South Roanoke United Methodist Church

Do you always get what you want from God?  As you consider the circumstances in which you find yourself right now in life, do you ever wonder what in the world God could possibly have had in mind for you?  Have you had a dream for your life, your family, your church, your world and place all your hope for its fulfillment in God and then wonder whether God will ever do anything with it?  I have, and I think you have, too.  I believe our Lord Jesus had you and me in mind when he told this story about an unjust judge and a very persistent widow.  You and I need to listen to what our Lord has to say this morning. 

To understand what Jesus is saying to you today we have to transport ourselves for just a moment to his time in his culture and learn what we can about these two people in his story. 

What do you think of this judge?  Not a very good guy, is he?  The position of judge had established itself in the Jewish culture in which Jesus lived based upon the role created long before in ancient Israel.  Way back when Moses found that he  just couldn’t handle all the disagreements and conflicts among the people of God all by himself, he was urged to appoint others to help him.  The role of the judge that was established back then and carried on through the time of Jesus was to promote harmony in relationships and to equitably resolve disputes among the people of God.  During one of the most exemplary moments in all of Hebrew history, when King Jehosaphat established reforms designed to turn the people and the kingdom back to God, one of those reforms was the appointment of judges.  The King delegated his own judicial authority to their discretion.  Upon their appointment the King told them,
          Consider what you are doing, for you judge not on behalf of human beings but on the LORD’s behalf; he is with you in giving judgment.  Now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care what you do,  for there is no perversion of justice with the LORD our God, or partiality, or taking of bribes.                                        2 Chronicles 19:6-7
During the time of Jesus when fellow Jews found themselves in relational or legal dispute, they were discouraged from going to the local civil authorities to resolve them. They preferred to keep their quarrels in the family.  The judge to whom Jesus refers in his story is one such local religious leader appointed to resolve disputes among the people of God. 

Jesus tells us straight out that this judge “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” (18:2)  Now in our time of national election with the candidates for the presidency accusing each other of having a so-called “litmus test” for selection and appointment in the judicial process in the United States let there be no mistake that there was an unequivocal “litmus test” for judges in biblical times and Jesus names it here.  They had to fear God and respect people.  They were charged with divine responsibility, as God’s representatives, to adjudicate fairly and justly in all their deliberations.  This judge doesn’t fear God and has no respect for people.  Jesus does not tell us exactly where the judge goes wrong.  Is he awaiting a bribe?  Is he favoring the widow’s more powerful adversary in this dispute in order to curry his favor?  We don’t know.  But this poor widow surely finds herself in a difficult situation before this judge. 

Don’t you feel for this woman in Jesus’ story?  As you know widows were always a high priority for the concern and care of the people of God.  In Biblical times widows had no rights to property and often found themselves with no support.  The scripture is full of admonitions to look out for the needs of widows and orphans.  This widow has come to the judge to have restored to her her rightful due, seeking justice for herself from God’s representative.  But she is refused.  And she keeps on coming to him.  And he keeps on denying her petition.  The story builds to a climax when she finally just wears the judge out and he declares:
          Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming. (18:4-5) 

Now, you and I need to listen to what Jesus says at this point in the story.  Jesus says,
          Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?  Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. 
          (18:6-7) 

Now why in the world does Jesus tell a story that compares our just and holy God to the most unjust and conniving character he can think of?  This comparison is so out of balance.  Well, I think I know why.  You see, Jesus knows you and me very well.  When we find our dreams unfulfilled, our hopes unrealized, and our lives turning out not exactly the way we had planned, in our prayers don’t we feel just like this widow presenting our petition to somebody who is just not listening?  God is just so unreasonable sometimes, it seems to us.  We make our wants and wishes known so very clear yet they remain so unfulfilled.  When you don’t get what you want from God, what is God to us be an unjust judge that refuses to give us our due.  Yes, I believe Jesus knows us very well.   

Jesus says God is nowhere near like that judge.  And we know it.  And Jesus makes his point.  But Jesus wonders how much you and I are like this widow.  That begins to get to the point of the story.  What is it about this widow who is treated so badly by this judge?  It is her persistence.  She keeps on coming back.  She comes back again, and again, and again.  Her persistence is rewarded, and she receives an answer to her plea beyond her wildest dreams.  Nobody else had managed to get fair treatment from this unjust judge who neither fears God nor respects people.  Surprise!  She not only gets a response from him, she gets justice!   She got justice from an unjust judge because she was persistent.  

Jesus says if you are persistent, God will answer prayer beyond your wildest imagination. 

There were at least one time in Cheryl’s and my life when we came close to being just as persistent as this determined woman.  For 5 years in our young married life Cheryl and I prayed that we might have a family.  As we both visited doctors, followed treatments, and suffered through all the trauma, envy, and struggle that infertility involves, most of all we prayed.  We prayed harder than we ever had.  And you better believe we were persistent.  No matter how much we sensed that “unjust judge” up there was not even listening we still kept right on praying.  Finally, when we realized that the promise of invitro fertilization was just too young a technology to bring us any sure fulfillment God answered our prayer.  Barely nine months after we submitted our application with the Intercountry Adoption Program through Catholic Family and Children Services in Richmond this chunky 4 ½ month old baby boy arrived from El Salvador on September 20, 1984.  Some twenty years later Chris has now grown to be a chunky young man who hopes one day to serve his country in the military.  That was one time we were persistent in our intention and in our prayers. 

Now there is also one other time we have found ourselves to somewhere close to being just as persistent as this widow, and that’s right now.  You parents and grandparents, and great-grandparents here this morning know exactly what I am talking about.  You never stop worrying, no matter how old they get.  And you never stop praying either. 

Jesus says be persistent, be clear, don’t ever give up.  Be persistent in prayer.  When you are persistent, God has a way to answer beyond your wildest dreams. 

You need to pray.  You need to keep on praying.
          Whether you are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life or happy with the way things are, you need to pray.
          Whether you have already fully committed yourself to this disciplined  practice on a daily basis or are just searching for the right way to go in your spiritual life, you need to pray.
This tested discipline of faith, especially when practiced within the supportive community of people of God, forms healthy and growing spirituality. 

I believe the life of South Roanoke Church is at a particularly pivotal moment just now.  I say this because it is my experience that the future direction and mission of a church and its pastor together have found their focus within the first two years of a pastor’s ministry.  Decisions we make now, discernment we determine now lay the foundation for the unique witness and ministry to which that God has called us for this particular time in this particular place.  In your bulletin today is a brochure that outlines the best thinking of our leaders on that future direction and mission for our church for the next five years.  I hope you will attend a focus group, not only to learn what our leaders are discerning just now for us, but also to share your own thoughts and lend your own support to the setting of our goals for that future. 

But most of all I invite you to pray. 

But there is also something else in your bulletin this morning.  It is a prayer request card.  If our Lord calls us today to be persistent in prayer and your church finds itself at a pivotal moment in its life, your church needs prayer.  Your Pastor needs prayer.  Your leaders need prayer.  There are also so many in our community and in our world that need to be lifted up before God.  So, at this moment in the life of our congregation, I invite you each Sunday to share your prayer concerns and joys on one of these cards.  I also invite you to join with me for a time of prayer.  Every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. or every Wednesday at noon, I invite you to join with me here at the church for just 20 minutes for a time of Morning Prayer or Midday Prayer.  During this time we will share scripture and lift up these prayers of the people that you share with us each week. 

Brothers and sisters, we need to pray.  You need to pray persistently and never give up.  Even when you feel nobody is listening you need to be even more persistent in your prayers.
      Pray persistently when life just is not working out the way you thought it should; God will bring fulfillment to your life.  It may not be exactly the way you had planned, but you do have to be patient!
      Pray persistently that your church may accomplish the mission to which we are uniquely called in this time and in this place; God will bring it to pass.  And God may well do it in very surprising ways!
     Pray persistently that peace may come to our world; God will bring an end to death and destruction.  That was surely God’s intention and Jesus Christ and God’s intention never fails.
That’s why Jesus said, when you pray, you ought to say, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” 

At the end of his story, Jesus asks a direct question:
          When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?  (18:8)
In other words, will Jesus find you just as persistent as the widow? 

Jesus says be persistent, be clear, don’t ever give up.  Be persistent in prayer.  When you are persistent, God has a way to answer prayer beyond your wildest dreams. 

The issue is not whether God will be just; it’s whether you are persistent.