October 19th ~ Persist in Prayer and be Open to God's Answer

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Exodus 17:8-13

Psalm 121

2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon by Pastor Nelson

In our psalm today we said, “our help comes from the Lord,” and then at the end we said, “the Lord will watch over our going out and our coming in, for evermore.”  What do we mean by that?  The framers of the lectionary we used today, paired today’s selection from Exodus with Jesus’ parable of the widow and the unjust judge.

As always, the Hebrew scripture selected to accompany the gospel functions like an editorial comment.  In the Exodus story, Moses’ people succeeded in battle when they could see Moses holding up the staff of God, whether by his own strength or with a ‘little help from his friends.’  For me, I am again amazed how the texts from thousands of years ago speak to us today. Quite simply, “there is nothing new under the sun.”  When we meet the judge in today’s parable, we are quickly informed that the widow cannot appeal to the judge’s good side.  Why?  Because he does not have a good side!  [if that is not an explanation of Trump and his gang, I do not know what is.]

A letter to the editor of the globe and mail published on September 1, 2025, said this: “I am an American married to a Canadian, living in Canada.  I had trouble choosing sides- until now.  I was surprised and disappointed when my fellow Americans voted Donald Trump into office the first time.  I was shocked and angry when they voted him in again.  Now I only feel embarrassed and ashamed.  I am no longer ambivalent.  I am not troubled about choosing sides.  I choose Canada.”  That was actually written by a woman living in Victoria, BC.  I say, amen.

Just imagine our leaders facing Trump and then look at our biblical stories today.  The woman in our story faced “a judge who neither feared God nor had any respect for any human being.”  She became the water that dripped incessantly until something is worn away.  To understand this parable, we should pay careful attention to Luke’s editorial comment. This is a parable about praying always and about never giving up. It is important to recognize that those are two interrelated ideas. We must be constantly mindful of our relationship with God, and to persist in faith.  The woman is like a “squeaky wheel.”  The song I now mention was referring to love and marriage when it was written, it might be out of date, but I still like the words; “you cannot have one without the other.”  Yes, we need God and we need faith. The widow in this story represents the praying disciple, while the judge presides over injustice.  What is the widow to pray for?  For whom does Jesus tell us to pray for?  It is interesting but I do not think the gospel of Luke has Jesus saying, “pray for one another.”  Instead, Jesus says, “pray for those who mistreat you.” [Luke 6:28] Think about that!  Yes, Jesus did pray for peter but what he said was, “I have prayed that your faith may not fail.” [Luke 22:32] The implication seems to be that in a situation of seemingly interminable injustice, especially when we have no power to change it, we are called to pray for those who have the power, as well as for the perpetrators.

Now I have to be honest, praying for Trump and his gang of thugs, just goes against my very being.  But in this gospel story we have this woman who keeps praying.  No magic wand, she just kept pestering the judge who finally ruled on her behalf, not for any good reason, but because his discomfort at her persistence overpowered his laziness and prejudice that had allowed him to ignore her in the first place. She does not do it in private.  The widow’s persistence is obvious to the judge.  Someone said, she is like the energizer bunny.  She just keeps coming and coming with her demand for justice.  Her circumstances were such that she would probably die if she did not get her demands met.  The judge would not move for love of God or human respect, so what did the widow get?  Yes, this is a story of salvation, but not as it appears at first glance.  Yes, the widow finally got her due, but in the process, you see, she also saved the judge.  In the end the widow made it easier for the judge to do the right thing.  Is this what Carney is doing with Trump?  In spite of what everyone knew and said about the judge, the widow would not stop believing that God can transform hearts.  Even the judge in the story.  She refused to give in to the idea that the judge would never change. Like Moses, holding up his staff, she refused to give up.

There was no earthly reason to expect success in either case, but if there had been, she would not have had to pray and Moses would not have had to hold up his staff.  You see, if we can get beyond our own sophistication we can laugh at both stories.  Jesus’ last remark in our story was designed to bring the disciples up short.  Jesus’ last remark in our story should bring us up short.  “When the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  Are either of these stories factual?  Who knows and probably more importantly who cares?  What is then the question being addressed to us by these stories?  Do we really believe God’s kingdom is germinating among us, even now in 2025?  Then secondly, how far are we willing to cultivate the story.  Are we faithful enough to pray for those who mistreat us and even more importantly, to pray for someone like a Trump who mistreats the world and promotes injustice?  Do we have or desire to have the kind of faith that leads us to persist as II Timothy suggests, whether it is convenient or inconvenient?

Timothy is told to be persistent whether it is favourable or unfavourable.  Timothy was told to convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.  The writer of the second lesson wants Timothy, wants us, to do everything possible to encourage ourselves and others to live the gospel.  The widow at the judge’s door got what she needed because she would not stop.  She shook the judge out of his apathy.  She did not quit until, in desperation, the judge did something righteous.  The judge may have not changed himself deeply, but it did bring him to do at least one thing.  As we look at our political situation, at the injustice and violence that plagues our countries and the world, is there any earthly reason to believe that people and countries can change?  Well, that is precisely why our widow friend is held up to us as an example.  Prayer will awaken our memory of God and remind us that God’s reign does not operate on the rules of the world.  Prayer opens us to the grace to overcome the inevitable disillusionments we meet in life.  Yes, prayer can open us to the inspirations that will keep us going just like the energizer bunny, until justice reigns.

Do we find answers in asking God to transform cruel and dictatorial people into good, loving individuals?  If so, just how do we expect God to do it?  If God could intervene like that, why do we see all the suffering we see?  Let us consider the idea that Jesus was talking from his experience of trying to convince the dubious and to hearten people who thought his message would cost them too much.  Jesus’ most basic prayer was, “Your will be done.”  That followed what his mother had taught him in her prayer, “let it happen to/through me according to Your will.”  We do not look for magic in our prayers.  When we long for the right outcomes in our world, sincere prayer needs to spring from a longing for God’s will, combined with our readiness to carry it out.  Our story today from Exodus backs up the gospel for today.  The people had escaped pharaoh, and God had provided them with manna and water.  But now they were being attacked again.  Moses orders Joshua to pick out a group who could meet the Amalekites on their own terms.  While Joshua and company were on the battlefield, Moses would be standing in the place of God watching it all happen.  The staff would be symbolizing God’s saving power.  This is similar to the earlier Exodus story.  Again, how factual are these stories?  Probably not at all, but what the message is, that their future, our future, was/is unpredictable in every detail except that the struggle to get their/our will shall always needs God’s help.  The story of Israel’s triumphs over their enemies is never a case of getting God to do our will.  Scripture never says, “God helps those who help themselves.”

This story and many similar ones is about the struggle we enter into in collaborating with God to bring God’s plans to fruition.  We use these scriptures to help us see that we, like the Israelites, can be certain that God’s grace and strength is with us as long as our hearts are set on the mission to which we have been called.  We often say and hear, “hang in there.”  Today’s readings remind us that the call to be persistent in prayer is not new. The Israelites needed to hear it, and the disciples were told by Jesus to “pray always.”  We do not need endless harangues, or sophisticated words or lofty arguments.  The God of mercy does hear us.  Our challenge is to be open to God’s answer.  When we long for the right outcomes in our world, sincere prayer needs to spring from a longing for God’s will, combined with our readiness to carry it out.  Now let us be clear, persistence in generous prayer will cost us our lives.  The good news is?  There is no better way to spend one’s life.  “semper fi”, “always faithful.”  God is persistent in planting good desires in us. 

Let us be ever more persistent in offering ourselves to carry out God’s loving will. 

Ask the complicated questions.

Do not fear to be found out,

For our God makes strong our weakness,

Forging faith in fires of doubt.

Seek the disconcerting answers,

Follow where the spirit blows,

Test competing truths for wisdom,

For in tension new life grows.

Knock on doors of new ideas,

Test assumptions long grown stale,

For Christ calls from shores of wonder,

Daring us to try and fail.

For in struggle we discover

Truth both simple and profound,

In the knocking, asking, seeking,

We are opened, answered, found.

[ACS 1005]

Merciful God, we are grateful that You have always heard the prayers of your people.  Show us how to trust in you when we grow impatient, and grant us the gift of persistence.  We humbly “pray” as you say, “always.” Amen