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September 23, 2007
Scripture: Luke 18: 1-8
Title: "Losing Heart"

Our society has a love/ hate affair with the justice system. We watch TV and see programs like CSI, People’s court, and Law & Order. And our lesson from watching these TV shows is that we have come to expect that justice will be served in 30 minutes to an hour. We have come to expect that the detectives will find the evidence to convict the bad guys. We have come to expect that the “missing piece” of evidence that locks up the whole case will be found moments before the case goes to trail. We have come to expect that the judge will always give out fair sentences and bring justice to those in need.

It happens all the time on Law and Order. It happens all the time on CSI. Even on the People’s court, the judge can see through the lies, deception, and false court cases to dispense fair justice. So why doesn’t it happen all the time in real life? In real life, “bad guys” get out of jail on a technicality while the family cries out for justice. In real life, the evidence is not always solid in the cases. In real life, cases go unsolved because that missing evidence never comes.

In real life, we lose heart. In real life, we cry: God, how long will you let this happen? In real life, we want justice and we want it now. We want Justice in 30 minutes to an hour. Nice and tidy. The way it happens on TV. The bad guy always goes to jail and the judge is always fair.

And it is not only in court cases that we seek justice. We seek justice in our world. Every night we are bombarded with pictures of war, of conflict, of people killing each other because they are from the wrong tribe, the wrong country, the wrong side of the city, or simply just for the killing. We know that people go hungry in a world that has plenty of resources to feed everyone. We know that children are living without proper healthcare because their families cannot afford health insurance. We know that people are abused each and every day when there are structures to protect the innocent in our society. In our world today, we seek justice and we wonder why it is not available to all of God’s children.

In real life, we are losing heart. Where is the justice? Why is God letting bad things happen in our world? Why is God not stopping it? How long, God, will you let this go on? We are losing heart. We are losing faith.

Just like the community that the author of Luke is writing to as we read our scriptures today. The community of faith has been left by Jesus after the resurrection with the promises of the coming of the Kingdom. And everyone thought that the coming of the kingdom of God was imminent. All of their dedication was going to pay off. All their suffering would come to an end. Justice would rain down like water, washing away the hurt. Justice would come and heal the brokenness in their world. Justice would come now.] And soon days passed, and no Kingdom. And soon years passed, and no Kingdom. The original disciples began to be martyred and still no Kingdom. The first generation of believers began to die off and still no Kingdom. And now Luke finds himself writing to a community of faith that is about 5 generations after that initial promise of the coming of God’s Kingdom. Luke finds himself writing to a community that is losing faith that is losing heart that is slipping away from its core values and missions.

He hears the people crying out: God, how long will you make us suffer? God, how long will you let your people face injustice while you do nothing? God, how long? Where is the Justice? God, we are losing faith. God, we are losing heart. Everything you promised is not coming true.

In our communities, people are being persecuted for their faith. In our society, judges are not being faithful to the law. In our world, children are going hungry. In our world, people are dying of disease because they cannot afford to go to the doctor. In our world, people are oppressed by governments.

Where is the justice?

They began to lose heart. They began to lose faith.

So Luke writes down this story as a word of hope, as a promise of justice, as a way to strengthen the people’s faith.
In our parable today, Jesus is continuing on his way to Jerusalem and once again he is preparing the disciples for what awaits all of them in Jerusalem. He wants them to know that there are some dangers that lie ahead of them, that their world will be shaken and brought down to their very foundations. He wants them to know that the future will not be easy for them.

Jesus tells them to pray always and to not lose heart. He shares a story of an unjust judge who is tormented everyday by the pleas of a widow. She is relentless. She comes everyday with her case, demanding that this judge hear her plies for justice. And finally, the judge grants her case. Justice is served.

The interesting note is that the judge offers justice, not because he is a fair judge, not because that is his job, not because he knows that by law he is suppose to protect the widow. The judge grants justice to the widow because she has worn him down. He grants her justice because he knows that she will wear him out with her pleas everyday. The actual Greek is translated: “so that in the end she may not come and strike me under the eye-that is, slap him or strike him.

The judge grants justice out of a sense of self-preservation. The judge grants justice to protect himself from this widow. He grants justice to make his life easier, not necessarily to make the widow’s life easier.

And once again, Jesus shifts our understanding. He wants us to see that if this judge who does not care about anyone or anything beyond himself, gave justice to widow, how much more would our God give to us? Our God who cares for us. Our God who loves us. Our God who gave God’s only Son for us. How much more would our God give to us?

Jesus wants the disciples to understand that the justice that the judge dispenses is the justice of our world. This type of justice is shaky and can be destroyed by appeals of the court. This type of justice does not last long.

True Justice can only be handed out by God. Lasting Justice can only be handed out by God. And God has given us that promise of justice. God has heard their pleas.

At the end of the story, Jesus asks his disciples one question. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Jesus knew his disciples would be losing heart soon after that triumphal ride into Jerusalem. Jesus knew that his disciples would begin losing heart after he was arrested, beaten, and crucified. But would they remain faithful to their God? Would they trust in the character of God that they had experienced and knew in their lives?

And at the end of the story, Luke asks his community of faith one question. Luke knew that his community was losing faith and losing heart. Injustice filled their world and they were being persecuted for their new found religion. Luke wants to know if they will hold to the promises of God? They had experienced the stories of Jesus in their lives. They had opened their lives up to the compassion of God. But would they remain faithful until the end?

And at the end of the story, Luke asks this community of faith one question. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” We are losing heart. We are losing faith. Injustice fills our world and we cry out for justice, for liberation, for change.

Luke offers his community a word of hope and he offers that word again to us today. “We don’t need to wait for God to come around to our side because God is already there. What we must understand is that there is a difference between chronos-calendar time and Kairos-God’s time. We can’t promise the date or time by which God’s healing will be expected in our lives, the date or time by which justice will be reached in our world. What we can promise is that we don’t have to change God’s mind to make God intend for us to live in a world of justice. God already does.”

We must remember that our journey of faith is a marathon, not a sprint. We must remember that justice comes only on TV shows in 30 minutes to an hour. God’s justice may take longer, but it is a lasting justice for all of God’s children.

We are agents of God’s mission and ministry in this world. We are called to build supportive communities where people can be sustained day and night and not lose heart. God’s promise of justice is what we cling to. God’s promise of justice is what gives our lives meaning as people of faith. It is the purpose of the Church to have expectations, to have high hopes, and to have high demands. We are called to live in hope.

When we are asked: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?, we will answer a resounding YES!! Yes, we will be faithful on our journeys. Yes, we will hold to the promises of justices and hope. Yes, we will create an environment of support for all of God’s children. We will speak out against the injustices of our world, knowing that God’s justice is coming. We will seek better care for the innocent, the lost, and the hurting, knowing that God’s promise of healing is coming.

We are called to live in a persistent pursuit of hope, justice and faith. We are called to be agents of change. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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