Outplay, Outlast, Outdo

Luke 18:1-8

Persistence pays off.  If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.  Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky, the all-time leading scorer in NHL history, shared the comment of an early coach who was frustrated with Wayne’s lack of scoring.  The coach told him, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you never take.”  Former Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher is quoted saying, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”  That’s persistence.

I read an interview with a venture capitalist who said that he rarely sees a poorly presented business plan, less than five percent of the proposals his firm reviews ever receive investment capital.  Of those five percent, less than one in ten meet their projections.  This can be discouraging because it requires hard work, extra hours, research, follow-up – and still only one venture out of two hundred ever pays off.  But, he says, when the one deal pays off, the rewards are enough to make all of the effort worth it.  Persistence truly does literally pay off.

Jesus’ discussion of the end times and coming judgment in our scripture today naturally raises the issue of trials and perseverance.  He tells a parable about a widow who through perseverance receives justice from and uncaring, unjust judge. 

We must keep in mind that in Jesus’ day, in first century Palestine, widows were the most vulnerable and helpless members of society.  They could not inherit their husband’s property.  There was no Social Security or Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps. They were left to fend for themselves whatever money, food and shelter they could find.   She had no clout in the community.  She didn’t know the mayor of the city or any of the county commissioners who might pull strings for her to get her case on the docket with the judge.  All she could do was to go back time and time again and hound the judge.  She showed up regularly at the gates of the city where the judge held court, and pursued him on the streets and in the shops.  She would not let him rest until he granted her justice.  At first, the judge is indifferent to the widow’s request, but then he is compelled to reconsider because she refuses to take “no” for an answer. He finally relents, saying to himself, “Though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”  Her persistence pays off.

But persistence, especially when it comes to prayer, is not easy.  When Jesus tells his disciples the parable about a widow’s persistence, he notes that the story is “about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”  The widow serves as a reminder in tough time and moments of despair to keep on praying.  Prayer is not a last resort when all else fails, when all the best laid plans and programs and power plays have failed; prayer is the first and primary task of Christians.  The widow’s prayerful pursuit of justice became an expression of deep faith, the kind that Jesus seeks. 

So what about the ruthless judge?

One of the primary tasks of a judge in Jesus’ day was to see that the vulnerable people in society were protected, especially the widow, the orphan and the alien.  They administered justice to those who need it most, to those in the community who were completely dependent on him.  Although this judge knows his role as God’s representative, he has a well-deserved and perhaps a well-earned reputation of being corrupt.  He had no conscience and was impervious to shame.  The only way he could be reached was by the peskiness of the widow, who refused to give him a moment’s peace until he granted her justice.

When you stop and think for a moment, if this woman’s persistence resulted in justice granted from an evil judge, how much more will our persistent prayers be answered by our loving, heavenly Father.  Even the ruthless judge does the unexpected thing in response to a powerless widow and grants justice.  God can be counted on to defend and uphold the oppressed.  God will not turn a deaf ear to our prayers.

Sometimes it is not as easy as it looks.  In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dilliard tells of a skywriter named Rahm.  She watched from the ground as he made soaring loops and barrel rolls and filled the sky with word-shaped clouds; he seemed the most carefree person in the world from her perspective.  But when she later rode with him, she saw that in the air Rahm was not carefree at all, he was all business.  He was totally focused as he concentrated intently on clicking switches and wrestling with the joy stick as thrilled the crowds below.  Persistence in prayer is more difficult than it looks and Jesus knows how challenging it can be.

Remember what he prayed for in the Garden of Gethsemane?  “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.” (Luke 22:44)  As stewards of God’s blessings, it is important to recognize that Jesus’ intent in this parable about the persistent widow was all about diligence.  Diligence or persistence is a requisite faith trait for each of God’s stewards.  It is easy to give emotionally, even impulsively, to causes that tug at our heartstrings.  But like prayer, sustained, consistent systematic giving is a difficult path to follow and stick with, but one that we are all called to travel.

Prayer is hard work, although many people see prayer as a quick fix to solve our daily problems.  How many of us have prayed at one time in our lives, “O Lord, let me find a parking space near the door of my office building.”  or “O God, protect my investment portfolio from the instability of the stock market.”  Or we may even try to bargin with God and pray, “O God, if you help me just this one time to get home safely, I promise I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life.”  What Jesus is offering us through this parable about prayer is that prayer is a way of life.  It’s not a one-time, shot in the dark for a good laugh kind of experience.  Prayer is a way of life and so is faithful stewardship.

Jesus also knows how tempting it is to quit and give up, whether it’s managing our God-given resources or our prayer life.  Back to Jesus in Gethsemane, we hear Jesus’s temptation revealed, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matt. 26:39).  When life gets tough and difficult, we are prone to succumb to the evil forces all around us, whether it’s about praying or giving.  When we are ready give in and quit, offering heartfelt prayers to God takes the focus off of ourselves and our circumstances and shifts to squarely on God where it belongs.  For in the real world we recognize that persistence is the key to an effective life. 

Whether we are learning to play the piano or entering school as an adult, persistence is the key.  Whether we are overcoming an addiction or digging out of financial debt, persistence is the key.  When I think about what persistence can do, I think about people like Thomas Edison.  Did you know that Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”  Persistence is the key.

When I think about what persistence can do, I think about the life of Abraham Lincoln.  Here’s a guy who was born into poverty and faced defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business, suffered a nervous breakdown and was bedridden for six months. He could have quit many times, but he didn’t quit and became one of the greatest presidents our nation has ever known.  Persistence is the key.

When I think about what persistence can do, I think about Walt Disney, who was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He even went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.  Persistence is the key.

When I consider what persistence can do, the name of the Scottish Presbyterian Reformer John Knox comes to mind.  John Knox constantly carried the burden for his native land on his heart.  Night after night he prayed on the wooden floor of his hideout refuge from Queen Mary.  When his wife pleaded with him to get some sleep, he answered, “How can I sleep when my land is not saved?”  Payne reports that often Knox would pray all night in agonizing tones, “Lord, give me Scotland or I die!” God shook Scotland; God gave him Scotland.  Persistence is the key.

For Jesus the point of this parable is not that persistent prayer promises any of us what we desire.  Rather, it teaches us that prayer offsets cowardly resignation.  Prayer is a continual and persistent hurling of petitions against long periods of silence.  The life of prayer is asking, seeking, knocking and waiting, with trust sometimes fainting and sometimes growing angry.  I’ve heard it said that until you have stood for years knocking at a locked door, with your knuckles bleeding, you do not really know what prayer is.

Jesus commands us to pray always and not to lose heart.  Believe, trust and have confidence that our God hears our prayers and determines what the answer will be.  Persistent prayer pays off.  What more could we want?