Unfair Unjust Unrighteous, October 20,2013

Jeremiah 31:27-34 Luke 18:1-8 Of all of Scripture, I cannot recall a more brief parable, nor more misunderstood passages, than these. We each survey the world around us and decry that “The World is Unjust!” “No longer is there right and wrong!” No one seems to care what people think, or what God thinks, we like the Judge each just goes after whatever they can get. In the Justice System there ought to be protections for the poor, and the widowed, not for revenge, but for pure vindication, that they HAD RIGHTS! That our Nation's entire Government would be shut down for two weeks, locking and barring the entrances to FREE Parks and Museums, denying pay to those employees who who do the work, threatening the world's economy, while our Elected leaders continue to be paid to argue over political positions. Surely God must be UNRIGHTEOUS and UNJUST to create such a world, or else God is not all powerful, not even real. Our problem is that too often we take the Bible out of context, we only have patience to listen with one ear for a cursory summary of sound-bytes, and we respond “See, even Jesus has compared God Almighty to an Unrighteous Judge!” But that is not what these passages have been about. Each of the parables told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke describe what Heaven is like, what the Love of God is like, and the great reversal that as grand as we might imagine, God is beyond explanation. Over the last few months, we have recounted that we need to: Not take the place of honor when invited, but act in humility and you may receive greater honor. Remember all were invited, but most, claimed to be too busy, having other things to do. Know God gave our places to those who never before had been invited the poor, the sinners, the lost. Count your costs, not building a tower if you cannot afford the foundation, waging wars we will lose. Consider the value to the owner of The Lost One, and the value of those who think they never were Lost. Recognize that Christ, God's Steward will do whatever it takes to redeem what is owed to God. See ourselves as The Rich man, with Lazarus at our gates, who afterward will be with Abraham. Forgive, even those closest to you, especially those, even as often as 70 times 7 times/ per day. At which point you could see the Disciples rolling their eyes, muttering “Increase Our faith!” Jesus describes that nothing is impossible for faith... A Mustard seed can grow immense, a Mountain can be moved, Lepers can be cleansed and their limbs and digits healed and regrown to full inclusion. By now, the disciples jaws had dropped, when Jesus told them that: Oh yes, and only the despised Samaritan would be thankful. And Jesus went on to describe that none of us can know when our end is coming. You may have a name for it, Cancer, War, Age, but what if you are taken by God before that ending ever comes? Or if a cure is found and you survive that death? Are you prepared? Today's passage begins “Has your life been lived in constant prayer, or have you Lost Heart?” We do not recognize the power of words any more, or even the power of our Attitudes. In Common Greek, the phrase LOSE HEART means “to give up.” You turn in a claim for reimbursement and your claim is rejected, you claim belief in what seems a basic right, do you give up? Tragically, we go through life with great ambitions, we have callings, we study for careers, we fall in love, but over time we get worn down by the constant rejections, and we give up, WE LOSE HEART. But if Give Up is the Common Greek translation of LOSE HEART, there is also the Classical Greek which has subtle nuance. LOSE HEART means to “Give In,” to condone, to be culpable in our toleration of wrongs. So have we stood up for what we believe, or given in to peer pressure, to cultural acceptance? Ultimately the Judge in the parable: relents, according to the current translations “Or she will wear me out” but the original language was more explicit, in Old English this was translated as “Or she may blacken my eye!” There is this satiric image of the Great and Powerful Judge, with all authority of the Law and Judgment at his command, seated on a Judge's Seat behind a High Bench, and this old widow that everyone has taken from, leaving her weak and powerless. Yet the Judge is afraid she might be desperate enough she will blacken his eye, possibly with her fist, or to his reputation and image and power. Luke claims Jesus said, “If the unrighteous Judge vindicates her, will not vindicate God's elect who cry out day and night?” The grammar here is complicated, requiring us to reason an IF/THEN, that if the unrighteous Judge could be motivated by the poor widow's constant demands, then God who loves you will vindicate you too. But I have to believe Jesus' point was more barbed. First, The point of Prayer, especially Constant prayer, is NOT to whine and complain, so as to change God's mind. If it were, then How many prayers does it take to right a wrong? How many prayers to change the world? NO, instead, while it is important that we name to God our needs, what happens in prayer is we bow down, we recognize there is a God and we are not God, we are not in control, so at some point we will have to accept God's Will to be done. Second, as Jesus' parables always seem to have a reversal, I think the Judge who has no concern for God or what people think, is a painfully apt description of us all. While the Old Widow, the one who continually petitions and will not relent, until vindicated, even though they should have been vindicated for Justice sake, or simply for who they are: is God. The Prophet Jeremiah, informs us of a dramatic shift in the history of the world. God's Chosen People: The Nation of Israel had fled Pharaoh in Egypt, had been saved through the Red Sea, had been saved from Pharaoh's Power and Technology, and on Mt. Sinai the people of Israel received the Covenant with God. God had committed, that God would be their God, and they would be God's people. But a lot of history has passed, for thousands of years the people have lost heart, and been unjust and unrighteous, and sinned, Empires have risen and Monarchies fallen, no after King Saul, David and Solomon, the Nation of Israel is in Exile in far away Babylon. There the people wondered if God was UnRighteous, UnJust, or if God was not All Powerful, or even if God Exists. According to human Law, God is un-Just... God has greater concern for the poor and the lost. God is not concerned with Right and Wrong, God continually redeems the sinners. Here Jeremiah has written to the people in Exile and declared God is doing a New Thing, God is Forgetting what we have done, God is forgiving. No more can we declare, I was Baptized as a Baby. I was Confirmed a Member of the PCUSA at 16. I live in a culture that celebrate Christmas and Easter. But every person will need to listen to what is in their own heart. I heard three stories recently. The first was of a Church in Latin America. On Sunday morning all the Village was in the Church, as the preacher was praying for the people. When suddenly a group of Guerrilla soldiers burst in. The Soldiers demanded to know if they believed in God? The Pastor said, “We Do!” He was dragged from the room outdoors and there was a burst of gunfire. The soldiers came back in and asked the people If they believed. After a long silence one said “Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ” He was dragged out and there were gunshots. This was followed by about dozen others. Then the room grew painfully quiet, as each considered that they would be put to death for what they claimed to believe. The Soldiers pushed all of them out into the light of day, where the pastor, and all those who had confessed stood unharmed. The Soldiers, told the Pastor and the first twelve to go inside, for their faith had saved them. When the others tried to follow, the soldiers blocked their path, asking Why? The second comes from WWII, when Naziism was spreading like a cancer over Europe. The Monarchy of Denmark was taken, but the King whose name was Christian was allowed to remain in power and the flag of Denmark allowed to fly. One day, the Nazis took down the flag of Denmark and raised their flag instead. King Christian went to the head of the Nazi party, reminding him of their articles of War, and that the flag of their Nation would continue to fly. The king proclaimed, I will give you 10 minutes to take down that flag, and raise the flag of Denmark or else one of our soldiers will do so. Ten minutes went by and nothing happened. And the Party leader asked which of your soldiers has the nerve to take down our flag to raise your own? And the King replied “I DO.” Finally, a story from a friend who this summer had a family reunion. All the cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents were there, all that is except the favorite uncle. His Alzheimer's had gotten to the point where he lived in a care facility and could not attend. His daughter brought a message from him”To my family, whose names I do not remember, all the things that happened over life I do not remember. But I remember I love you.” Such is the love of God, all the things you have done, I do not recall, but I remember You.