Luke 18:1-8 NIV
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that
they should always pray and not give up. 2 He
said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God
nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who
kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
4 “For some time he refused. But finally
he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps
bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually
come and attack me!’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust
judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice
for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep
putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get
justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he
find faith on the earth?”
A Black Eye to God?
How do we make it in
life? Is it prayer? Is it money? Is it power and prestige? How about education?
Is it faith? Is it by the help of others? Or is it by doing all the things that
bring joy and happiness? Sometimes, I’m at a mystery as to how I have made it
so far in my life. I want to contribute my way to things that I have done, but
some of the things I have done have been the very roadblocks to making it in
life. So, for me, I feel the need to turn away from my ways and seek other
ways, to make it in life.
There are only a few
verses of Scripture to this Parable of the Persistent Widow. Just a few verses,
most all Jesus’ own words, teaching, once again, His disciples about prayer.
Teaching about persistent, patient, prayer to a God that is always just.
This passage is
about when Jesus returns. About when Jesus returns or when He comes. Maybe at
the end of time, or maybe at the end of your time in your attempts to “Make it
in life,” on your own, without God and by yourself.
A huge question pops
up, at this type of thinking. Will you be faithful in this persistent prayer to
a just God to the end? Or, will your struggle in life keep you away from
prayer, when it gets really bad and God doesn’t seem to answer? Maybe you need
to pray for the “Judgment Day” to put all of this to a stop?
Do we want easy,
cheap, fast answers? Do we pray to God as a genie in a bottle? Don’t forget,
Jesus also prayed, three times in Gethsemane and He really didn’t get an
answer. But Jesus did submit to the will of the Father. A will that resulted in
pain, suffering and death. Doesn’t seem to add up, does it?
Prayer may not
always be a “get rich” scheme. Prayer may not always result in a quick and easy
solution to how to make it in life.
Sometimes the result
of prayer turns into a long walk rather than a quick and easy trip to the
answer. But, either long, short, slow or fast; God’s answer to prayer is
faithful, loving and wise. An answer that is faithful, loving and wise may not
be easy or fast.
Now let’s look at
the peculiar statement from the judge in the passage from Luke 18…
Verse 5… this is the
judge speaking… “yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she
gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”
Huh? Is this like
God the Father speaking? If so, why would He say this? Is God afraid that we
may give Him a black eye, or slap His face? I, myself, don’t think so. I think
this is Jesus, once again, teaching His disciples and us too, about how to pray.
Jesus at another
time was asked how we should pray. This is where we see the Lord’s Prayer given
to us. And for this Gospel from Luke, I can’t help but to think of the Second
Petition of the Lord’s Prayer… “Thy kingdom come.”
Luther explains this
short petition like this…
What does this mean?
God’s kingdom comes
indeed without our praying for it, but we ask in this prayer that it may come
also to us.
When does this
happen?
God’s kingdom comes
when our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we
believe his holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.
Well, for me and for
many disciples of Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism as a gift from
God. A gift that we didn’t earn or even pull up our bootstraps to receive. And
this gift of the Holy Spirit leads us to God’s Word and the gift of God’s faith
that leads us and guides us to believe and respond to that gift with the
actions God sets forth in us to live our lives and to “make it in life.” We “make
it in life” not for ourselves, rather in love to God and in love of neighbor.
You know, all those God places in our lives each and every day of our lives.
It seems that this
is where God is more than willing to take my slap to His face or the black eye,
I may give Him.
Faith is given at
just the right time. When we are at the end of ourselves, helpless and destitute,
maybe even when we are dead in the waters of our baptism to ourselves and rise
to new life in God with the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Word, forgiveness from
Jesus and hear God’s call.
FOR, Christ IS faith
and the source of life. SO… as a disciple, we are called to stand firm in our gift
of faith, to endure this life, so that we can tell of our witness… BECAUSE…
Jesus will come when he comes.
May we endure to the
end in persistent prayer to keep the precious faith that God so freely gives.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 NIV (Paul
speaking…)
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the
time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now
there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also
to all who have longed for his appearing.
So, rejoice, God
will take that slap in the face. God has suffered that black eye and He loves
you anyway. Be persistent in prayer and pray… “Thy Kingdom come… thy will be done…
on earth as in heaven.”
Thanks be to God!
I leave you with
this YouTube Music Video that I listened to in my preparation during this reflection…
“When We Pray”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DJ3NjA9ZjA&list=RD4DJ3NjA9ZjA&start_radio=1
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