"Not to lose heart"-Sermon for Proper 24, Luke 18:1-8
I lived in a rental house in West Campus my sophomore year at the University of Texas with 6 other roommates. For those not familiar with the area, that is the neighborhood mainly populated by students just to the west of UT. It was a really fun, if not super productive, household! And when our lease was up at the end of the school year and we all moved out and to wherever we were landing for our junior year, we reached out to our landlord to see about getting our security deposit back. We figured we would not get every penny back…we surely left some bumps and bruises behind…but we did do our best to clean the house well and leave it in the shape it was in when we arrived. But we got no response. And, as the deposit was one month’s rent, it was not inconsequential to a group of college students living more of less hand to mouth. So, after several attempts to garner a response with no luck…and no check arriving in the mail…we reached out to a lawyer that some of us worked for while in school who sent along a demand letter. And when that received no response, we filed a civil lawsuit against the landlord. Truly, our persistence was perhaps surprising even to us, as 20-year old’s whose frontal cortexes where not even close to fully formed and who had a hard-enough time completing our homework assignments much less oversee litigation. Well, eventually our suit came before a judge who handed down a summary judgement that required the landlord, based on Texas law, to pay us 3 times the original deposit and cover all of our legal fees. Now, though I just received a seventh of that…at that point in my life…it was like hitting the jackpot! The curtain had parted the lights went up and it was time to celebrate! Though I don’t recall exactly…I imagine, rather than opening a savings account, I blew through the windfall rather quickly…still our persistence had literally paid off!
And, of course, I tell this story in the context of our gospel reading today that is often called Jesus’ parable of the “Widow and the Unjust Judge”. As you just heard read, Jesus’ parable is all about a widow who seeks justice from an unjust judge who in the end rightfully rules on the widow’s behalf…but not based on the merits of her claim or the goodness of his heart…but because of the widow’s dogged persistence. Though we don’t know what sort of justice the widow was seeking, Jesus does tell us that she simply would not let her just cause go…or give the judge any rest…cut him any slack…until out of exhaustion and/or annoyance he ruled in her favor and justice was served. Her persistence paid off…her persistence was rewarded.
There is a poem written by Calvin Coolidge, the 30###sup/sup### President of the United State, titled “The Power of Persistence”. Now, surely Coolidge will likely never make any scholar’s top 10 list of most impactful Presidents in our nation’s history…but I do really like the spirit of this poem, which I had to memorize for some sort of school related thing at one point in my life, and it reads:
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan: Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
And what I like about the sentiment expressed in this poem is that it acknowledges that accomplishing something that matters…something that makes a difference…something that is truly creative and life-giving…accomplishing such a thing requires us to engage…to work…to be intentional…to strive…to keep going…to, in the words of Winston Churchill, never give up. Resting simply on one’s past accomplishments, leaning only one one’s reputation, simply having various God-given gifts and talents alone…produces little to nothing…that is unless we add to that some hard work, some resilience, some gumption…some persistence. Certainly, we are all differently gifted…some are wise, some are loyal, some are kind, some are patient, some are good with their hands, some have the gift of words, some are great organizers, and some are great motivators…but whatever may be your unique strengths…it is persistence that activates and empowers whatever those strengths may be…moves them from something internal to external. Meaning our persistence allows those good gifts that God has sown into our lives to be released out of us, individually and together, to make a difference in the name of love impactfully…out in the world for good and for God…for those who need us to support and advocate for their just cause…most especially those who are unheard and unseen, overlooked and marginalized.
Now, the motivation to persist may, indeed, begin from some just cause that God has place on our heart that we find ourselves passionate about…and it will require us to lead from our places of strength, from our unique God-given gifts…but persistence ultimately calls us to some sort of discernable action…to dream about what we desire to see changed in the world, to then set goals, to take that first step that’s often the hardest, to prepare for obstacles and challenges like the unjust judges we may encounter along the way, to review, reevaluate and revise as things progress, to garner support and encouragement, to remain diligent and focused, to never stop praying that God’s will is done through our persistent efforts, and to believe and know that God’s Spirit empowers our good work…until we finally see the fruit of that for which we dreamed…back at the very beginning. And, perhaps more than anything else, persistence requires courage…requires us to show up in our lives, be seen, be brave, to get back up when we trip or are pushed down…and please never forget we need each other for that getting back up in particular…for persistence always requires partners. May we be that for each other.
And, if you ever wonder, for I have, if you are enough…strong enough, gifted enough to persistently accomplish whatever just cause is set on your heart, you must know that Jesus chose the heroine of his parable with great intention. For in his day, a widow had no standing before the powers that held judgement over good and evil, right and wrong, even over life and death. To begin with, a widow was a woman whose testimony held no authority before decision makers of any kind based solely on her sex assigned at birth alone. And, a widow had no living husband to speak on her behalf, who would have had some sort of legal power or standing based solely on his sex assigned at birth alone. So, as she stood before her unjust judge empowered by an unjust system, she had lost even before she began. She had every reason to lose heart and just give up. But, thanks be to God, she didn’t. She had the courage to keep going, to keep speaking up for what is right and good, to advocate for herself. She never gave up. And, Jesus tells us that it was her persistence…not the judge…not the system…not some sort or moment of great revelation when the powers of this world finally saw the light and did something right…but, again, her persistence that, at the very end, granted her justice.
And, the very same is true for you and for me, whatever power or authority or giftedness we believe we do or do not possess as granted by this world, our persistence, if prayerfully discerned and rooted in God’s loving purposes, if we will faithfully and courageously step out for a just cause, if we plan and prepare and do not give up, our persistence will, in the end, be rewarded.
And, the reason we can confidently believe this to be true and not lose heart and the whole reason that Jesus tells this parable in the first place is because over and above all the powers and dominions that hold sway in our world…over and above all the overwhelming odds we may face and unjust judges we may stand before…over and above all the nay sayers and status quo keepers that want to suppress the justice we seek…it is the God of life and love who holds judgement…who has the final say…not the powers and principalities of this world. For, in the fullness of time, God’s will…will be done on earth as it is in heaven…just as we pray together every week. And God’s judgements are always right and good for they are made through and by love alone…and love is the great and ultimate ordering power in our universe. So, do not lose heart, keep praying and never give up, especially when it is hard and things are not going your way, for God’s justice, which leads to life and love alone, will be done…on earth as it is in heaven.
And, friends, such faith in God’s providential love, deeply rooted in our hearts, is the birthplace of courage…the courage that fuels our persistence. And, the hopeful place from which we can be entirely assured that our persistent efforts have already succeeded in our just cause even before we begin. Thus, the question…and Jesus literally asks us this question today at the end of his parable…is do we have the faith to believe that? Amen.