ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
June 5, 2021
Scripture: Luke 18:1-5
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘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.’”
Thought for the Day: So I guess the take away from this parable is praying in such a way that we irritate God and eventually break the divine will. I’m kidding… at least I think I am. Yet what was Jesus attempting to communicate about prayer and persistence and not losing hope? It was Dr. Fred Craddock, the great preacher and teacher of preachers, who reminded his students how parables were intended to stir and provoke the imagination. And simple one line summaries never really work when it comes to parables. Part of the problem with this parable is we assume the character of the judge to represent God, and that our persistent nagging about what is right and just will eventually get the judge (God) to bend toward our requests. I can see that, but what if we allow the parable to flip. What if, by chance, the persistent widow represents God and we are like the judge who really doesn’t fear God or have much respect of people? What if God, parabolically enfleshed in the widow, is that ever present divine voice calling us to do what is right and just in the world? The old reading of the parable leaves us rather passive, sitting back and demanding God take care of the problems. Allowing the parable to do what parables do – to stir and provoke the imagination – we are suddenly the ones who need to make sure we are listening to God’s pestering and persistent voice.
Prayer: Maybe there is more to this parable than I have seen before. Show me, Merciful One, what I have not seen before. Show me something new that might show me something new. Amen.
