n\u201cI tell you he will quickly grant justice to them.\u201d (18:8)<\/p>\n

    One thing about the Bible- it presents a full picture of God. Not just a God of reward and mercy. Not just a God of justice and accountability. Always a God of mercy and justice, grace and challenge. You can\u2019t have one without the other, when it comes to God. And, in preaching, the good news is not the good news if it isn\u2019t true to the whole character of God.<\/p>\n

    So Jesus, after assuring us that it is God\u2019s intention to grant vindication or justice for all, puts the burden to make some behavioral change back on us.<\/p>\n

    \u201cYet, (despite the fact that we know God\u2019s will is for justice on earth) when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (18:8)<\/p>\n

    Now, when Jesus asked this rhetorical question, what was the body language, what were the facial expressions of listeners? \u00a0I\u2019m guessing quizzical facial expressions and shrugs that said, \u201cNot sure\u2026.probably not\u2026<\/p>\n

    The Kingdom of God is among you<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Right before this parable of the widow and the Unjust Judge comes Jesus\u2019 teachings about how to be ready for the coming of the Kingdom. \u00a0He says the kingdom of God is in our midst, (17:21) as well as a future event we could no more miss than we could not notice lighting flashing across the sky. This will be the advent of the Son of Man.<\/p>\n

    I believe that the parable of the widow and the Unjust Judge is a parable about how to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. The kingdom of God is among us in the reality of God\u2019s will for vindication for those who cry out to him (17:21). We activate that will by persistent prayer, backed by action, to bring God\u2019s justice to the attention of unjust events and systems.<\/p>\n

    The parables are all Jesus\u2019 answer to the question \u201cWhat is the kingdom of God like?\u201d There is always something strange about a parable, something not like the way things are in real life. This strange detail is the window into Jesus\u2019 insight about the kingdom of God. In this parable, the judge is not like a person in real life. He is not even like an institution or system. He is much more brutally self aware than a real person in real life or a real institution in everyday life. Sure, sometimes a politician caught in bed with someone she or he should not have been in bed with will hold a tearful press conference to get back in the good graces of the public. But in general, individuals and groups don\u2019t admit to themselves<\/em> that the reason they act or don\u2019t act the way they do is because \u201cI have no fear of God or respect for anyone\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That would be like saying: \u201cI am an irreverent, disrespectful jerk who thinks only of my own convenience and comfort. Don\u2019t expect any justice from me.\u201d Real people and institutions protect themselves (ourselves) with layers of rationalizations, ways we can continue to pursue our lifestyles and sleep well at night while ignoring or downplaying the needs of those beyond our families and friends.<\/p>\n

    Jesus challenges us by juxtaposing God\u2019s desire for justice (the presence of the kingdom in our midst) with the possibility that, when Jesus returns, he may find that nothing has changed. \u201cGod will quickly grant justice\u2026yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Now and Then <\/strong><\/p>\n

    My husband Murry and I used to belong to an adult Sunday School class called the \u201cNow and Then\u201d class. I assumed it got its name from the fact that they studied the faith now<\/strong> and the roots of the faith in the biblical story then.<\/strong> It turned out it was more a description of the sporadic attendance of class members! It occurs to me that THEN can refer, not only to a past event, but also to a future one.<\/p>\n

    So Now and then <\/strong>is a good answer to the question:\u00a0 When are we to prepare for the kingdom of God?<\/p>\n

    We are to prepare now<\/strong> for then<\/strong>. How? By praying for justice, pestering for justice, persistently demanding justice from people and institutions with other priorities.<\/p>\n

    Now<\/strong>, we have the kingdom of God in our midst as God\u2019s desire for justice.<\/p>\n

    Then<\/strong> the Son of Man will stand before us and ask \u201cWhere will I find faith on this earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Here<\/strong> would be a good answer.<\/p>\n

    Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX. \u00a0Visit her Expert Site at Patheos here. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In general, individuals and groups don\u2019t admit to themselves that the reason they act or don\u2019t act the way they do is because \u201cI have no fear of God or respect for anyone\u2026\u201d That would be like saying: \u201cI am an irreverent, disrespectful jerk who thinks only of my own convenience and comfort. Don\u2019t expect any justice from me.\u201d Real people and institutions protect themselves (ourselves) with layers of rationalizations, ways we can continue to pursue our lifestyles and sleep well at night while ignoring or downplaying the needs of those beyond our families and friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Sermon We're Not Going to Preach: Lectionary Reflection on Luke 18:1-8<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In general, individuals and groups don\u2019t admit to themselves that the reason they act or don\u2019t act the way they do is because \u201cI have no fear of God or respect for anyone\u2026\u201d That would be like saying: \u201cI am an irreverent, disrespectful jerk who thinks only of my own convenience and comfort. 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