Never Give Up! 

Luke 18:1-8 

October 16, 2016 

Mark S. Bollwinkel

            Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in order to teach his disciples about prayer.

            We may not like to hear what he has to say because in many ways we have become the ones with “itching ears”.

            Remember that in Paul’s second letter to his colleague Timothy he warns the early church that a time is coming when “people with itching ears” will accumulate teachers to suit their own likings.  They will turn away from the traditions of truth.  They will wander into myth. (II Timothy 3:14-4:5). We may be in just such a time, people with itching ears.

            The experts say we are in the era of the death of denominationalism.  Mainline Protestant denominations have lost millions of members in the last 20 years.

            What is the difference anymore between Methodists and Presbyterians, Congregationalists and American Baptists?  We compete for “market share” now-a-days, not “truth”.

            Most folk don’t care much about the history and doctrines of the churches they attend.  Rather, we chose the church that is closest to our homes, the one with good parking, and the one with the best music.  Comfort and convenience are the primary factors determining our church shopping.  We seek out a preacher who will tell us what we want to hear.

            Remember the story about the agnostic who fell off a cliff?  About halfway down he caught hold of a bush sticking out.  There he was hanging, momentarily spared, but still too far from the ground to let go.  There appears to be no way out.  In desperation, for one of the first times in his life he prays out loud, “Is anybody up there?”  Again he calls out, “Is anybody up there?”  A deep and reverberating voice answers, “Yes, this is the Lord”.  The man yells frantically, “Oh, God, help me!”  There is a moment of silence.  Then the Lord answers, “Let go of the bush and I will save you.”  There is another silence as the man looks down at the ground far below.  Finally, he yells, “Is there anybody else up there?”

            What do we do today when a preacher’s politics or lifestyle offends our own bias?  We change churches.  What happens when the preacher gets a little too personal or asks for too much?  We change the channel.

            There are the occasional exceptions to the decline of the main-line Protestant churches.  In North America they are sectarian, non-denominational congregations, often based around an articulate and charismatic personality.  He…it is almost always a man…will gather a group of like minded people around him and tell them exactly what they want to hear.  Simple and strong answers for people caught up in complex and confusing times.

            United Methodist tradition is to honor one’s personal experience and sense of reason as a source of God’s revelation in the world.   That often means we offer complex and diverse answers to complex and puzzling problems.    We encourage questions and individual soul searching.  We reject rock rigid conformity.  We celebrate the diversity of ways to understand and worship the eternal God who by nature is beyond any human definition, even our own. 

United Methodists change ministers every five years or so because we believe a person joins the church not the preacher.  We know that each and every ordained United Methodist clergy offers a different set of skills and strengths that a local church needs.  So we move them around to help build up the whole.  Our itineration system is based on the belief that the clergy are to preach as God wills, not as the congregation wants.  In an age of entitlement and comfortable Christianity, no wonder we are losing members.

Let’s be honest.  We want God on our terms.  That is why Jesus’ message about prayer may be difficult for us to hear.           

The widow persists in demanding justice, even though she knows the judge cares little for anyone or for God.

She didn’t have an ounce of authority as a widow in her society.  Yet she did not accept her status quo.  With all of her might she acted to change her situation.  And ultimately she wins, merely because of her persistence.

Jesus says that is how we are to pray.

We are to pray, regardless of the odds.

During the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, our Clovis United Methodist church was hosting their annual Chicken Pie supper.  I, as their pastor. As I drove there the radio descriptions of the earthquake damage were horrible and urgent.  I wanted to do something, anything to respond.  The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.  We were told not even to try phoning family members there because it would only make matters worse.

I rushed into the dinner and lead a prayer, such a seemingly impotent thing to do.  But only so because we do not, and cannot, fully comprehend the power of such a prayer.

Not a few of us have struggled with our faith since September 11^th 2001.   How could a just and loving God let such horror happen?  Why didn’t God answer our prayers as we watched those planes crash into the Twin Towers?

Some estimates suggest that up to 50,000 people could have been in those towers at the time of the attack.  Yet the buildings held their structure for over one hour, allowing thousands to escape, allowing hundreds of emergency personnel to get them out.  That 2,606 died is horrible beyond comprehension.   It could have been much, much worse.

That God doesn’t necessarily answer prayer on our terms doesn’t mean that our prayers are ineffective.  Prayer is relationship with a God whose reality is beyond human comprehension.

The widow didn’t stand a chance fighting a judge but that did not dissuade her.  World hunger, racial violence, global poverty may seem beyond our reach.  It may seem pointless to pray about your marriage getting back together or your kid getting off drugs but that is not to stop us.  We are to pray, regardless of the odds.

We are to pray with actions as well with words.

The widow did not accept the injustice that victimized her life.  She took on “City Hall” and won.

Prayer is not only those words formally recited in a sanctuary or those said in the silence of meditation.  Prayer is a way of living, articulating praise and thanksgiving and confession and petition by what we do!

When we bring a donation of clean socks for the men’s homeless program at First UMC Salinas or donations of non-perishable food items for the Food Pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church down the street, as we do so it is a prayer.  It is a prayer for an unknown family to have a healthy meal.  It is a prayer that a stranger’s feet might be warm and healthy.

Our prayers for the victims of injustice or tragedy are mute if we do not act within our means to assist them.  Prayer is to propel us out into the world as well as give us a haven for a moment from it.  We are to pray with actions as wells as with words.

We are to pray, regardless of the outcome.

We have become a culture of instant gratification.  Food comes fast, cash comes automatically and pleasure is the just reward for labor, “This Bud’s for You!”’

How odd it must be for us to hear our Lord urge us to pray with no guarantees that we will get what we want.

The gospel writer Luke is writing to his church in very difficult times.  The result of their faith has brought them division in their families and persecution from their society. They remember Jesus’ promise to them that He would return during their lifetime.  Yet the waiting was hard and becoming longer.

We still wait.

Luke writes to his church, “When the Son of Man returns will he find faith on earth?”  Faith is an acceptance to let God be God.  God’s promised future will come but in God’s time, not necessarily our own.  We sophisticated, well-educated folk have an extraordinary degree of entitlement.  We expect the best for ourselves and our loved ones, and right now!  We may not want to hear Jesus teach that we are to pray regardless of the outcome.  We may not want to hear that God answers prayer, but sometimes with a “no”.

An associate of mine decided it was time to shed some excess pounds.  He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery.  One morning, however, he arrived at a clergy meeting carrying a gigantic coffeecake.

“This is a very special coffeecake,” he said.  “I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of goodies.  I felt this was no accident, so I prayed, ‘Lord, if you want me to have one of these delicious coffeecakes, let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery.’  And sure enough the eighth time around the block, there it was! God answered my prayer!”

Jesus tells us to pray regardless of the odds, with actions as well as words, regardless of the outcome.

We may not like that.

Those of us Christians who are obsessed with convenience and control may resent Jesus’ call to faith.  Some people pray and are healed, while others we love fail, hurt and die regardless of how hard we pray.  Why some folks’ prayers are answered and others’ are not, we are not to know.

But we can know this.

In the face of popular and convenient religious gimmicks and myths, never give up on prayer.

As frustrating and mysterious and awkward it may seem at times, never give up on prayer.

If the unjust judge will vindicate the persistent widow, how much more will our loving God answer our prayers?

Even if you don’t feel like it, even if you doubt if any God is listening, even if your heart is broken and you can’t utter another word, never give up on prayer.

Amen.