The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

October 21, 2001

Reading: Luke 18:1-8

In case you didn't know it, being a Christian is no assurance that life will not present challenges. Christians face their fare share of suffering. All of us ask the age-old questions about suffering at one time or another. Oh God, why me? Why do bad things happen to good people?

All of the communities for which today's passages of scripture were written experienced terrible suffering. They were all tempted at one time or another to give up. They all felt abandoned by God. They were tempted to give up hope, to deny the faith, to lose their vision for God's way.

Such stories are especially poignant as we grapple with the shock and horror of terrorist events in a world we had considered to be safe. The stories from Scripture resonate in our lives. We feel a sense of bitterness and disappointment at God's lack of response. We experience the timeless cry of human pain and misery. We feel helpless to do anything about it.

Jeremiah wrote the Old Testament passage to a nation of people who had been exiled from their own country. They lived as aliens in Babylon, unable or unwilling to follow their faith. They felt abandoned by God. The feeling was widespread that they were being punished for sins committed by previous generations.

Timothy, in the New Testament reading, is encumbered with care for his community. He has come to feel the burden of his responsibilities. It sometimes seems too much for him to handle. He cannot get the fledgling Christians to listen to what he has to say. Like the remote control on a television set, they seem to switch channels with every new religion that comes along with something enticing to offer them.

Luke's gospel is written for a people who face constant persecution. The suffering they experience and see others in the Christian community enduring causes them to question their faith. Why is this happening to them? Why are they suffering? When will the suffering and persecution end? Has God abandoned them forever? The violent and evil acts they experience in the society in which they live are viewed as signs of the end of time. They long for the coming of God's kingdom.

Our faithful God responds to each community. Jeremiah reminds the people of their past experience of God. That should be enough to convince them that God has not been defeated. God will restore Israel to greatness. They may give up on God, but God will never give up on them, even if they break the covenant. And what is more, the new covenant that God will make with the people is even better. Instead of knowing about God they will find that God lives within them. They will truly become the people of God, because God's law will be written on every heart and every person will be in direct relationship with God.

Timothy's letter gives him words of encouragement urging him to hold fast to the timeless truth of Scripture. He is to keep people's attention focused on the faith by keeping in mind the faithfulness of God throughout the history of the people of Israel. In returning to scripture he is reminded that God has always been faithful in times of trouble. This time will be no different. Even in their darkest hour, God will be there.

Jesus tells the disciples a parable about their need to pray and to be persistent in the faith. It is about a judge and a widow. The widow would have been completely dependent on the men of her family. There was no social assistance. She could not go out to work. About the only thing left for her to do was to beg. The judge holds the power to help her. At first he simply ignores her. She is too poor to offer any sort of a bribe. But he cannot keep on ignoring, because she won't let him. She refuses to stop demanding justice. He makes excuses. But she persists. And the persistence pays off. When the judge is completely worn down, he grants her the case.

We too are called to persist in the faith. Like the people of Israel, we can think that we are being punished for the sins of others. We can point to the violence in our society, the violence of war, of police brutality, of violence against women, of racism, of persecution and oppression. The more we see it, the more we see it escalating. What is more, since September 11^th, we who have been shielded from violence in many ways experience it personally. It permeates our world with fear. The easiest solution is to throw up our hands in disgust, and give up. We easily convince ourselves that there is little that a few voices can do when faced with such overwhelming issues. Yet clearly, what God requires in the midst of adversity, is faithfulness even when it seems hopeless. It is our sense of integrity coupled with deep faith in God which helps us to have a vision of God's kingdom and of what God's world should be. It is Christian communities that have brought about social change. It is Christian communities that will continue to fight oppression and evil. We will do it, not with more violence but with prayer.

Like Timothy's community, we are called to look to Scripture, not for some prescription for the future. But for help in discerning God's will. For hope as we look at how God has walked with people through every age. For encouragement to continue in the faith. We are instructed to pray always and not lose heart. It is a prayer for justice in an unjust world. It is a prayer for the vindication of believers who criticize the world's values and face the world's ridicule and persecution. It is a prayer for the transformation of God's creation.

If you are anything like I am right now, you don't know what to pray for. You don't know what a just result to the events of September 11^th would even look like. What should we be praying for? What kind of justice is it if it results in the deaths of innocent people? Are the retaliatory actions of the United States just? Will they bring about justice and peace? When will war and violence cease, because that is my prayer? Should I simply give up?