(This was a shorter time frame and more interactive/smaller crowd)
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
It’s been a tough week for many if not most of us. When we despair, we turn to our faith for wisdom and insight. The scripture that just happens to be the daily reading for today can offer us some insight into how to respond when facing injustice, when confronting an unjust judge. It also ties into our Conference theme: A Call to Mercy and Justice. How are we called to persistently pursue mercy and justice in the world today?
Did anyone catch the opening lines of our Gospel? What is this parable about? (response: the need to pray always without becoming weary)
So this is a story about prayer. What does prayer look like? (responses: action, protest, incarnation)
The widow in this story is incarnating prayer, making it take on her own flesh as she persistently and without ceasing advocates on her own behalf for justice. Prayer is Protest.
A particularly startling thing about Jesus making the protagonist of this parable a widow, is that she is engaging in uncharacteristic and shocking behaviors for a widow. Widows were quiet, forgotten, marginalized, often had no rights once their husband died, and were reliant on the community for their sustenance. Not this widow. This widow goes to the very seat of power and demands that her agency and humanity be taken seriously. She’s not going to wait for someone else to speak on her behalf. And she won’t take no for an answer!
We don’t have a timeline for how many days, weeks, months, or years she continued to demand justice, but we know that she wore down the judge, and received a just ruling. And we are reassured the God sees our actions and hears our prayers, and if we remain faithful to the persistent pursuit of justice we too will see it come to fruition. It might be a long road, it is sure to be a difficult one, but it is the one we are called to as children of God and people of faith.
So what does it mean to be called to mercy and justice. It means claiming our full humanity and agency, presenting ourselves before the unjust power structures of today, and persistently pursuing justice through incarnational prayer.
We will have an opportunity today to do just that. There will be a direct action at 1:00pm outside this hotel, joining together with local Albuquerque organizations to demand justice for those whose rights and lives have been violated in this community. We will come together to elevate the voices of those who have been victims of fear, hatred, racism, sexism, and homophobia - and say no more. We will not let this injustice continue. We will not remain silent.
And the widow won’t be going to the judge alone. We will join her in solidarity, not just today but every day. We will demand that our full humanity and holiness be seen, be honored, as well as the humanity and holiness of each of our brothers and sisters. Because we believe that we are One people. One earth. And as such, my liberation is bound up in yours.
Amen
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