Genesis 32.22-31; 2 Timothy 3.14-4.5; Luke 18.1-8

The scene: Tesco
The situation: a busy time when the shop is crowded
The characters: a mother and child

“Oh, please, Mum, please let me have that. It’s really good.”

“No, dear. Not today. You don’t need that.”

“But Mum. Everybody else has got one. I really do need it.”

“I’m sure not everyone else has it. And besides I’ve said no.”

“Oh, Mum. That’s not fair. Joe’s Mum bought him one, and Sam’s got one too. Why are you so mean?”

“I’m not mean. Stop moaning. We need to get on with our shopping, so that we can get home by the time Dad comes back from.”

“I hate you. (stamping foot) You never let me have anything. It’s so unfair - everybody has things, and you never give anything to me. You’re so mean and horrible. I hate you.”

This is a scene that is similar to what often happens with children. The mother has two options: to keep firm in her view that little Johnny really doesn’t need the latest television tie-in and to continue her shopping, or to give in to little Johnny because she can’t stand the fuss he’s making and she’s getting embarrassed by the scene in the middle of a busy supermarket.

The child is persistent and perseveres with his plea for what he wants.

I wonder how many of our prayers are a bit like that. Do we sometimes batter God with our requests for what we want, getting more and more frustrated when we don’t receive the answer we desire.

Luke’s parable is a difficult one. On first sight, we might assume that the judge represents God, except when we look more closely at his character. He is someone who has no respect for God nor for other people. He obviously has a lazy streak, since he doesn’t wish to fulfil his role as judge. He holds the power in this case, since his decision will hold sway. He is apathetic and faithless, and unwilling to carry out his duties.

So clearly Jesus is not saying the judge is God. This is one of those times, and there a number of them in the Bible, where the message is - if the bad, unjust person behaves like this, how much better God’s response will be.

God is not like the unjust judge, for God is faithful and just. God cares for the outcast and widow - we only have to remind ourselves of the words of the Beatitudes to see what values are those of God’s kingdom.

The widow is persistent. Her demand is for vindication. She desires justice against her opponent. The judge is not bothered about justice. All he wants is a quiet life, so, like the mother in the supermarket who gives into her child because she can’t stand the fuss any more, the judge gives in to the widow’s search for justice.

The judge has all the cards in his hand. Women did not usually go to court, since that was part of the world of men. The fact that this widow has gone to the judge herself for justice implies that she has no one else to speak on her behalf. She, as a widow on her own, would probably have been poor. But she ignores her status and the conventions of society in order to persevere and fight for justice.

She seeks vindication. Her faithful endurance in the end gives her the result that she wants.

But let’s think about what it is that she requires. The woman is after justice. What does justice mean? In the eyes of God, justice is much more than whether something is fair or not.

Justice is about the way we treat others, about how we view the children of God. Justice is the opposite of oppression. It’s about enabling people to be free to live in peace with the basic requirement of life. It’s about recognising that all people are equal in God’s eyes and living that out in how we deal with them It’s about living out the values of the kingdom of God about which Jesus taught so much.

If we think back to the words of the prophet Micah: what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God, we see that this affects us too. We are called to live lives that work and pray for justice.

There are many types of prayer, but at its heart prayer is about walking humbly with God. It’s about a relationship of love. It’s about helping us to attune ourselves to God’s ways and to put aside our own desires, which so often conflict with the ways of God.

This prayer of the widow is a prayer for justice. She is crying out, as many do, for  help. The judge heard her prayer only because he thought, if he answered, she would stop badgering him. God always hears our prayers. Unlike the judge, God’s desire is for justice.

And God will bring justice, the parable tells us. But we have a part to play. We need, as the widow was, to be persistent in our prayers for justice. We need to keep persevering with prayer, even when it feels as if God is not listening.

There are many things that can distract us from prayer. It’s all too easy to say we don’t have time - that’s a question of priorities. It’s all too easy to give up when we don’t feel that God is with us - but a relationship is about much more than how we feel. A relationship is about trust and faithfulness, not about how we feel inside.
The widow received her vindication, and when the Son of Man comes, all people will be judged by God. Will faith be found, Jesus asks his disciples. Will they continue loving and loyal and seeking justice? God’s justice will come.

Jacob was another who persevered with God. He was not looking forward to his encounter with brother Esau, and with good reason, for many years earlier he had cheated him out of his birthright. He has sent his wives and maids and children and everything he had on ahead of him across the stream where they spent the night, but he himself has stayed where he was.

His night is taken up wrestling with a shadowy figure, who he assumes is God. All night long they wrestle. It’s a strange fight for we are not told who wins. Jacob is left with a limp, but he’s still persevering. As day breaks, he asks for the man’s blessing.

Unlike the blessing he previously wrested away from his brother Esau, this is a blessing for him. It’s a blessing that enables him to continue his journey and face his brother Esau. Jacob has persevered and receive vindication.

What do these stories mean for us?

When the Son of Man comes, it will be faith that he is looking. There are so many things that distract us, but it is our responsibility whether we persevere or not. We have many helps - worshipping together, the prayers of others, fellow Christians with whom we can talk and share our faith, the Bible, study groups and so on. But so often we give up or push our faith to one side.

But the reward for persevering will be our vindication too. We will be granted justice when the Son of Man comes again. We will be released from the power of sin. The key to keeping our faith strong is, in the words of Luke, to pray always.

Prayer is the way that we communicate with God - both speaking and listening. It’s how our relationship with God grows and develops. If you feel yours isn’t going anywhere, ask yourself how much time you spend in prayer. For it is prayer that helps us to recognise the love of God and to respond to it. Prayer is our response to God’s love but it also helps us to deepen our awareness of God’s love and increase our love for God.

If the lazy judge listens to the widow, how much more will God listen to the cries of our hearts?

The Lord’s Prayer sums it up as well as any other words: thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. True justice is about God’s will; that is where our prayers should be aimed, so that we too can echo with deep felt sincerity the words of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: yet not my will but yours be done.