Pentecost XXI

By The Rev.  Martha Frances+
Year C, Twenty-first  Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 24
21 October  2007

Text: Luke  18: 1-8a; Other Readings:  Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3: 14 - 4: 5; Jeremiah 31: 27-34 
 

      My son Ken was here this week visiting from Munich, Germany, & once again I heard him tell one of his favorite stories.  A young boy almost 9 years old yearns for his first bicycle.  When he goes to his father to ask for this birthday gift, his father asserts his position as man of the house & tells the boy to go ask his mother.  Mother, aware that Johnny is playing one side against the other, suggests that he pray to Jesus for the bicycle.  Johnny goes off to his room to plead his case with Jesus.

      "Jesus," Johnny begins, kneeling beside his bed, "you know I've been a good boy all year. . . ."  Then he pauses, regroups, & tries a stronger tack.  "I know Mama is special to you, Jesus, & it would save her a lot of time & hassle if I got the new bicycle down at Sears for my birthday."  Still considering that his plea lacks the requisite urgency, Johnny spies the statue of the Virgin hanging above his bed, races over to remove her from the wall, stuffs her inside a winter sock &, after pushing her into the back of his sock drawer, kneels once again, places his hands in prayer position, & begins again, "Jesus, if you ever want to see your mother again, the bicycle is mine!"

      Johnny has biblical precedence in the persistent widow in Luke's gospel, a Biblical character I've emulated for years.  Luke tells us that this parable shows us the importance of constant prayer.  Earnest prayer without ceasing is important for us, & those on the stewardship committee are encouraging each of us to pray about our financial commitment to Hope for this next year as well as what we can do to help end 2007 in the black.  Our committee has gone to considerable length to outline not only Hope's needs for the next year but also the biblical admonition for us to give proportionately, working toward a tithe.  This is not only to keep the doors of the church open & the mission of the church alive but also for each of us to return to God in thankfulness a portion of what we as stewards have been given to care for in God's name.  Essentially, each stewardship communication we receive asks us to go to God in prayer & fulfill our commitment to Hope as our conscience dictates.  The persistent widow models such persistent prayer for us.

      Now sometimes the best thing we can do is to pray about a situation, lay it in the hands of our Savior, & let Jesus deal with it.  I don't want to make light of the power of prayer. However, in looking at the example of our church pledge, we must actually PAY the pledge in order to be faithful.  Prayer begins the cycle of faithful living.  Today, let's also look beyond prayer into action. 

      This feisty widow who knocks on the judge's door & persists in pestering him until he gives her a just judgment gets off her knees & goes for what is rightfully hers.  She is a courageous woman of action, & we shouldn't forget that part of her story.

      In Jesus' time, widows had no legal rights whatsoever.  Sons, & even daughters, inherited their father's estate before a widow.  There was no social security, & there was little opportunity for a widow to enter the workplace after her husband's death.  Widows were a responsibility of their families &, if there was no family, of the community.  We know that widows were often neglected because Paul admonished the Christian community to care for them.  Paul's instructions would have been unnecessary were the Christian community living up to their duty toward the widows.  Widows were often invisible in society, even considered non-persons. 

      Yet, along comes this widow who has some legitimate claim that the judge needs to settle.  Perhaps she has been a non-person to him.  He doesn't fear God or the opinion of others & has put her off despite her legitimate claim.  Finally, however, she wears him down, the scripture tells us, & he grants her rightful demand.  However, he isn't persuaded because her claim is just.  It's because she is persistent.  She is pesky.  She doesn't give up.

      This widow has given me courage in the past.  I have known I had a call to ordained ministry since I was 12 years old, & as my children grew older, the call became stronger.  I prayed regularly about it & asked God to show me the way.  However, had I only prayed & not acted, I'd still be teaching school—an honorable profession, but not where God was calling me.  I had to begin knocking on the doors of judges & other officials in the church structure so I could prepare for priesthood.  I had to knock on the door of the seminary for the necessary education.  I had to knock on the door of the bishop & diocesan committees to be approved for ordination.  I knocked on the door of the Bishop's Committee at Lord of the Streets to be accepted as their pastor. I continued my knocking when we joined together & I became your priest. This widow has been my model many times over the years.

      What action do you need to take to be more wholly the person whom God intended you to be?  The action starts with the fervent prayer which might last all night long just as this widow's did.  Paul's letter to Timothy urges him to be persistent as he proclaims the faith message.  As we question how we will continue Hope's mission & ministry in the future, I'm reminded of Reb Scarborough's admonition to us as we met to develop the community we call Hope today:  continually ask what God's will is for this parish.  If we are persistent in our prayer today, God will guide our action.

      When Jeremiah described God's new relationship with the people who returned from exile to rebuild their society, he could have been speaking to Hope today:  "I will put my law within them, & I will write it on their hearts; & I will be their God, & they shall be my people. . . . they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, & remember their sin no more."   

      The widow shows us that we must pursue the fulfillment of God's call to us.  We must pray & then put feet to our prayers.  Jesus used the example of the widow because she was truly the neediest in society.  Jesus always sides with those who are least able to care for themselves.  Jesus commends similar behavior on our part, & actually, it is for the widows & orphans & others disenfranchised that the church was really established.  Who are we called to look out for today in our community?  How can we at Hope provide more fully for those who are ignored & passed by?  What is our call as Christians toward those who are as vulnerable in our society as the widow was in Jesus's?

      May we, like the widow, know & enter into the life to which God has called us.  May all of us continue to discover what God is calling us to now & in the future. Amen.