Sunday 17th October - 20th after Trinity (Green)
Theme: Wrestling with God
Readings: Genesis 32:22-31 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8 Ps 121
Theme: Wrestling with God
Readings: Genesis 32:22-31 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8 Ps 121
Collect:
God, our light and our salvation:
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and looking on your beauty
Comment
The parable in Luke 18 follows immediately from some teaching about the coming of the kingdom of God. It ends with a reference to the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus is teaching us who are still waiting and working for the coming kingdom, to keep on praying and not to be discouraged by the fact that nothing seems to be happening.
The law courts in those days worked in the same way for criminal and for civil cases. The victim or complainant would have to appear before the judge and argue their case – there were no police or crown prosecution service to do it for them. That is what the widow is doing in the story. She was asking for justice, not for revenge or for an adjudication – it seems she was in the right. The judge was not interested in right or wrong; but he was interested in his own comfort, and the widow’s persistence was annoying enough for him to do something about the case. Jesus makes the point: if even a corrupt judge can respond to persistence, how much more will God, the righteous judge, respond to the persistent request of his people for justice.
Remember the context: we are thinking of the coming of the Son of Man to usher in the kingdom of God. At that time all that is wrong will be put right, those in the right will be vindicated, and justice will be done and will be seen to be done. This is what people in Jesus’ day were longing for, though they thought it would happen by force of arms. This is what people in our own day are longing for, and what Christians (and Jews and Muslims) are expecting will happen some time.
We do not only hope and expect: we pray. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This parable teaches us that God will certainly answer that prayer – and that we need to keep on praying it, and not be disappointed at the delay. When Jesus says God will grant justice ‘speedily’, that does not mean ‘immediately’ (though some people think Jesus and the early church assumed he would return to earth very soon after he left it, within their lifetime). It is more a reassurance that the just judge is as interested as we are in justice happening as soon as possible, and when the right time comes there will be no delay. However, that time has not yet come. We live in the time of opportunity for people to change their minds and become citizens of God’s kingdom, receiving forgiveness and peace with God. The problem is that this time of opportunity is also a time of waiting for justice to be done and righteousness to reign. We are to pray for God’s kingdom to come; but we must also make the most of the opportunities of the present.
The kingdom of God is coming. It is already present in the hearts of its citizens. Even though we are waiting for its full expression, we can expect some foretastes. We can pray and work for justice today, and for God’s will to be done today. And we must not give up, even when not much is happening.
Questions
1) What do you find difficult to keep praying for? What would encourage you to keep on about it to God?
2) ‘Pray and work’ What can we do?
God, our light and our salvation:
illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and looking on your beauty
Comment
The parable in Luke 18 follows immediately from some teaching about the coming of the kingdom of God. It ends with a reference to the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus is teaching us who are still waiting and working for the coming kingdom, to keep on praying and not to be discouraged by the fact that nothing seems to be happening.
The law courts in those days worked in the same way for criminal and for civil cases. The victim or complainant would have to appear before the judge and argue their case – there were no police or crown prosecution service to do it for them. That is what the widow is doing in the story. She was asking for justice, not for revenge or for an adjudication – it seems she was in the right. The judge was not interested in right or wrong; but he was interested in his own comfort, and the widow’s persistence was annoying enough for him to do something about the case. Jesus makes the point: if even a corrupt judge can respond to persistence, how much more will God, the righteous judge, respond to the persistent request of his people for justice.
Remember the context: we are thinking of the coming of the Son of Man to usher in the kingdom of God. At that time all that is wrong will be put right, those in the right will be vindicated, and justice will be done and will be seen to be done. This is what people in Jesus’ day were longing for, though they thought it would happen by force of arms. This is what people in our own day are longing for, and what Christians (and Jews and Muslims) are expecting will happen some time.
We do not only hope and expect: we pray. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and for his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This parable teaches us that God will certainly answer that prayer – and that we need to keep on praying it, and not be disappointed at the delay. When Jesus says God will grant justice ‘speedily’, that does not mean ‘immediately’ (though some people think Jesus and the early church assumed he would return to earth very soon after he left it, within their lifetime). It is more a reassurance that the just judge is as interested as we are in justice happening as soon as possible, and when the right time comes there will be no delay. However, that time has not yet come. We live in the time of opportunity for people to change their minds and become citizens of God’s kingdom, receiving forgiveness and peace with God. The problem is that this time of opportunity is also a time of waiting for justice to be done and righteousness to reign. We are to pray for God’s kingdom to come; but we must also make the most of the opportunities of the present.
The kingdom of God is coming. It is already present in the hearts of its citizens. Even though we are waiting for its full expression, we can expect some foretastes. We can pray and work for justice today, and for God’s will to be done today. And we must not give up, even when not much is happening.
Questions
1) What do you find difficult to keep praying for? What would encourage you to keep on about it to God?
2) ‘Pray and work’ What can we do?