Stubborn for Justice

Luke 18:1-8a
The Rev. Sara Fischer

From the letter to Timothy: Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable.

Our collect this morning invites us to consider the Church—not just St. John the Evangelist, but the church universal. And so we opened with one of the old chestnuts, one of the great hymns about the Church. The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord. These days, our church is fragmented. Depending on which news sources you rely on, it would seem that the mission of the church is to argue over irresolvable issues about the interpretation of scripture as it relates to the particular issue of human sexuality.

What do I have to say about this? Not as much as some people would like. But I will say that on any given Sunday, it is difficult to find in the gospel any rationale for the amount of hurt and hate that fill the various religious newswires these days.

A few weeks ago at our diocesan clergy conference, the speaker told a story about an ecumenical conference years ago, between high-level Lutherans and Episcopalians trying to clarify their common mission and how the two denominations might grow into communion with one another. They argued furiously about the interpretation of scripture, about the role of bishops, about the meaning of the sacraments. They called in a very famous, well-known church leader as a consultant. This was during the 1992 presidential campaign, when we all heard “it’s the economy, stupid.” He stood up at the podium, turned around to face a white board and wrote in huge block letters: “It’s the mission.” (The person who told the story didn’t think he added “stupid.”

It’s the mission. And what is the mission of the Church? Our catechism states that the mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. The catechism continues: How does the church pursue its mission? The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love. And finally: Through whom does the Church carry out its mission? The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members.

In short, the mission of the Church, of each church, is to carry out God’s mission.

So, how do we discern God’s the mission of the Church in today’s Gospel? The widow in the story is looking for justice, God’s justice.

In Ancient Israel, the widow was on the bottom rung of society. Women could not inherit property, and when a woman was widowed, her husband’s property usually went to a brother- or cousin-in-law. The widow was then left with no recourse and no money. It is likely that the widow in today’s gospel was asking the judge to hear such a case and to intercede so that she could have something to live on.

The widow is not pleading for mercy, but for justice. She is not asking the judge for a special favor. She is simply asking for what is promised throughout the Scriptures: God cares for the stranger, God cares for widows, and God requires his faithful people to do the same. The widow represents all the poorest of the poor, the people on the ragged edges of society who are impoverished for reasons beyond their own control.

This can be a troubling story if we think that it is about prayer in the sense that the judge is a stand-in for God, who will eventually, if we whine long enough and loud enough, answer our prayers. Is this how we want to think about God? Or about ourselves? Do we want to forever be the squeaky wheel? And what about those times when our prayers are not answered?

But the story, as Jesus tells us at the beginning, is not about the poor excuse for a judge, who doesn’t care about God or people, and only acquiesces to the widow’s demands because she bothers him. The story is about the need to pray always and not lose heart. The hero in the story is not the judge who eventually relents. The hero of the story is the widow. She is relentless in her persistence and in her pursuit of justice.

It is the widow, not the judge, who represents God’s passion for justice, God’s persistence. Like the persistent widow, our God will not give up in pleading his case. Remember the poor and needy. Remember the stranger. Remember the orphan and the widow. It’s the mission. Never give up.

Remember the catechism: Through whom does the Church carry out its mission? The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members. We each have our part of God’s mission to be persistent and passionate about, our mission about which we will never give up. It may be a mission to make our building energy-efficient or our altar accessible. It may be a mission to bring high-quality adult formation classes to St. John’s every single Sunday. It may be a mission to sustain and grow our ministry to the hungry. It may be a mission to teach children to know and love God. Think for a moment about how God’s mission manifests itself in you. What are you so persistent about that you will never give up? It’s the mission.