Luke 18:1-8 A widow begs for justice

It’s a weird feeling knowing that this would be the last sermon I write for a while and the last one I delivered for an even longer while. As I was reading through the lectionary I was gratefully reminded of why I am a lectionary preacher. More often than not, the lectionary fits what I want to or what I need to say that week.

Pray unceasingly. Granted that could be said of any given week couldn’t it? It doesn’t matter if things are going the way you want them to or things are going the opposite direction than you want them to or if they are just going somewhere in the middle. Pray unceasingly. Pray always and do not lose heart for even those who neither fear God nor respect people can be swayed. They are humans and made by God, the creator, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not.

But when you pray, ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Know who you are praying to, know their power, and establish who is in charge of this universe; ask only for what you need. Tell God how you are feeling, voice your desires, but do not tell God what to do or how to do it. And then beg for forgiveness because you know you have failed at all three of those things.

Protestants are generally more fond of the translation of the Greek word opheilēmata as trespasses rather than debts or sins, but the purpose is the same. Acknowledge that everyone is human and you will all fail; there is no such thing as a human being who will not insult you or let you down at some point in your relationship. Even your neighbor, who all you do is wave back and forth when you see each other, may fail to wave at some point. Forgive them and try not to trespass against them by judging them or saying to yourself “fine, if you don’t wave at me I won’t wave at you anymore, see how that feels.”

As most of you are aware, or if you’re not aware yet, you’re about to be, this is my last Sunday here at Highland Avenue UMC. For the past few weeks I have been slaving away trying to pack up my house while still continuing on with being your pastor, being a therapist, being a wife, a neighbor, and a seminary student, selling a house, buying a house, cleaning a house, fixing some of the myriad little things that I put off indefinitely because I just didn’t want to do them, power watching the deck, repairing a couple pieces of siding, spackling a few knicks and bumps in the walls, etc. My body aches from head to toe, my brain is fried, and my muscles are threatening to give out on me.

And, in this process, I have realized something about myself. “I am a control freak.” I know that may come as a surprise.

The idea of someone else packing things for me is terrifying. What if they don’t pack something the way I want them to? What if they don’t put it with the things I would have put it with? What if they judge me for the sheer volume of things I don’t need that I have? What if they laugh because at one point in time I painted around a very large mirror that is bolted to the wall instead of taking it down and painting behind it because at the time I never thought I was going to leave this house and it seemed a waste of time?

What if they don’t work the same way I do, load things into a storage container the same way I do? Not to mention, I’m already exhausted, they’re probably going to expect me to be social and talk to them right? To entertain them.

Amidst this, someone did something unimaginable. Several people made loose offers of “Hey, if you need a hand, give me a call, I can come over after work.” I took none of these offers because I have done most of the packing during the day and then waited until Doug to come home to help me shuffle around large objects that I cannot move myself with a dolly. But one offer was different.

One friend, after seeing how burnt out I was, texts me the next day and says, “I want to come over this week. I can help you pack, help move things, clean, or just talk to you and keep you company while you pack and organize.” And they did while also bringing a young helper with her.

They followed my lead. If I had a socket wrench, one held the other end of the bolt, while the other supported what we were taking down. If there was a moment of pause as my mind froze on what to do next, they said, “Would you like to work on this next?” while the little helper picked up pieces and stacked them by the door. They worked, making sure I was in the lead, not telling me, You should do this or you should do that, or asking after every task, “What do you want me to do next?” They helped my mind feel at peace. It was like working with the sane version of myself as a therapist.

Meet people where they are. Work within their framework. Let the set the pace and then work to help keep them at their pace. Watch their body language. Listen to what they’re not saying. Recognize the control freak and play a supporting role. Help someone be a better version of themselves.

Pray always and don’t lose heart.

When we become control freaks, we trespass against others. We pass judgment on them, we belittle them, we deem them less than worthy. We fail to see them and instead see only how they relate to us. We exhaust ourselves surpassing our limits because we don’t want to let others in. Our inward focus then spirals even further inward and we become not the widow in today’s passage but the judge. We forget our role. We stop praying. We forget who is in charge and what their power is and we start asking for more than what we need.

The widow in today’s passage asks not for her accuser to be sent to prison, not for them to be heavily fined, not for them to be put to death, but for justice whatever the judge determines that to be. When we cry out that we have surpassed out limits, God will hear and God will send us, exactly what we need. Then it is up to us, not to trespass against them and turn them down.

They have made the offer. It is up to us to accept it. It is up to us to forgive and ask forgiveness for our behavior. God will send us a reminder of how we should behave as people who serve. God will remind us that it is our faith that has gotten us this far, not ourselves.

I used to hear a story quite frequently. A devout Christian man is trapped on his roof in a flood. A man comes by in a row boat and says “hop in, I’ll take you to shore.” The man on the roof replies, “no thanks, I’m ok, God will save me.” “Suit yourself.” He says and then rows away. A while later as the waters continue to rise, a motorboat comes by and says the same thing “Hop in, I’ll take you to shore.” “No thanks, God will save me.” The water continues to rise and the coast guard comes by in a boat saying “Take my hand.” “No thanks, God will save me.” A helicopter. “No thanks, God will save me.” And then he drowns.

The man is upset as he takes his last breath because God didn’t save him. “God says I sent you a rowboat, a motor boat, a raft, a life preserver, the coast guard, and a helicopter. What more did you think I would do? If you have the faith you claim to have, how did you not see it was me who sent them?”

We try to think of sin, debt, and trespassing, as big things, deliberately wronging others and that they deliberately harm us. All too often we fail to see how we are trespassing against them but just not allowing those God sends to us to be a part of our lives, to do that which they are skilled to do. We see only their faults and that it isn’t how we want something done. We judge before even giving them an opportunity that they will do things wrong, also known as not our way.

We fail to just ask for justice. To say Lord, this is what I want. If you are willing, if this is YOUR will, I would like it to happen, and how and when it happens, that is up to you. I will continue to pray unceasingly, to acknowledge you, see you, attest to your awesome power, and when you send me help, I will do my very best to accept it graciously, to not trespass against others at their offers. I will both serve and be served.

I will ask for justice, not retribution. I will see even those who hearts seem hard as your children. When the Son of Man comes, he will find faith on this earth, in me.