Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 29], rcl yr c
JEREMIAH 31:27-34; PSALM 119:97-104; 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-4:5; LUKE 18:1-8
when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
There’s been a theme that keeps recurring in our readings of late—specifically: God’s faithfulness.
It’s probably no surprise, in that Jeremiah looms large in the readings right now, and this is thematic for Jeremiah—that even when everything around you is crumbling, even when God appears very far away, or even when he God appear to be near that God is of little help—part of the witness of Jeremiah is that against all evidence, God is faithful to Israel, and that God will restore Israel, even though the path to wholeness and restoration is very, very, difficult to see.
We have a perspective that Jeremiah himself didn’t even have: even though Jeremiah himself may have never seen the restoration of Jerusalem after exile—we have. We know how this story goes. After 70 years, in about 538 BCE Israel is restored to the land after a long exile, after a long time away from home. Jeremiah was right: God is faithful towards his people, even when our own faithfulness falters.
So there’s something about patience in play here too, God’s patience with us, and our patience with God. Turning to the Gospel reading, the parable of the persistent widow, God is said to be both quick in granting justice, but also that God is long-bearing with those who cry out to him. So God’s patience with us, as we cry out, and our patience with God, as we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise in Christ that all will be made well “when the Som of Man comes” is an important theme here. I will come back to that.
But I’d like to spend some time with the story itself—the story of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. Because again, much like the parable of the dishonest steward, have some rather unsavoury characters in play. The judge is clearly not meant to be seen as a good man. The judge “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” In the classical world, this means he is not virtuous at all. He refuses to hear out the widow, and in this way he is far from a god-fearing man, who would, if he were virtuous in the Biblical sense, would be open to potential injustice done to a widow. And the judge gives in only after he fears for his well-being, not because it’s the right thing to do.
As for the widow, she’s an interesting case. Because we can go two different ways with her. We could see her as a woman seeking the justice she deserves, and persevering until she gets it from an unjust man who is withholding what is rightly hers. But it’s a bit more ambiguous than that, because “justice” could equally be translated as “vengeance.” So we are left wondering if maybe her brand of justice is more about getting even, about revenge.
Not only that, when the judge says “I will grant her justice” or “I will grant her vengeance” he does so because he fears that she would “wear me out by continually coming,” but this hides some of the meaning here. The language is boxing language, and could easily be read according to the judge’s fear that she might corner him and give him a jab to the eye.
Which all, to me, makes the widow a much more compelling character! A fierce woman, seeking something that could be justice or vengeance, or perhaps some combination of both, a woman who knows how to put a man against the ropes and threaten to knock him down for a 10-count.
One common reading of this parable is to imagine that it speaks about the pursuit of justice in the public realm. I appreciate this, actually. And if you’ve spent any time in activist circles you will have met fierce women like this. I remember one disability activist I crossed paths with in Winnipeg, who embodied the spirit of this widow. I saw a grown man who may not have even agreed with her politics jump down a flight of stairs to distribute her pamphlets because of the way she fiercely asked for his help. “You don’t say no to her,” he said to me.
And I think it’s profitable to imagine, in part, that Jesus is telling a story about the pursuit of justice in an unjust world here, how it takes persistence, how work to set things right can appear vengeful in the eyes of some, and that such work can sometimes feel a bit like a boxing match.
But the way Luke tells the parable, we do need to imagine that Jesus meant much more than to speak of the pursuit of justice in an unjust and hostile world. Because as its told, this is a particular sort of parable, one where the greatness of something, or someone, is compared to something lesser. We hear it in other parts of the Gospel. If God remembers the sparrows, how much more will he remember and value you, who is more valuable than many sparrows. Or the saying about the evil parent who would not give a snake or a scorpion to a child, but rather a fish or an egg; and if an evil parent would be good to their children, how much more with you heavenly father, who is good, be good to you?
It’s similar here, in this parable. If an unjust judge would relent to a persistent widow in her pursuit of vengeful justice, how much more willing would God be, when we approach God in prayer, seeking what is right and good?
I’m going to come back to this question of patience, and God’s faithfulness as it relates to prayer, for a final few words today. Because I think this parable captures something about how prayer works for so many of us. Because it says two things at once about how quickly, or not so quickly, prayer is answered.
Jesus asks, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he [bear long with] them?” We get two answers to this question. First: “I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” So on one hand, yes, prayers are answered quickly. But on the other hand, we are told that these prayers are prayed “day and night,” as though they are prayed over a long period of time; and that God will bear with those of us who cry out day and night for a long time. And in this sense, God’s horizon for answering prayer and the setting of all things right, the horizon for all things being made well is eschatological—the day when all things are made well and good, and when our prayers are answered in the fullest sense, is the day “when the Son of Man comes.”
And this is the mystery, and one you will be aware of if you are a person who prays: God does answer prayers quickly, and can grant us solace, and comfort, and reprieve quite quickly; even as we wait on the fullness of God’s healing.
And as for the final question we are asked today: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The answer to that is easy; because just as it was for Jeremiah and Israel, even when all seems dismal and without hope, God is faithful, and is already bringing to bear on the life of the world, and in our own lives, his healing purposes, the healing purposes that will find their fullness on the last day—and so if God is faithful, as God is, and if God is present, as God is, then indeed, faith will be found among God’s people.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.
As our parish musician, he provides both support and leadership so that a variety of parish programs can find musical expression and attract participation. When our handbell choir is in season, he is one of our ringers. At parish dinners, he provides popular piano music for the guests to dine by. For both worship services and concerts, he will rehearse and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists from our congregation on piano, organ, or even accordion.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.