Delays

Luke 18:1-8

October 20, 2019

            (Take a moment of silence, then put on my kickboxing gloves.)

            I consider myself to be a non-violent person. I seek non-violence in my own life, and I advocate for it in other situations. But in what may seem to be contrary to my commitment to non-violence, for the last six years I took cardio kickboxing classes every week. And I loved them! It was and is one of the best forms of exercise I’ve ever done. It got my heart rate up and my blood pumping. It was not only great cardio; it was great resistance training too, because you’re kicking and boxing against a hard bag with someone else kicking and boxing on the other side. I loved going to kickboxing and I regretted the times I had to miss class, because I got such a good workout. I also became good friends with the teacher, LaDawn, and with a lot of the other regular students. Plus, it was just fun.

            So as much as I strive to be non-violent, kickboxing was my jam. I used to joke that a lot of people remain alive to this day because I kickboxed at least once a week. I can do hammer punches, jabs, shovel punches, backhands and hooks. Don’t even get me started on my kicks. All this is to say that I love kickboxing, and I miss it. I haven’t found a class here yet, but I have not given up on that. I may just have to get my own bag and kick and punch at home.

            Talk of kickboxing may seem to be a strange way to start a sermon, I know, but there is an element of the pugilistic in this passage from Luke. The translation we have in front of us does not reflect that, but what is translated as “so that she will not wear me out by continually coming,” can be more literally translated as “so that she will not give me a black eye.”

            The widow, in this strange and somewhat troubling parable found only in Luke’s gospel, is dogged in her determination. She wants justice. She demands justice. She will not give up until she finally gets the justice she seeks. She is not just harassing the unjust judge to give her what she wants; she is hammering him with her complaints. She is, metaphorically speaking, punching him with persistence; willing it would seem to give him a black eye – both literally and figuratively if that’s what it takes to get the justice she requires.

            Jesus does not give specifics about what injustice has occurred in the widow’s life. We do not know the circumstances of the opponent she refers to. And we also do not know why the judge is unjust; why he has no fear of God or respect for anyone else. While Jesus does not give us these specifics, we can infer some details from the passage. The fact that it was a widow who refused to leave the judge be tells us that she was a marginalized person. Widows and orphans were the least of the least of these. Being without a husband in that culture meant not only that she was alone, but that she was vulnerable. She could easily be taken advantage of, exploited or worse. Repeatedly in scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, the people are commanded to care for the widows and orphans because they are so vulnerable.

What do we know about the judge? The fact that he will not hear her complaint immediately tells us that he truly did not fear God or respect anyone else beside himself. He was happy to disregard scriptural command and not help the most vulnerable in his midst. Not only does Jesus describe him as having no fear of God and no respect for persons, he possesses an insightful self-awareness about it. He knows full well that he has no fear of God. He is completely open about the fact that he has no respect for any other person. But in spite of this, he grants the widow what she asks for. Clearly he did so grudgingly. There was no change of heart, he just wanted her off his back. He wanted her to stop punching and poking at him. He was afraid that her haranguing would leave him with a black eye. So he does what she demands. He grants her justice against her opponent.

Then Jesus tells those listening that if this unjust judge who doesn’t give a whit about God or others will grant justice, then how much more will God – who does care and does love – grant justice to God’s chosen ones who cry after him day and night? God, who loves God’s people, will not delay in giving justice. God, who cares and wants the best for his children, will not stall or dither or hesitate. God will grant justice and God will grant justice quickly.

Jesus began the parable by telling the people listening to him that they should pray always and do not lose heart. Do not lose heart, do not give up. Have faith, trust God, pray without ceasing, seek justice with persistence. Be like this widow with the unjust judge.

“And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

That closing question is a tough one. Will there be anyone who can persist for the long term? Will there be anyone left who has not given up? It is a tough question, but there are tough points all the way through the sermon. Is Jesus trying to create a connection between God and the unjust judge? Is this an allegory, and each character in the parable represents someone else? Does the unjust judge actually represent God?

What do these words say to the people who spend their entire lives hammering away, pushing and prodding, but still don’t get justice?  What do they say to the people who are told that they will have justice, but not now? Not yet. And what does it say to the fact that although we believe God is with us and that God answers our cries for justice, we can also look around this world and see that justice is routinely not given. The truth is that oppressed peoples, vulnerable peoples have been crying for justice for thousands of years. Are they any closer to seeing that justice fulfilled now than they were then?

Another troubling point is Jesus’ use of the word, “quickly.” God may grant justice, but how do you define quickly? More often than not, God and I have different definitions of what “quickly” actually means, what it actually looks like. A delay is not just something you experience in an airport. Delays are also found in the granting of justice.

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King wrote about this kind of delay.

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was ‘well timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant “Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’”

“Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

But it was the unjust judge who delayed in the justice giving, not God. But that is my point. It seems that God delays too. How long did Abraham and Sarah wait for a child? They waited until they were beyond too old. They waited until they should have been completely dried up with despair. Then, after this long waiting, this seemingly unending delay, they had Isaac. There are people who fight for justice until the day they die, and unfortunately they die without having seen the justice they pursued. Why does it seem that not only does the unjust judge delay in granting justice, God does too – in spite of what Jesus said about God’s quick response?

The truth is I don’t have any answers to these questions. I don’t understand why it seems that God delays granting justice any more than I understand the delays in granting justice from institutions and structures. I don’t think that Jesus set out to give an answer to that question either – at least not in this parable. But I do think that in this story he was emphasizing what he said at the beginning.

“He told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”

I do not think that he was trying to convince those around him – and us – that we just have to pray and pray and pray some more and God will grant us whatever we desire. It seems to me that Jesus was encouraging them. Jesus understood that there would be trials and tribulations ahead. Jesus knew that the mountaintop experiences of faith, those times when they would feel strong and filled with the power of the Spirit, would be far fewer than their times in the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus knew that the world around them would impel them to give up, give in, give out.

Jesus knew that the delays in justice would feel untenable. Jesus knew that they would grow weary of having to constantly push and push and push for justice to be done. Jesus even knew that some, if not many, would go to their final rest without having the seen the fruits of their labors. They might never see justice granted in their lifetimes. Jesus knew, but he also knew that however they might, as Pastor Robert put it at lectionary group, give up on God, God would not give up on them. So Jesus encouraged them and exhorted them to pray always and do not lose heart.

Pray always and do not lose heart. We look at the world we live in, and the delay in justice is real and vivid. We may be like that widow, boxing and pushing and haranguing and harassing, but the justice we long for is certainly delayed if not completely denied. But we can also look at the world and see God’s presence in it. God’s presence may be recognized in a person, in a place, in an event or a circumstance. We may recognize God in very different ways, but God is there. God is here. And we are called to keep going. We are called to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep demanding, keep working, keep striving for justice. We are called to keep trusting that God will not delay forever. We are called to trust, and we are called to a dogged, indefatigable hope. To lose heart is to lose hope, and it is hope that gets us up in the morning. It is hope that pushes us back on feet when we’ve been knocked down. It is hope that brings us back here to worship. It is hope that inspires our hand to serve and fills our hearts with compassion. It is hope that keeps us going in spite of delays. We don’t have all the answers. We don’t have complete understanding, but we have hope. We have hope.

Thanks be to God.

Let all of God’s children say, “Alleluia!” Amen.