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Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
October 21, 2007 Sermon by The Rev. Bill Van Oss, Rector
                                                                                       Readings                                                                                    

Little Johnny is 7 years old, and little Johnny wants a new bike. In his quest for a new bike, little Johnny turns to the source of all good ideas, his mother. His wise mother suggests to little Johnny that perhaps the best way to get a new bike is to sit down and write a letter to Jesus.

Little Johnny likes this idea of writing a letter to Jesus: it feels like he’s taking his request “right to the top”. So he sits down at his desk with paper and pen, and he writes his letter.

Dear Jesus,

I’d really like a new bike.

Love, Johnny

And with his mom’s help, he mails the letter off.

Well, about a week goes by, and little Johnny hears nothing. So he sits down at his desk to write another letter.

Dear Jesus,

I’d really like a new bike, and I’ve been a very good boy lately.

Love, Johnny

And he sends it off, and still no reply. But he’s undeterred. Little Johnny pens another letter.

Dear Jesus:

I’d really like a new bike, and I put a quarter in the collection plate at church last Sunday.

Love, Johnny

And off it goes, and still Johnny hears nothing. And now he’s desperate. Johnny goes out into the yard where the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary sits in a nice display.

Little Johnny takes the statue of Mary and he wraps it in a blanket, and he sneaks up the stairs of the house to the attic, and he puts the statue in the corner and closes the attic door. Then he sits down to write another letter.

Dear Jesus:

I really want a new bike, and if you ever want to see your mother again . . .

I must confess that I have never really liked the parable we just heard in today’s Gospel. But one of the great things about being in a church that follows a set lectionary of scripture readings is that the clergy do not pick and choose which ones we use.

We can’t avoid the ones that make us uncomfortable. So I have to deal with the nagging widow and the unjust grudge.

It forces me to deal with my discomfort that the parable seems to be saying that we can use prayer to manipulate God – that God can be coerced, or that if we are just stubborn and persistent enough, we can bend God’s will to conform to our own.

That God will submit if we just keep bothering God, hounding God, or even threatening God. Like little Johnny, “If you ever want to see your mother again”.

But, perhaps we need to look beyond the surface of this story, to look deeper. Maybe Jesus is using humor and exaggeration to teach something important. Looking deeper, it’s a rather humorous parable.

We have a widow, a nobody, someone with no power, no voice, no rights - a kind of non-person. But she’s tough. She’s a fighter. She won’t take “no” for an answer in spite of her lack of status. She keeps nagging, keeps pushing, nagging one of the most powerful members of her society – a judge – and not just any judge, but one who’s drunk with power, self-righteous and full of himself. He didn’t even fear God, he had set himself above God.

Imagine hearing this with first-century ears, in that society. A story about the weakest of the weak and someone who thought himself more powerful than God.

It might make you laugh, the exaggeration would be immediately evident. And then, the moral of the story – the judge relents – because of the widow’s persistence. She wins. The weakest beats the most powerful – David & Goliath, Robin Hood, Jesus & the Cross.

So what do we learn about prayer through the humor and exaggeration of this story?

We learn 3 things.

We learn that prayer is a relationship. It’s a relationship with a God who knows us, and it encourages us to continually get to know God better. Prayer is a personal relationship.

We also learn that God is approachable, that even the lowly and weak get hears. God cares enough to listen to you and me. The widow didn’t have a lawyer speak for her, she spoke directly to the judge. We can speak directly to God.

And we learn that prayer involves wrestling – like Jacob in today’s first lesson – we must wrestle and endure. It won’t be instant or easy.

The only failure is giving up. Our persistence and effort helps us to discern the mind of God, to know God’s will for us, and to be transformed in the light of God’s desire for our lives.

Our God is approachable and desires a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

Let us follow the widow’s example of persistence – her “spunk” – and know that our prayers will be heard.


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