The Message, October 19, 2025: "Pray, Pray, Pray!" Luke 18:1-8

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
October 22, 2025

 

“Pray, Pray, Pray!”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Luke 18:1-8

            I think that it would be safe to say that I spent a ridiculous amount of time this week contemplating what illustration I should use to open up the subject of persistence.

            My first thought was to begin by talking about growing up as a Red Sox fan in the 1970s and 1980s. We would cheer and root for the home team all summer. We would get our hopes up because the team would be doing surprisingly well … and then the September Swoon would happen … AGAIN … and we would utter that familiar phrase, “Wait until next year.” Of course, that is the definition of fanaticism rather than persistence.

            My second thought was to talk about my persistent attempts to grow grass … or even something that resembles grass … at the parsonage. For six years I have labored spreading top soil, and lawn soil, and planting seed. Those of you who attended the backyard hangout may have noticed that I have grown a lovely crop of crabgrass and other yard weeds. And again, that is not so much persistence as it is foolishness. Foolishness that is also accompanied by the question, “Why do you want to make the yard HARDER to take care of?!” Excellent question.

[But still … having acknowledged that … please consider helping clear the brush at the parsonage so that I can attempt to plant EVEN MORE grass!! Clearly, I have a problem.]

            Then I realized that you understand what persistence means. You do not need some interesting or amusing illustration, you do not need a series of rhetorical questions to open the subject. The parable that Jesus told is actually quite clear.

            Of course, because you are all very bright individuals, you have also realized that my discussion of my search for an opening illustration … WAS my opening illustration!

            Yes, faithful fandom and being a committed yard-ener could fit within the definition of persistence, but they are examples of persistence that does not really have any import or consequence if vindication is not realized. They certainly are not what Jesus had in mind when he told this parable.

            As we begin our exploration of the parable, the first thing that we should remember is that it is a parable not an allegory. In an allegory, the various characters represent someone or something in the listener’s lives or understanding. By contrast, a parable is a teaching tool, it teaches a lesson. Not every character in a parable stands for, or represents, something. The danger of reading this parable as an allegory is that interpreters often assign the character of the judge to God. And in doing so, it forces the listener to make the very difficult leap of seeing God in the character of an unjust or corrupt judge, and then reconciling that with our understanding of God as merciful, benevolent and compassionate.

            So, having said that, let us take a look at this parable, and let us begin with the character of that judge. In Ancient Israel there was not a police department. If one had a dispute with their neighbor, they did not call 911. Instead, they would take their dispute to the council of elders that gathered at the city gate. If one lived in a small village, they would take their claim to the gate of a larger town or city. If the matter could not be resolved by the council of elders, only then did the complaint go before a judge.

            In the parable, there was only one judge. But, in that ancient system of justice, disputes were not heard and decided by just one judge. There were three judges involved. The defendant selected one judge, the plaintiff selected another, and the third judge was to be the neutral judge. That third judge was one of the paid magistrates appointed either by Herod or the Romans. (My guess is that you can see where this is going.) Those judges were notoriously corrupt and could often be bribed. They were often referred to as “robber judges,” and it was said that they would gladly pervert justice for a plate of meat.

            Therefore, the listeners of this parable would know precisely who Jesus was referring to when he spoke of the judge. If Jesus told this parable on stage in an ancient Greek theater, without a doubt the audience would have booed and hissed. Clearly, that character did not represent God.

            So let us turn our attention to the other character … the widow. The widow did, in fact, stand for someone or something. The widow symbolized all of those who were poor, or marginalized, or defenseless. And as someone who was poor, or marginalized, or defenseless, she had no hope of getting justice from the judge.

            To support that point, Jesus made certain that he said that the judge neither feared God, nor had any respect for people. Those listeners who were present when Jesus told this parable would have known that Jewish Law laid out the responsibilities of judges. It was right in the very first chapter of Deuteronomy:

            “I charged your judges at that time: ‘Give the members of your community a fair hearing and judge rightly between one person and another, whether kin or resident alien. 17 You must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike; you shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. Any case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’” (Deut.1:16-17)

            They would also have known that the Law proscribed care for widows and orphans: “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.” (Deut. 24:17)

            “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.” (Deut. 24:19-20)

            Clearly, the judge in the story was not a man of faith. Jesus told us that. It then stands to reason that since the woman had no resources, she was in no position to bribe the judge to find in her favor. Jesus set the scene for his listeners. They would know that the judge would not find in the widow’s favor; he would not vindicate her. That knowledge also set them up for the surprise ending. She won! She was vindicated, and the only resource that she had at her disposal was her persistence.

            And, as I said, God was NOT likened to the unjust judge. Instead, the parable contrasts God and the judge. If one who is greedy and evil and uncaring and lacking in compassion can find in the woman’s favor, how much more will a God of love and justice and mercy find in our favor. Because, as we heard, the judge did not find in the widow’s favor because of the merits of her case. He did not vindicate her for the right reasons. He found in her favor to get her off of his back; so that she would not punch him in the eye!

            But, Jesus began this parable telling his listeners about the importance of prayer. What his listeners two thousand years ago … and today … need to understand is that getting rid of an irritant is NOT the reason that the faithful, the followers of Christ, should pray. We should be persistent in prayer, but NOT so that we can wear God down. We should be persistent in prayer, but NOT because the numbers of hours spent in prayer will win God’s favor.

            Prayer is NOT our opportunity to air our laundry list of complaints or to read out list of suggestions of requests.
            Prayer is NOT about bending God to OUR will.
            Prayer IS about listening to God. It IS about being in relationship and conversation with God.
            Prayer IS about being steadfast and faithful.
            Prayer is NOT about the prosperity gospel. It is NOT about praying enough so that God will bless us with riches.
            Prayer is NOT a guarantee that we will not struggle or suffer pain or lose those whom we love.
            Prayer IS about being with God and God being with us through the pain, and through the struggles, and through the loss.

            This parable is about the faithfulness and the persistence of the widow. Jesus used the character of the widow because she was the epitome of defenselessness. She is one who would be easily victimized by the ruthless and the powerful. Jesus used her as a character so that he could teach a lesson about God’s faithfulness and God’s persistence. God IS steadfast and true. God IS always with us.

            This was a lesson that Jesus’ listeners needed to hear. They knew all too well about suffering hardship. They knew about persecution and abuse. They knew about oppression. Jesus offered them this parable so that they would not lose hope.

            Pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray at all times and in all circumstances. Prayer is relationship. Persistence in prayer is knocking, and asking, and seeking. And sometimes persistence in prayer is waiting. Prayer, in whatever form it takes, connects us to God. And, yes, there will be times when our prayer is, “Why, God?!” Or, “Why NOT?!” Or “How long, O God?! How long must we wait?!” Those questions are part of our faith as well. They are part of our intimate conversation with God, and they are just as valid and important as our “Yay!” and “Wow!” and “Thank you, God!” because it means that we are in relationship with God, even when it is difficult to believe.

            Jesus gives voice to that when he asked the final question. (Jesus loves to end parables with a question.) “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
            Will he find faith like a mustard seed; a faith that grows and grows … a faith that is powerful enough to move mountains?
            Will he find faith that will “make us well”? Will he find a faith that can save us and offer us new life?
            Will he find faith that leads the faithful to care for the least of these? Will he find faith that will care for the widow and the orphan.
            Will he find faith like the widow’s? Persistent and steadfast?

            We may not be marginalized like the widow in the lesson, we may not be defenseless, but we know what it is like to work, and work and work and feel as though we cannot make any progress. We know what it is like to face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We know what it is like to love and love and love … and love and love and love some more … and still see hate and pain and violence and suffering all around us.
We know what it feels like to lose hope.

            The parable is for us. The lesson is for us. God is present. God is steadfast. God supports us in our times of trial and struggle. God supports us when the way before us is unclear. God supports us in our anxieties and doubts.

            So, let us pray. May our very lives be as prayer. May prayer be in our tears and in our shouts for joy. May our prayers be strong when we are certain, and even stronger when our faith is shaken. May our prayers thank God for every blessing; the ones that we easily recognize and in the ones that are yet to reveal themselves. May every breath, every thought, every beat of our hearts, every movement of our spirits be a prayer to God.

            Let us be persistent in prayer. Amen.

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