SUNDAY’S
SERMON
Crying for Justice
Luke 18:1-8
Pastor
There are only two
characters in Jesus’ short parable. One is a man; the other, a woman. But what
an odd pair they are. It is difficult to imagine a more striking contrast
between two people than that between the judge and the widow. Neither is named,
but their very titles suggest the contrast. “Judge” calls to mind authority,
power, representative of the law, dispenser of justice. “Widow” in the culture
of Jesus’ time suggests humility, poverty, vulnerability, loneliness,
isolation.
One would expect that in any conflict between
the two the widow would not stand a chance. We would expect her to make her
plea timidly in a trembling voice, and then at the first roar of the judge’s
resounding “No!” to slip unobtrusively away into the shadows. But not this
widow!
She keeps coming back to the judge’s court. It
is not likely that she brings with her an assortment of high-priced lawyers. It
is doubtful that she comes into court with an armful of law books or stacks of
briefs and precedents. I don’t imagine her raising her voice or pounding the
table. Nor do I see her with downcast eyes whimpering her request through piteous
tears. The only line she is given in the story is a straightforward, legitimate
request: “Grant me justice against my opponent.”
We are not told who her opponent is nor are we
told what injustice she has suffered. She seems to have no advocate. Her status
as a widow makes her easy prey for a variety of unscrupulous characters. Her
case is probably like many the judge hears every day. Between her and justice
is the one sitting on his high bench in his somber robes. From him she has a
right to expect justice for her situation. But not from this judge!
This judge is characterized as one who “neither
feared God nor had respect for people.” He acknowledges this assessment of his own
character. Since he does not fear God, the judge feels no compulsion to make
proper moral judgments. He has no sense of accountability to an authority
higher than his own. He is a law unto himself; therefore, he can make rulings
which are arbitrary, judgments based on his own whims. Since he has no respect
for people, one can hardly expect compassion from him. When he sees the widow
standing before him and listens to her request, he does not see a person in
need of justice. He regards her only as an annoyance, only another petty
nuisance, not worthy of his time. He can easily dismiss her with no pangs of
conscience at all.
What leverage does she have against such an
adversary? One in her circumstances would stand helpless before the judge. But
not this widow! Among her powerful tools are patience, persistence, integrity,
a strong sense of justice, and confidence in the rightness of her cause.
Day after day she
comes to the judge’s court with her request: “Grant me justice.” Day after day the
one with power ignores her. Time and again he will not consider her case. The
judge is sure that eventually she will give up...But not this widow.
Did she become discouraged? I believe she did.
Did she ever wonder whether she had a ghost of a chance to break through this
judge’s hard and callous shell? Perhaps. Was she ever on the verge of becoming
bitter due to the treatment she was receiving from this powerful man? If so,
one could hardly blame her. Did she ever consider giving up? Not this widow!
How long she keeps coming to the judge we are
not told. But one day he looks up from his bench, and there standing before him
once again is the widow. Can’t you see him putting his head down on his desk,
and wailing in a plaintive voice, “Oh, no, not again, not again”?
The judge does not undergo a sudden change of
character. He does not experience a dramatic conversion. He admits that still
he does not fear God nor respect people. But at long last he grants the woman
justice. His motives have nothing to do with morality or compassion or concern
for the oppressed. His motives are self-centered and cynical.
He has discovered that this widow, for all her
seeming helplessness, is a formidable presence. Somehow he has to get rid of
her. She is like a burr under his saddle, a pebble in his shoe. His reason for
granting her justice is: “…I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear
me out by continually coming.” It is for his own protection, his own peace of
mind, his own comfort that he finally makes the decision which he could have
made when the widow first appeared before him.
Luke gives this parable an introduction which
suggests Jesus is speaking to people who may well be in danger of “losing
heart.” There must have been times when Jesus’ contemporary followers were in
danger of losing heart because of rejections, lack of understanding, threat of
persecution, and the sheer weariness of the road.
This parable not only encouraged them to be persistent,
but it gave them a basis for their hope. Ironically, they could see in the
character of the judge the basis for their hope. They grasped the truth that
God is not like this judge. Jesus makes the point by posing a question which
sets the character of God in stark contrast to that of the judge: “Will not God
grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay
long in helping them? I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them.” God
does not have to be cajoled, pestered, hounded or worn down before He will hear
the cries of His people. If a ruthless judge will finally and grudgingly
respond to patience and persistence, how much more will God?
Throughout the ages the people of God have had
to work with persistent faith for God to act to give them justice. Think of the
children of
Jesus knew that
through the coming ages there would be times when His followers would be
tempted to lose heart. At the climax of the age would they still be holding
firm? Therefore, at the conclusion of the parable He poses a question which
gives promise of His final return and challenges His disciples of every age to
pray always and not lose heart. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith
on earth?” We should not avoid this question for ourselves by projecting it far
into some vague, remote future.
Listen to me. If you are being bullied in school, God knows about it and God hates it. If you are being harassed in the workplace, for any reason, God hates it. If you are being taken advantage of--or if you are taking unfair advantage of someone else--there will be a day of reckoning. If there is anyone anywhere praying for God to intervene and put an end to their oppression, eventually that prayer will be heard and that which is wrong will be set right. That’s the promise of Scripture.
Where does that leave us? Let me tell you a story.
A young man asked his minister why people had to suffer so much poverty, hardship, and oppression. “Why doesn’t God do something?” he wailed.
“He has,” said that wise pastor. “He has created you.”
And so Desmond Tutu, now the archbishop of
That’s a good lesson for us. While we are waiting for God to bring in a perfect and just society, we are God’s answer to the injustice in our world. That’s what it means to follow Jesus. It’s not a comfortable position to be in. It’s not popular. But it is Christ’s way.
We’re not talking about the broad way, the easy way. We are talking about the narrow way, the way of Jesus. We are the answer. Anywhere people are being mistreated, anywhere people have needs that are not being met, we are to be God’s hands reaching out with love.
That’s how we are to look at life. Wherever we see injustice or need of any kind, we are to understand that it is Jesus who is being victimized. “When did we see Thee hungry? Or naked? Or in prison?” And the Master answered, “When you did it unto the least of these, you did it for Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
This is what the story of the persistent widow is all about. She was looking for justice. Justice is what God wants, for all people, everywhere. People are suffering. Why doesn’t God do something? He has. He created you.
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Desmond Tutu sermon illustrations from www.sermons.com/illustrations/justice