Reflection: "Don't Get Discouraged"Many of us might have had an experience like the persistent widow in the Gospel reading from Luke.
If you have ever had to deal with an insurance company or a government agency, or in some cases even a child’s school, a hospital, or the justice system, you might know how it feels to wonder if anyone is listening or responding to your needs. We’ve probably all experienced the frustrations of dealing with bureaucracy, but sometimes, when our needs are most serious, we can experience these feelings of being unheard in the middle of an emotional or desperate situation – and that can be devastating. We can even feel like Sisyphus in the famous myth: struggling to lift a heavy weight up a tall mountain. But just when we think we’ve reached the top, it rolls all the way back down and we’re forced to start at the beginning again. More often than not, it is our persistence, our unwillingness to let things slide, or our unwillingness to lose hope, that eventually leads to success. Jesus told his disciples to always pray and to never give up. The teaching in this parable on prayer follows directly on Jesus' teaching on the coming of the Son of Man in Ch 17. Indeed, verse 8 of this parable ends with exactly that theme. In verse 1 we read a reminder to the disciples who may be undergoing a struggle, just prior to the return of the Son of Man, not to give up hope, but to keep praying. Luke reveals the point of the parable in advance: "that they should always pray and not give up". "Always" in Greek means "always, at all times" and Jesus is teaching us to continually pray, again and again. Some might say that once you've asked God for something, it displays lack of faith to ask for it again, but Jesus teaches clearly that we are to continue to pray until we receive the answer. The act of continuing to pray is not a sign of little faith, but of persistent faith. We know that widows had a difficult time in early Palestine. Normally, the wife of a deceased man had no legal right to inherit her husband's estate, so that when he died, she couldn't take for granted that she could continue living in his house. If they had no children, the estate reverted to her husband's male relatives on his father's side -- his brothers, his father's brothers, and then the nearest family kinsman. If she had grown children, things would be easier; they would take care of her. But a widow with small children had a difficult time. We don't know how the widow was being cheated, but her judge appeared to be on her opponent's side. She didn't have money for lawyers, as she was probably holding on by a thread. But there is one thing we know about her -- she didn't take "no" for an answer. She was a squeaky door demanding oil and the judge decided to grant her what she was due just to get rid of her. Probably there wasn't a real widow, nor a real judge, but Jesus' hearers had met widows like her and had experience with judges like him. In the audience you would have seen people nodding their heads, because they'd met people like that, so the story was true-to-life for them. The judge was concerned with himself -- his own opinions, his own comfort, his own income. In verse 6, Jesus calls him "unjust" and though it isn't explicit, there was probably a reason that the judge wouldn't give the widow justice - probably had to do with money. It is possible that the judge was either taking bribes to fatten his purse or had an "arrangement" with a wealthy citizen who stood to lose if the widow won her case. The judge was arrogant, self-absorbed, and unjust, a powerful man facing down one of the weakest members of society - a widow. Then, in his parable, Jesus substitutes God and his chosen ones, instead of the unjust judge and the widow. Note that he wasn’t saying that God is unjust - no, and that's just the point. Jesus points out that if an unjust, selfish judge will see that justice is done in response to persistent requests, how much more will the just God bring justice to his own beloved people who pray constantly for relief. It's easy for people in situations like these to get discouraged, disappointed. When the church was young, the new followers of Christ were sure that they would see his return in their lifetime. However, with 2,000 years of hindsight, we now know better. If you read carefully Jesus' words to his disciples, you see that his message is consistent: Stay spiritually awake and be ready, for I come in an hour that you do not expect. When we try to put his Second Coming on a calendar, we get disappointed and we're not the only ones. In the latter part of the First Century, Peter wrote: "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation....” "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10) When Jesus comes again, it will be at the right time, not at our time or our preference, but God's - the right - time. Jesus told a parable of persistence, of a widow - weak in the world's estimation - who has won a victory because she didn't give up hope, she doesn't give up her plea, and finally wins the day. But what about you and me. We sometimes become so worn down and discouraged by our lives that we stop praying, stop hoping, stop expecting God to intervene. Will we be religious, church-going unbelievers who have given up expecting an answer, whose prayers are just going through the motions? Jesus told this story to us disciples so that we might be encouraged and not become discouraged. None of us are weaker than the widow and none of us are facing longer odds than she was. But because of her persistence and faith even the unjust judge gave her what she requested. How much more we can expect God to intervene on your behalf? How much more will God bring justice to us, since we are his beloved, chosen child? Yes, we will become discouraged at times - even Paul did. But we must not quit and not give up praying – continually. “Remember that God has been with us from the beginning and is always with us. Today, in this moment, we are living miracles of the Creator God. Let us go out into our day knowing that we have tasted the essence of God! Talk to God constantly and remember to thank him for all that he does for us, in us and through us.” Blessings…………..Pastor Rick
1 Comment
Lena Beryl Blok
15/10/2022 06:44:24 am
Thank you Rick for your words of encouragement.
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