Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
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Readings: 2 Timothy 3: 14 – 4: 5 and Luke 18: 1-8
Persistence, faithfulness and perseverance seem to be key-words that link today’s two readings. In the last few weeks we have heard verses from Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Timothy was much younger than Paul – possibly diffident and a little timid in his ministry and preaching. We learned a couple of weeks ago that he inherited his faith from his mother and grandmother – as I said before, like many of us. Paul now reminds Timothy that the steady tradition of right belief into which he was born was to be the thread that would hold his community together. He is to pass on that gift to others. It seems there were people in Timothy’s community who had ‘itching ears’. They liked the sound of all kinds of things, and didn’t see why they shouldn’t choose their own religion by cobbling together lots of different, attractive bits. So there is work to be done by Timothy; urgent work, but it is to be carried out with patience.
Paul affirms “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” These lines have always left me with questions. At the time of Paul’s writing, nothing of what we think of as ‘New Testament’ had come into use as scripture: much of it was being written at the time in letters or as teaching instruction. It would be interesting to know when the stories and words of Jesus first came to be used and revered in worship. ‘Scripture’ in Timothy’s time would be what we know as ‘Old Testament.’
Reading through some of the material in the Old Testament, one would be forgiven for asking whether it is all God-inspired – tales of gruesome battles, murder, incest, greed, displacement of peoples and tribes from their homes, exploitation of the poor, and so on. But David Runcorn comes to my aid. He believes the more accurate translation of that verse would be that ‘all scripture is God-breathed’ and that we need the intimacy of that image. After all, if you are close to someone’s breath, you are close to their very being. To ‘inspire’ someone, in this sense, is to breathe life into them. This suggests an engagement with God’s word is more like a deepening personal relationship than a manual of instruction, or a ‘how-to’ guide to be understood and obeyed. Scripture must be drawn in deeply and regularly, entering something much deeper than our minds. So when I read some of the horrible bits of the Old Testament and shudder, I am judging by the insights God has breathed into me, and what I have learned of his love, faithfulness and mercy. The whole bible is a record of God’s dealings with his people, which includes episodes when they have disobeyed him, gone against his teachings, misunderstood him, pursued actions which they thought were guided by him, but were not. We would be wary of any autobiography which pictured a entirely rosy picture of the person’s life without any mention of dark or difficult times, or episodes they regretted when looking back.
In today’s gospel, we hear of the persistent widow. Widows were especially vulnerable, deprived of the support of a husband, whose estate passed directly to their children. If the children refused to support their mother, then a judge would be brought in to adjudicate. Through the story Jesus stresses the need for constant prayer. Now in New Testament parables we aren’t generally told why the parable is given, for most stories stand for themselves. But in this one, the gospel-writer, Luke, explains why Jesus told the story – ‘Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.’
I believe Luke put this introductory verse in because the parable could be taken wrongly. In fact, to be accurate, this story is an allegory, and in an allegory only one point is made, whereas in a parable several points may be made, such as in the parable of the Sower. But in today’s story, the point is that God always hears prayer, and delights in giving good gifts to his people. Christians should therefore pray without ceasing, for to pray is to continue in conversation with God. We are not meant to think of God as the judge, who eventually paid attention to the widow only because he wanted a quiet time and was fed up with her pestering him. Prayer is a major part of our relationship with God. The nearer to him we grow, the more frequent and intimate our prayer will become, and the more likely it will be that he will cause us to pray for things for which a favourable answer will be received.
As an example of a very fruitful way to use and meditate on scripture, I would like to tell you about a previous Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones. He held that post from 1998 to 2013, and was respected greatly outside the church community in Merseyside, so much so that he was asked to Chair the Hillsborough Independent Panel. You won’t need me to remind you of the tragic crowd-crush at an FA Cup Semi-Final in 1989, when 96 people died, mostly Liverpool fans. Bishop Jones took the lead in putting together the report that led to the quashing of the original inquests, and which instigated fresh criminal investigations and the largest-ever investigation into the police. Why am I telling you all this? Because at a memorial service at Anfield, he told the gathering that he had read the parable of the unjust judge every day for three months prior to publishing the report. He linked the widow’s dignified defiance in the story with the 27 year struggle of the families for justice and accountability. As he said this, the whole Anfield Stadium of over 20,000 people burst into applause.
The epistle to the Hebrews says that ‘the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.’ It seems to me that the account of the persistent widow sunk deep into Bishop Jones’ very being as he sought justice for the Hillsborough families. He made the parable his prayer – every day for three months – such a good example of persistence in prayer, and with faith that something good would result.
At the end of the gospel passage, Jesus asks ‘When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ Look at the two very different attitudes in the story. The judge – lazy and faithless; not committed to doing justice, only to living a comfortable life. And the widow – ignoring her own low status and ignoring the convention of when it is proper to approach a judge, is determined that right will be done, and she is not going to give in until it is. Which of the two attitudes do you and I display in our prayers, and in our faith generally?
Lord God, hear the cry of the dispossessed and starving, the orphan and the widow. May they not lose heart while they wait for your justice; and teach us to persist in prayer until the coming of the Son of Man. Amen.