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Prayer Cards

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?”

The answers to those great questions come back in the form of an echo heard through the centuries: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… I will be their God, and they shall be my people… they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”

Near the end of a parable ostensibly about prayer, Jesus poses questions that invite us to examine the steadfastness and depth of our faith. Through a parable about an aggrieved widow seeking redress from a judge who neither believes in God nor cares about people, we see evidence of God’s unfailing compassion for those whom society relegates to its margins.   Tucked between the conclusion of Jesus’ teachings about the coming of the Son of Man and his arrival in Jerusalem, we are reminded of the mission of the church in bringing the reality of the Kingdom of God to fruition.

As Luke spins this little story around and around, we are offered two ways in which to view this parable. We can look at it from the perspective of the judge and ask: Have we turned a deaf ear to the needs of those we are called to serve? Or we can put ourselves in the place of the widow and ask: Have we given up hope that justice will prevail?

For me, the little prayer cards from “Neighbors in Need” dinners offer insight into both of these perspectives. Each month, on each table, we put out several of these little cards and invite our guests to write down their prayer requests. The petitions are simple but profound: relief from pain, healing from sickness, restoration of relationships, guidance in eating better and losing weight, and help with paying the rent.

At the end of the meal, one volunteer collects the cards and then asks the other volunteers to take one or two cards home with them for inclusion in their daily prayers. Our guests trust that we will intercede for them – they trust that we will be faithful in our prayers and offer their needs to God. And they are persistent! They give us their cards every month! We do not turn a deaf ear to their needs. We pray for them.

At the heart of their troubled and difficult lives, our guests believe that God will hear and answer their prayers – in the same way that the persistent widow of our gospel this morning kept asking for justice from the judge. God does not fail to grant justice to his chosen ones (perhaps all of whom are now represented in Luke’s Gospel by this aggrieved widow). Her persistence is rewarded. Like the widow, we are invited to believe that our persistence in prayer will be rewarded as well. We are told to pray often and not lose heart.

In Old Testament times, widows were deprived of any support from their husband’s land and possessions since the property automatically went to his male relatives. So widows and orphans were often at the mercy of their relatives and frequently at the center of disputes. Judges were called to adjudicate these and other disputes, ensure fairness among the people and keep the peace. From Jesus’ description of the judge in the parable, we have little reason to think that the widow’s pleas will be heard. However, in a surprising turn, the judge decides to grant her justice – if only to get rid of this nagging and aggravating woman.

So Jesus asks: If this persistent widow received justice from an official who was anything but fair, attentive or compassionate, then should not those who are God’s chosen ones – those who cry out day and night in faithful prayer – have every expectation that God will hear them and respond abundantly?

It is here that the prophet’s words resound so convincingly. In a long recounting of history, we hear how the people of Israel were delivered out of bondage in Egypt into a land filled with milk and honey – a part of the old covenant delivered as promised. Through the years, the people strayed away from God and broke that covenant. In time, they found themselves exiles in a foreign land, lamenting the fact that they could no longer sing with joy the songs of the Zion they had lost.

Yet in Jeremiah’s powerful words, God declares that there will be a new covenant. It will not be like that of old – like the one made with their ancestors. Their sins will be forgotten – their turning away from God will be forgiven. They will have a new relationship with God – grounded in the knowledge of the law. Everyone will know God through this law – not from teaching or other exhortation – but because it will have been written on their hearts. Everyone, from the least of them to the greatest, will come within the reach of God’s compassion. God will be their God and they will be God’s people.

If then we are assured of God’s mercy, how long must we wait? Jesus’ second question addresses this issue: He clearly states that there will be no delay. In fact, Jesus represents the present-day fulfillment of God’s promises to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. Jesus makes this startling claim earlier in the gospel as he stands in the midst of the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. He makes it clear that the imminence of the Kingdom – when God’s will for all people will be fulfilled – is at hand. Over the years, the disciples are challenged to actively participate in and continue this work after Jesus is no longer with them. We might think of this earlier passage as Luke’s “great commission” to the disciples – and to us. We might think of it as the mission of the church founded in Jesus’ name – the community to which we belong and have pledged our support.

We are a part of a community that is both the recipient of God’s grace and an instrument of God’s compassion in the world. When we reach out to serve others in this world, we are responding to that law that has been etched in our hearts. In our celebration of baptism this morning we welcome two new members into our community. We pray that they will grow to love others – to go out into the world in witness to the love they will know. In the splashing of water on their heads, we pray that the gifts of the Spirit will be bestowed upon them – that they will have the courage to will and to persevere and be given a spirit to know and love God just as deeply as the ancient people of Israel did. And in the sign of the cross on their forehead, we proclaim that they are sealed as one of Christ’s own forever – that God is their God and they are one of God’s cherished and beloved people. We have every hope that these two little ones will grow up and in their own ways will care for the “little ones” of the world.

We pray all this – we believe all this – in faith. Our lesson on prayer turns out to be a challenge to examine our faith in light of Jesus’ final question: What kind of faith will the Son of Man find at his returning? Does our faith possess the power hidden within the tiny mustard seed? Do we believe that power, working in us, will be able to do “infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (BCP 102)? Thus empowered, do we have the courage to order our priorities so that justice and compassion comes within the reach of all of God’s children?

We hold many prayer cards in our hands. Perhaps the question at the end of the day is what we do with them. Are we as persistent as those who entrust them to us? Do we pray always and never lose heart? In our words and actions, do people see and know God – from the least of them to the greatest? In what ways do we share the promise?

Amen.

(This sermon was preached by the Rev. Terri Stanford, Associate Rector, in St. Chrysostom's Church, Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, October 21, 2007, The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost.)


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