Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 32:22-31
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
October 16, 2016
Vicar Jonathan Westerlund
House of Prayer Lutheran Church
Hingham, MA
Keep praying
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose
heart.”
Pray always....According to this parable and other biblical references, we should all
pray always. Who am I to ask that of all of you though? And to ask not to lose heart? Yes,
the request comes from Christ, but who am I to stand and repeat it? I know that I don't pray
as often as I ought to, as often as I could. And many times the 'prayer' is looking up with a
sarcastic, 'Thanks Buddy' when things don't go according to my plan. And I know there are
times when I feel overwhelmed and things seem hopeless – I lose hope, I lose heart. So who
am I to ask? I'm someone who is trying to figure it out as well, especially as we all hear the
news every day that sometimes seems to take away any hope that we have. So if we are
supposed to pray always and be persistent in prayer, what does that look like?
We come to church and pray in words and in song. We lift up praise to our God,
beautifully I might add. We read the word, hear preaching, and celebrate the sacraments.
But it doesn't end there. A colleague of mine has compared our faith to breathing. So take a
second, breathe in and out. Our 'breath in' is here, at church, in prayer, in devotion. We are
filled with the word, filled with the spirit. And then we breathe out. We go out into the world
empowered to do what we are called, which can be many things. It can be to speak for
justice, or to hold someone's hand, or be a Christian example, or so many other things. But
our personal devotion is incomplete without living out our calling. And our generosity is
incomplete without devotion and centering on God. We cannot breathe in without breathing
out. We cannot breathe out without breathing in. So to pray always may start in the church,
within ourselves, but by its very nature it continues through our actions in the world.
In this constant prayer, there can be encouragement, fulfillment, and comfort. But what
do we pray for? In some ways we seem to have no issue with that – with our prayer list, and
the multitude of names and concerns that are brought forward in the intercessory prayers.
And that is wonderful and beautiful. Yet, outside of worship how many of us find ourselves
hesitant to lead prayer if asked? In fact someone put up a little comic strip about that posted
on the board right outside the sanctuary. It reads: “Let's see...Doug, would you lead us in an
opening prayer?” with the other characters thinking “Whew!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank
you!” The caption reads “Once Doug is chosen, the rest of the committee enters a time of
silent prayer.” - those thank yous. I found the comic very funny, and there is truth in it. Many
of us are scared to pray in public, and I would venture to say reluctant to pray in private as
well. Even if we are sitting alone in a room, we are afraid that we will say the wrong thing or
freeze. But that's ok for that to happen. God understands us even when we aren't quite sure
what we are saying, or our words get jumbled up. And if we freeze or pause, its a place for
silence, a place to listen. No matter how we say what we say, God is present.
We can be assured that this persistence in prayer does not go without response. Let’s
look back at the Gospel lesson. The story is of a judge, who we learn is unjust after the
parable is told, but not within the parable itself and a widow who in commentaries on this
scripture is often portrayed as downtrodden, destitute, oppressed, and desperate, which we
don't necessarily know to be true. Widows in that time period were often viewed as especially
vulnerable, so that may well be the case in this story, but it doesn't correlate directly into the
world today. We know that everyone's journey is different and the world is not the same as it
was 2000 years ago. What we do see for sure in this parable is that the widow in the story is
persistent and wears down the judge until he eventually grants her justice. And then it is
related to God, not as an unjust judge but rather as a good and just judge. “And 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.” So as this widow was persistent in her
request, there was a response from the unjust judge. Now it seems to say that in the same
way, if we are persistent in our prayers to God, that God will also respond with justice.
What does this mean for us? Be persistent in prayer and all our wishes will come true?
That certainly doesn't seem to be the case, and that's not exactly what this verse says ether.
It doesn't say here that God grants our every request. It says that God will grant justice.
How? When? In this lifetime or the next? In some ways this story meant to tell us to not lose
heart raises more questions than it answers. But, we are reminded in a few short chapters
that there are prayers that aren't answered the way we'd like, or expect. We are reminded
that this happens to even Jesus when he prays, “Father, if you are willing take this cup from
me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” So we pray, but at the end must rely on God and
God's will. Especially in that reliance and in seeking to pray continually and to not give up
hope; we then can begin to live in the surety that God has not abandoned this world.
So we can see that to pray always means both in words and action, it is both inward
and outward. And we can see that our persistent prayers will be met with God’s gracious and
just response. But I suppose the next natural question is then – what is it that we pray for?
According to the introduction, this parable focuses on prayer, but I see another word that is
repeated a couple times as well: justice. Could it be that Jesus is not only asking us to pray
always, but also to pray for justice? This parable shows a woman that petitions constantly for
justice and that woman's actions are compared to our prayer. As an intern here, I had to put
together a learning contract to explain the responsibilities and goals of this internship. While
building that, Pastor Henry and I looked over her Letter of Call and one of the charges is to
speak for justice. It was not the first thing I thought to put down on paper, but it is central to
the call of a pastor but also core to the church and Christians in general. In fact the national
church has a lot to say about justice in creation, sexuality, criminal justice, healthcare, race,
and more. We are to pray for justice, in a world that desperately needs it. Especially lately,
which the atrocities in the news and the abhorrent political discourse. As we pray for justice,
we may find ourselves changing – finding who we are a midst this turbulent world and start to
see what really matters in this life. Debie Thomas wrote in 'Christian Century', “When I persist
in prayer – really persist, with a full heart, over a long period of time – something happens to
me. My sense of who I am, to whom I belong, what really matters in this life, and why, - these
things mature and solidify.” So just maybe, that call to be persistent in prayer, is a call to be
persistent in justice as well. To pray for it both in private and in public, to act on behalf of
justice, and to seek God’s response.
So yes, pray always. Be persistent. Keep that constant contact. Keep your focus on
Christ. And then go forward. St. Francis of Assisi said “Preach the Gospel at all times. When
necessary, use words.” That is part of our calling as Christians, to preach and witness that
gospel love in our actions, and in our words when necessary. So pray for peace, and act in
ways which bring peace. Pray for love, and act with that same love. Pray for empowerment,
and work to empower others. Pray for justice, and stand up for justice in this world. Pray
however you can, as often as you are able, and it will be a glory to God each and every time.
May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.