The
parable of Jesus found in Luke 18 is commonly called the story of the unjust
judge and the widow. It is a troubling parable. It ends with the promise that
"justice will come quickly." If you are satisfied that justice has
come, then you are excused from listening. Please pray, while not listening,
for those of us who have some doubt that justice will come quickly. The parable
also gives the impression that we can "wear God down" by praying. There
is no easy resolution of the difficulty in today's Gospel lesson. So, what is
the good news in it? Also the parable that follows it raises questions about how we see ourselves and the the way we view our status.
Here
are two stories, both true. They do not resolve any questions, but they point
to the truth in the Gospel. The first is a prayer story. A congregation had an
old, tiny, historic church that was falling into serious disrepair. It could be
Marsden Road Church where I serve. As much as they loved it, and they did love
it, they prayerfully decided that God wanted them to move to a new place and
build a new church that would enable them to minister and grow. They had few
members and little money. There wasn't any way in this world that the dream
could be realized. They prayed.
The
Minister prayed every morning about this for 5 years. One day, a wealthy member
of the congregation summoned the Minister. The question asked the Minister was,
"How much money can I give to this project?" A year later the
congregation moved into and consecrated a beautiful, spacious new church
facility on 9 acres of well-located land. And, it was all paid for the day they
walked in it. Somehow the prayer and God and the generosity of the wealthy
person are connected. But this can't be turned into a formula. Five years of
daily prayer equals a miracle. If miracles could be predicted they wouldn't be
miracles, they would be science.
Now,
let us look at a real justice story. Two very different people, one the Captain
of a Slave Ship and the other the son of a rich and powerful English family who
were heavily involved in politics were brought together by God to bring justice
to those who were slaves. Now, that justice is not fully here. But there is
more of it now than 200 years ago and it is coming.
The
Slaver was John Newton. Off the coast of Africa ,
in a slave ship, he experienced conversion. God seems to have a sense of timing
and placement that is beyond logic. Newton
became an Anglican Priest and, among other things, the author of the much loved
"Amazing Grace."
John
Newton was serving as Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London when Wilberforce, the rich young man,
came to him. Wilberforce experienced conversion while reading and discussing
the New Testament on a stagecoach, going across France to the Riviera for a
holiday. After that experience, he came to Newton seeking guidance. Newton told him to go into politics. He did.
His cause was the end of slavery. A brief time after his death the British
Parliament passed legislation that outlawed the Slave trade for British
Citizens and gave the mission of enforcing that to the British Navy. That fed
the Abolitionist Movement in the United States of
America , which led to a great war to end slavery in the United States .
Legal slavery ended in the 19th century when Brazil became the final nation to
act.
Only
God could achieve this by entering lives that were unconnected and joining them
for holy purposes. But what if people had not prayed for years for a new
church? Or what if Newton
had rejected Jesus in favour of the money to be made in the slave trade? Or
what if Wilberforce had rejected Jesus and decided to live as an idle, rich
gentleman? Or, what if he had accepted the Lord and then entered the ministry
rather than politics? Or what if he had yielded to the temptations of political
power? How many of these holy plots to bring justice has God launched? How many
were derailed because someone responded rationally, rather than faithfully? We
can't know.
However,
there is good news in this text from Luke 18. It is displayed by the good news
in the two stories. The good news is that we can pray a lot and respond
faithfully to God's call to us to join him in bringing justice quickly. We
don't have to. That is the kind of freedom God gives us. God has such
abhorrence of slavery that we will never be forced to do Gods will. God has
such respect for our freedom that it will not be transgressed, even for the
holiest of reasons.
That
is troubling news. We don't always choose the right way and live in prayer. One
only has to read/watch the News or listen to it to see the number of different
forms of slavery still being practiced in our world. The way some employees of franchise
groups and other industries are treated and paid is one example. The best news
is that we can respond to God, pray a lot and live faithfully and work to
removing the stain of these forms of slavery. God is helping us. So, where do I
fit in this? What is the part I am to play in healing the injustices of this
world? I will leave you to ponder those for yourselves.
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