The parables should disturb us.
They certainly disturbed many of their original hearers. The challenge, of
course, is that like so many things we have Disney-fied them – you know, made
them sweet and cuddly with happy endings about people far more beautiful than
us from a spiritual world far, far away. Most people aren’t aware that many of
the Disney films like Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow
White, Beauty & the Beast, etc., were far darker tales originally than many
of us imagine – rarely ending in “happily ever after” or without serious
tragedy, violence, and pain. They sought to offer a moral vision even as they
entertained but did so with greater grit, irony, and on-the-ground-realism than
their Disney counterparts. They are “disturbing” but far more powerful. Jesus’
stories are also often like this and we must be careful to not turn them into
“la la la, pie in the sky, cutesy” fables. They were by their very nature:
apocalyptic. That is, they sought to show us the kingdom often by “unmasking”
us and helping us see, which if you been in the dark long enough – can cause
your eyes to hurt. And to be honest – this week’s parable maybe one of the more
painful stories. It’s the parable of the punching widow and the black-eyed
judge (I know that’s not its Disney title)! What does it reveal and unmask? How
does it hurt? What does it want us to see?
This is an anti-hero story, of
sorts. Remember the parable of the unjust steward Luke 16:1-13)? Sometime Jesus
would use negative or controversial characters to make a stronger point through
comparison and contrast. This is such a story. And because of that – some try
and make it nicer than it actually sounds. It’s a story about a widow – we
don’t know much about her other than that she comes repeatedly to an unjust
judge for help. What she wants is not as clear as it sounds? In fact, this
whole parable belongs in the Greek of the Week of the category. Let me explain.
The NIV says that the widow wants “justice” but it’s not the regular word for it
in the NT and can mean either “vengeance” or “vindicate” or “punish”. It’s a
polyvalent word, and, therefore, ambiguous. Paul, for example, will say in
Romans 12:19 that it’s something that we should not do – “Do not take revenge [ekdikeō],” he
commands. Moreover, the woman, rather than being meek or mild, apparently has
threatened the unjust judge because he changes his mind due to her potential
violence (vs. 5). The NIV says “attack” but the Greek word is literally a
compound word meaning “below the eye.” It’s a boxing term and means to give
someone a “black eye”. Apparently, she’s got quite the right hook. BUT – her
persistence and potential punches are effective and she gets what she wants. And
she has to be tough - consider the judge. The judge, of course, is even less a shining
model than the punching widow. The judge, who Jesus calls “unjust” in vs. 6 neither
“fears God nor cares for people” (vs. 2). BUT even an unjust judge, Jesus
shows, can be persuaded, worn down, beaten into submission. Even he can grant
one’s request. And that’s the ironic point. In the end, Jesus doesn’t even
refer back to the woman at all. But in vs. 6 says, “Listen to what the unjust
judge says.” Why? Well, because he gave her what she wanted and God is not like
that. We don’t pray to that God, Jesus implies. We pray to the Father of the
two sons who will not “put us off”, the Vineyard owner who is lavishly
generous, the one who is always compassionate. So one of the things that Jesus
is stating is that “theology matters.” What you think about God matters and
will change the way you pray? You don’t pray to a distant, arbitrary,
heartless, calculating judge. You pray to a Father that runs. Imagine what he
will give and bring in response to your prayers – even when you have to wait.
It’s interesting that when I meet with people who are in real distress they
often cannot pray. And the reason for this is not some unwillingness on their
part but sometimes a bad theology about God who they believe wants to punish
them for sport. I often say, “Don’t pray to that God.,” but perhaps I should
tell them as Jesus did – even bad judges can be one over so how much more can a
father who loves you? You don’t have to punch God in the eye. You don’t need
to threaten God to be good. Pray with the knowledge that God is good so justice
will come.
Here’s the thing. God is not like
the unjust judge. This is a freeing reality in that if God is a good father you
can plead and beg in prayer but don’t have to. If God is just you can use words
that are ambiguous or problematic, even violent, and God will still listen.
Wait! I
changed my mind. I am the widow and do want to punch God.[Reading Two]
And yet . . . maybe the story is
even darker and unmasks us in other ways. Maybe we are more like the widow than
we first imagine and that God is the judge that we do want to be violent toward.
How often in my prayers are my motives mixed? I do want vengeance and justice to
go together – because I am the hero of my story and others are the villain. I
want others to pay. And I do get upset with God and want God to avenge me. The
fact of the matter is that the drama of the Gospels show us wanting vengeance
and not getting a God or Savior we want. I’m reminded, in other words, that God
came to us through Jesus Christ, offered us grace, showed us sacrificial love, commanded
of us generosity to enemies and sinners, and we got violent. God did let us
punch him in the eye. We even did more than that. So another way to read the
parable is that even when we do our worst, put up our dukes and make our
threats – God still loves us and grants us justice anyway. Perhaps the parable
unmasks our prayers for vengeance and God’s willingness, despite our threats,
to give us something better, something greater.
But wait! I
changed my mind again. What if I am not the widow at all but the “adversary”
(vs. 3)? [Reading Three]
Friends, this week I watched in
utter disbelief and horror as George Floyd was murdered by a police officer who
crushed his neck. And then I realized – this keeps happening again and again –
and my black brothers and sisters keep pleading, “Grant us justice against our
adversary.” And I simply remain silent, or make excuses, or turn the channel,
or stop the video and go back to what I always do – live a life without fear
because I am not black. And I wonder, might their prayers for justice or even
vengeance be against me? And it’s not simply police violence but the overall
rate of Covid infections among the black community, their lack of access to
hospitals and medical care, the utter lack of equity and justice in the system.
And as I got lost in all this pain, I heard Jesus ask me a question, “When I
return, what will I find?”
Finally,
remember that parables are “faith on the earth” stories and that prayer is a
“faith on the earth” practice. [Reading Action]
It’s fascinating to note that
Jesus’ parable on prayer doesn’t end with the question, “When the Son of Man
comes, will he find prayer on the earth, or find you more thoughtful, or
discover that you’re nice? Jesus’ parable asks one direct question: “Will I
find you more faithful “on the earth”; that is, in this life, at this time, in
this place?” It’s interesting that in a parable on prayer Jesus concludes with
faith. And not just any faith but “faith on this earth” – faith in this life,
faith that matters, faith that is about justice. “Faith on the earth” is the
point. Friends, it’s more than a question of whether Jesus will find “faith.”
Will people as well? Will widows and orphans? Will George Floyd and Ahmaud
Arbery?
Peaceful persistent prayer and
acting justly are ‘the faith” God expects to find. “Faith,” according to Jesus,
is a “lived conviction” – not perfectly, not without being bathed in grace but
lived nonetheless and is the true thermometer of our prayer life. Faith is the
coming together of prayer and justice “on the earth.” It means more than that
we pray for justice but also that we pray that we act justly. So I want you to
join in me that prayer. I’m going to be starting another group that will be
doing just that – praying, reading, talking, acting – toward greater justice
for our black brothers and sisters – that Jesus calls faith. I want to invite
you to join me in it so that when Jesus comes our “faith will be found” and we
won’t have a black eye.
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