Twenty First Sunday After Pentecost 2010

Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost
10/14/10
Luke 18:1-8
Bror Erickson

[18:1] And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. [2] He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. [3] And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' [4] For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, [5] yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.' " [6] And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. [7] And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long over them? [8] I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:1-8 (ESV)


And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? The “give me justice“, of the old widow, or "give justice to his elect" the Greek in this text is funny, full of idioms and colorful phrases that carry with them nuances often lost in translation. The connotation here is one of give me righteousness justify me in the face of him who would deny me righteousness.
And this judge is ambivalent, doesn’t care about anyone or anything but himself. Perhaps that is almost the way you want a judge. Not partial, cold, indifferent to anything but the law. Of course you might also want him to be a God fearing man . Judges too are held accountable in the end. But this isn’t the sense of what the judge is. The sense is that he is corrupt. That he has already heard this case once and for nefarious reasons ruled against this widow. Widows were helpless in society. Especially if they had no children to watch for them. They were the most maligned. For this reason they were also the most pitied. Widows were easy to take advantage of, but at the same time this was looked down upon by the people. The Scriptures speak out against such abuse of the elderly.
This judge it seems is inclined not to hear her case. He is inclined to let her case go unheard, if he hasn’t already ruled against her once or twice. But she continues unimpeded. “because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down with her continual coming.” The Greek actually says that she won’t give me a black eye with her continual coming.
You can almost laugh at the thought of this old lady striking the judge and giving him a black eye. Of course we all know old women that can do this, and probably even get away with it. As a kid I delivered papers and there was an old widow that would walk every morning, and collect cans. We would see each other and talk for a few minutes. I remember being in awe that this 80 year old woman had a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and could kick over the top of my head. But I’m not imagining this old widow to have been blessed with those skills. Though you can see her personality being one of perseverance, a tough resoluteness.
The judge knows he isn’t going to win. He knows that she is not going to quit coming. He knows that she is going to be in front of the people day and night pestering him until the whole town’s opinion changes and he loses his position. He gives in. He grants her justice so that he can keep his privileged status.

Of course the whole thing is a metaphor for how we ought then be able to approach a judge who not only believes but is God, and happens to love man. If this old woman has the courage to pester an aloof judge, then we should be able to pray such to our Father in Heaven. This aloof judge finally justifies the old widow. Our God will do so for us elect speedily. Yes he justifies us before we can even get around to praying.
“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? The question is asked in such a way that it demands the negative answer. No he will not delay long over them.
The elect. Who are they? Well all who believe Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for them are the elect. The elect is just codeword for believers. Really, it is that simple. The elect describes you and I. God elects you. This is how faith really works.
People tend to think of faith as something we do, perhaps some sort of cognitive event that is then proved by how we live. But this isn’t the Biblical picture. Faith is a gift that is beyond our abilities. Faith isn’t something we do. Faith is something God does to us. He is the operator. In other words he elects. He chooses you and I. He elects us, votes in our favor as it were. Reaches into this world and grabs hold of us.
And He does this through the word and sacraments. He grabs hold of us that way. Calls us through the gospel as the Small Catechism says. it’s a matter of Him from eternity reaching into this world in time and space through the gospel in all its forms, through his word, pouring water over our heads and saying now you are mine. And in that He justifies us through His son Jesus Christ who made it possible that our sins would be forgiven our lives justified by his blood, giving you justice against your adversary Satan who constantly accuses you in front of God with the truth.
No Satan doesn’t actually lie about us in front of God. He tells the truth about us. Our adversary takes us to court in front of The Judge and accuses us of those things for which we are actually guilty, those things by which we have earned a just sentence to hell a million times over. He accuses us of the sins with which we brag to our friends, and if we knew the seriousness of them we probably would hope to God no one knew. He accuses us with the sins with which we committed in the car on the way to church, being impatient with our children or spouse or on behalf of the children not respecting their parents. He accuses us with the truth, but he has a problem. The Truth, The Way, and The life accuses us of something quite different. He accuses us of innocence. And so we are innocent, because the Truth says we are, and He says we are because He paid for our sins, He paid the price for our sins with His own life. His own Blood, His own Death. And doing that He has justified you and I. He gives us justice before our adversary.
Now the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord Amen.