[Propertalk] Gospel sermon bits for October 17 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

...the parable of the widow and the unjust judge is not so much a parable on how to pray, not so much a parable on steadfastness in prayer, as it is a parable on trust in God to grant justice and to bring vindication to God's people. People in Luke's community were beginning to despair, beginning to lose heart, beginning to question God's promise. And by means of this strange parable, Luke reassures his community that God will keep God's promises, that the day is surely coming, and coming speedily, when God will grant justice to God's faithful ones.

http://day1.org/811-keeping_heart_trusting_god

Mark Sargent, 2004 
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American Christians knock on God's door once a day (knock once on wood pulpit or communion table) whereas Jesus taught that we to knock often and long. There is an enormous contrast being the teachings of Jesus about prayer (knock, knock, knock, knock, knock) and the prayer life of American Christians (knock). 
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Through research, we discover that the average American Christian prays four minutes a day and the average American pastor prays seven minutes a day.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_c_pushy_in_prayer.htm

Edward F. Markquart
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If you spend much time with these cynical, negative folk you will have to beware of getting caught in their downward spiral. 
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Some people call the time we live in a "post Christian" era. We can no longer assume Christian values or attitudes in the culture around us.  In fact, many argue that we live in a culture that is antagonistic to Christian values. Absent the support of cultural values, the profound message in today's gospel lesson is that much more important. Faith provides power for an optimistic, positive view of life and the conviction that goodness will finally triumph.
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v. 2 The "judge" in this passage is not to be compared to God, but contrasted with God. An appointee of Herod or Rome, these local magistrates were notoriously corrupt. Unless a plaintiff had influence or money, they had no hope of prevailing in court. Williams Barclay points out that there was a play on words with their title.  Officially these judges were called "Dayyaneh Gezeroth" = "judges of punishments".  The people called them "Dayyaneh Gezeloth" = "robber judges".

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/Oct1898.html

John Jewell, 1998
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...an anthropologist, <> decided that he would plant his own yam gardens in two spots that seemed exactly similar in style and sunlight. He also resolved to tend each of the gardens with equal care. Then he would pray over one and not the other. Unfortunately he didn't know any prayers. But he did have a Hebrew bible with him. He didn't understand Hebrew, but he could pronounce the words from after-school class of his youth. So he read a couple of passages each day from the bible over one of the gardens. 
  He later admitted that he probably cultivated the garden over which he did not pray with more care, because he really did not want the prayer to work. But it did. He had no idea what to make of the outcome of his experiment and repeated it several times. Each time prayer worked. What does one make of the story? 

http://www.agreeley.com/hom10/oct17.htm

Andrew M. Greeley 
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...a poor widow, so she turns to the only means at her disposal, her capacity to nag.
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      What we find today is a general apathy toward the Christian faith; it is now just one of the many different spiritual paths. Our privileged position is no more. In the push and shove of the religious market-place we have to compete for market share; a new phenomenon for the Christian church. Sadly, we are tending to lose out a bit.
      The sad state of Christianity in Western society can easily lead us to lose heart. We pray for the Lord to stand up for his people, we pray for his just intervention, but little seems to happen. Of course, Christ's "kingdom is not of this world" so we are often unaware of the effectiveness of our prayers. As for the future, we can be sure something will happen at the return of Christ, but all seems so far away. Will our God will act for his people?
      The answer, of course, is "yes indeed!" For our part, let us not lose heart in the waiting. The Lord Jesus has not forgotten us. He requires but one thing of us, that we persevere in faith. 

http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/sunday29cg.html

Bryan Findlayson
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