Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann
Luke 18:1-8
Luke 18:1-8
October 16, 2016
You probably heard about the Texan named Darwin Day. He's the guy who found a set of 1957 Topps Baseball cards in his attic this past spring. One of the cards was a contest card. The card listed two games to be played on July 19th, 1957, one between the Milwaukee Braves and the New York Giants, and the other between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Athletics. The entry contestant had to predict the final score of each game and submit the card before July 11th. It was a simpler, less litigious time, and the date failed to include the year. With a sense of adventure and hoping for a Topps' executive with a sense of humor, Darwin did a quick check of the baseball archives, jotted down the two final scores, and sent his contest card and the required 5 gum wrappers to the CEO of Topps—the same company that still makes the Bazooka bubblegum that used to come with the cards. Remarkably enough, the CEO of Topps is a guy who can take a joke, and he decided to play along. Day was declared a winner, and collected the promised prize: a Spalding fielder's glove.
After the story broke in the late summer, it quickly made the rounds of all the major news outlets, appearing in print, on TV, and radio. It was the perfect end of summer, end of the baseball season, feel-good human interest story to round out an otherwise bleak newscast on a slow news day. And, it almost seemed like news because the result was so unexpected. When it comes to our interactions with big corporations, most of us have cultivated a rather callous attitude. We have learned to be cynical about the motives and actions of big businesses. We expect them to act always and only in their own self-interest, and we don't count on them to do the most basic and minimal things for the good of others, let alone something extraordinary and just fun like Topps did for Darwin Day.
The poor woman in Jesus' parable did not have an experience like Mr. Day's. No, her encounter with the unjust and uncaring judge was not a happy experience at all. Yet, her story is by far more recognizable to us. Her interaction with the hard and indifferent judge is what we expect when we have to deal with those who hold some control over us—whether it's a business, a court, a government bureaucracy, an educational institution, or an insurance company. The widow's situation was desperate because her need was great. And only one man could help her—a judge who did not care in the least about her. This was her problem. And yet, the end result was that she also got what she wanted and needed. The judge did step up, and he did the right thing. The widow got justice for her cause. Of course, there was nothing fun or light-hearted about any of it. Her need was met only because she had made the judge's life so tiresome with her continual pleading and badgering. He gave in and gave her justice only because he was sick to death of her and her complaint. He'd had it. She hounded him into doing the right thing.
Jesus' parable is a classic example of a "from the greater" sort of illustration or argument. If something is true or right on a superficial or easy level, how much more true is it when it really matters? If a selfish and uncaring judge will eventually do the right thing for those who keep asking, how much more will a kind, compassionate and caring judge give justice? That, of course, is the point of Jesus' story. If a rotten human who thinks only of himself can be persuaded to help those who ask, won't God who is infinitely loving and merciful certainly and quickly come to the aid of those who seek his help? So, what does Jesus want you to learn from this parable? Truthfully, the point of the parable is not difficult to grasp. This is not an obscure or perplexing parable with a hidden meaning. It's spelled out: Jesus wants you to pray.
But, you already knew that. Prayer is one of the things that Christians do. I wonder, though, how often we actually pray the way that Jesus tells us to pray. The text says that you are supposed to pray at all times, and not to lose heart. You're supposed to pray by crying out to him day and night with a persistence that is relentless—like that of the widow. She is not presented as an extreme example or an exaggerated model. She is meant to be the standard for the way that God's people pray. The parable does not suggest that there was anything at all wrong with the way the widow prayed. Clearly, the hinge in the parable is the judge. In other words, the assumption is that God's people will pray like the woman prayed, but instead of a judge that doesn't care, their petitions will be heard by God who cares infinitely. Having a just and merciful God who hears your prayers doesn't mean that you back off your praying, it means the opposite. That's the point of the parable.
So, do you pray like the widow prayed? I suspect that for many Christians this is not the case. Indeed, it often seems that among Christians prayer is not that important and gets only passing attention. There are, I believe, a number of reasons for this. Perhaps the biggest reason that Christians often don't pray like it matters is the fact that their needs are not that great. When life is comfortable, and problems are few, praying seems like an unnecessary activity. It's just not that pressing. Everything's fine…what's there to pray about? In the West, the ease of life and the sense that things are basically under control seriously erode people's practice of prayer. Why pray if nothing's that bad? This may sound like an absurd thought—and it's certainly one that we immediately recognize as being out of sync with Christian truth. But, let's be honest. Enjoying a life of comfort and security is a reality that impacts the thinking of us all. Praying with passion is a lot easier when there's something to pray about. Perhaps we don't pray with the intensity and frequency of the widow, because we are simply too blessed with good things.
If the first reason that our prayers are so often half-hearted and listless is existential, deriving from what we experience, or what we don't experience; the second reason that prayer becomes infrequent and apathetic is logical. It works like this: if God is fully in control of absolutely everything that happens in the world from the death of a sparrow to the loss of a single human hair, and if in spite of all human scheming and working, God's plan will unfold exactly as he intends, well, then, the prayers of humans seem to be completely unnecessary. God is going to do what God is going to do, so why pray at all? This line of thought could even be twisted into a perverse framework of faith: I trust God completely for everything, what he has planned is exactly right and perfect for me, so I don't need to ask anything from him at all. I abide in his love and wisdom, and let him lead. With faith and logic like this, what's the point of prayer? Isn't it just a mere formality, an empty ritual or an exercise without significance? The actual prayer lives of many Christians seem to reflect just this sort of thinking.
A third reason for detached and dreary praying is more alarming still. It's that final rhetorical question that Jesus asks at the end of the parable. "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" The question seems out of place. The parable is about praying with persistence, the shift to asking about faith is unexpected. But, it's exactly right. The widow makes her repeated and impassioned appeal to the rotten judge because she believes that he can help her, and somehow, in spite of the judge's corrupt character, she never stops hoping that he will do it. The widow has faith. Prayer is an issue of faith. Those who pray with conviction and commitment, have faith that God listens, cares, and answers. They trust God. When there is no faith, there is no praying. That's the connection. Jesus urges you to pray, but for there to be prayer, there must be faith. So, Jesus wonders…will anyone do it? When he returns, will anyone be left on earth who still prays, who still believes, who still clings to his promise, who still has faith? It's a sobering question. It's meant to be. Does your lack of prayer reveal a lack of faith?
There are, no doubt, many other reasons why God's people fail to pray. But, it's more important that we think for a bit about why we do pray. The most obvious reason, is that prayer is what Christians do. The logic for praying is much stronger and more compelling than it is for not praying. Think about it. You pray because prayer is a conversation with your Creator and Savior, who invites you to pray. That's all the reason you need. If the Lord and Emperor of the universe opens his door to you, you walk through it. You speak to God. There is so much you need to tell him and ask him. It doesn't take much reflection to realize that the idea of an idyllic life in the technologically advanced West is more illusion than reality. You face daily hurts and concerns, there are struggles in close relationships, bodies don't cooperate and begin to fail. People let you down. You let others down. If you don't experience a pressing need to pray, you aren't paying attention to what is going on in this short, hard life.
In the face of such real need, your God is in control, and he invites you to tell him your needs, your anxieties, your sorrows, your hopes, and your dreams. He wants to know it all. He wants to hear from you about everything in your life. Tell him about the struggle you're having in your marriage. Tell him every detail. He wants to know. Let him know about the frustrations you feel at work. Pour out your heart to him and tell him about your doubts and concerns about your children and your ability to parent them well. Tell him your needs and fears and joys. Every idea that crosses your mind, every experience that crosses your path, every person that crosses your life is a subject for serious and persistent prayer. Pray for the salvation of those who are still living outside the church and outside the salvation of God. Pray for the needs of your neighbors. Pray for the needs of yourself. Pray for it all. God cares about it all. It's not like sending an old baseball card and a few gum wrappers to an unknown CEO who may or may not care. When you pray, you are not making a shot in the dark. You are relating your needs to your Father who loves you and cares for you. No one anywhere in the universe loves you and cares about everything that matters to you more than God does. Take advantage of the privilege, and pray!
It is true, God is God and he will do what he chooses to do, his purposes will be accomplished. And, yet, because of the amazing way that he has arranged this world, as his perfect plan unfolds, he integrates and honors the prayers of his saints. Those prayers do shape and move the will of God. What you pray does matter. God hears and God heeds the petitions of his people. Your prayers become part of his plan for the universe. God highly honors your prayers. Knowing that, how can you not pray? Prayer absolutely changes things. Because God listens, prayer changes things, prayer changes people, prayer changes you.
Much more important than the power of prayer to change your reality, is the power of prayer to change you. Prayer gives you new ways to see your reality. And by changing your perspective, it can profoundly change your life. Prayer teaches you to see what is real. It helps you reassess where you fit in God's plan. When you pour out your heart to God, you are put into a right relationship with God. You are reminded of who God is and where you stand in his plans and purposes. By praying, you are praising and worshipping him as your perfect Creator and God. By praying, you are admitting your need for what only he can give. Prayer is a powerful tool for personal change, and that's a powerful reason to pray.
They will all be answered. Every wish, every hope, every sigh, every groan, every dream, every yearning, every ideal of every prayer will all be answered. Nothing that God's people pray is ever lost. Just as he counts and collects every tear of his saints so that he can transform each one into a brilliant jewel to be prized for eternity, so he treasures and remembers every prayer so that they can all be stunningly and surpassingly fulfilled in his eternal and perfect kingdom. That's how much your prayers matter. The most important conversations you ever have are the ones you have with God—they matter forever. God's eternal kingdom is coming. Jesus is coming. Pray for that day. Pray for everything that matters to you, today. Pray knowing that he is eager to answer. He answers, right now, today, exactly as you need, and he will answer on that coming day exactly as he has planned. No prayer is ever wasted. Amen.