Lessons Learned Despite Parable Abuse
Luke 18:1-8 October 17, 2004
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'
"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
CCI: Prayer is an invitation into a faith relationship with God. (Will he find faith in the world?)
Intro: For much of his ministry Jesus taught the multitudes through parables. These stories were filled with vivid images and surprise, they were often humorous, I imagine when Jesus told the people that there was a laborer who owed the king a sum comparable to 10 billion dollars, they laughed out loud. The stories were used to open the minds of those willing to hear the message and to confuse or entertain those who did not care.
Parables have been defined in many different ways, they have been called “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” And that is OK as far as it goes, but I think a parable is more than just an earthly story. We are familiar with earthly stories and in fact, we have become so familiar with them that they have become common, their surprise has been lost. C.H. Dodd has developed a definition that is very helpful in keeping the surprise alive. He said, "At its simplest a parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought."
More than just a story, the parable makes comparisons through images that are very vivid or surprising. Those who heard Jesus tell the story of the Good Samaritan knew the road between Jericho and Jerusalem and knew that is was dangerous. When Jesus told of the Loving Father who was asked by his son to give him his inheritance while he lived, the people were shocked at the lack of respect the son showed. The pictures and the shock drew the listeners into the story, and then Jesus applied these stories by making the wrong person the hero. More often than not, the meaning of the parable was unclear or vague and as the listeners reflected on the story, it caused them to think until it struck them where they lived. I believe our task today is to enter these parables, discover the shock, share the humor, be surprised by the twists.
These were simple stories but not simplistic stories. At many times in church history they have been interpreted by simply drawing parallels between characters in the stories and groups of people or God. This can be helpful, but when it is done with certainty, it stops the work of the story.
The parable we just read is one that has been misused many times in churches. Listen to the illustration that one pastor used to interpret this parable. “A huge Chicago company is one of the world's largest magazine fulfillment firms. That means they handle subscription mailings by computer. Among other things, they send out renewal and expiration notices. One day the company's computer malfunctioned. Soon after, a rancher in Powder Bluff, Colorado, got 9,734 separate mailings informing him that his subscription to National Geographic had expired.
“This got the rancher's attention. He dropped what he was doing and traveled 10 miles to the nearest post office, where he sent in money for a renewal—along with a note that said, "I give up! Send me your magazine!"
“There is something about multiple requests that brings answers. For reasons known only to God, that is true also in prayer.”
The suggestion is that God can be hounded into doing what we want. But is that what this parable is about? I think a scene from the movie In America sheds some light on the meaning of the parable. The film is about an Irish family that has illegally immigrated from Canada and is living in a tenement in a dangerous neighborhood in New York City. The two daughters Ariel and Christy, who are oblivious to their abject poverty, learn about the American tradition of trick-or-treating and want to take part in it. Their parents, afraid of the gang-infested neighborhood, forbid them from going outside, but agree to let them go door to door in the building. As this scene begins, the little girls have beaten on 4 or 5 doors when they come to a very menacing looking door. (Play clip)
If this neighbor who cares nothing about tick-or-treating or his other neighbors would open his home to these little girls just because they asked, how much more will your loving heavenly Father do for you who call out to him for mercy and justice. Faith in prayer means believing that God will respond, even when it seems like there is silence. That is the message of this parable.
Unfortunately, through parable abuse, people have been taught that God does not want to answer your prayers or meet your needs any more than this man wanted to disturbed by these little children. As this parable has been interpreted, God must be hounded to the point of wearing him out if you want him to hear you. A man in West Virginia who held this position once said to me, “Preacher, I don’t know when I stopped thinking about Jesus long enough for that devil to crawl up in me and give me this cancer.” Others, thinking that they can strong arm God have suggested that if they get enough prayer chains active (sometimes from enough different denominations) God will have no choice but to do what they want. In fact, they will go this parable to prove that prayer is strong-arming God.
But is that what this parable says? No, in fact it says just the opposite. Listen again to Jesus’ words, "Listen to what the unjust judge says: [Even though I do not fear God or man, I will give her justice, or she will wear me out]. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”
Bill Hybels once said, “You don't have to pester God to get his attention. You don't have to grovel. You don't have to flail yourself. You don't have to bite your lip and groan and moan and all of these kinds of things people do to show God they really mean business.
If one of my kids ever called me and said, "Daddy, please, please, please, I beg of you, I petition you, I'm pleading with you to listen to my need."
I'd say, "Time out. I don't like the underlying assumption here. You don't have to go through all those gymnastics. What can I do for you? Nothing in my life is more important than you." What gives me greater pleasure in life than meeting the needs of my children? What?”
And that is God’s attitude toward prayer. He is longing to meet the needs of his people. However, often he has met the need even before we come in prayer. Author Tony Campolo tells how he disembarked from a plane only to discover he was scheduled to speak to a group of women at a World Day of Prayer event he had forgotten about. He rushed over to the meeting—held at a large, wealthy church—and arrived exhausted, not knowing what to say to the women gathered for the conference. Before calling him to speak, the leader of the meeting produced a letter from a missionary in Venezuela. Campolo relates:
She read this letter from this missionary who had a hospital, and they needed $5,000 desperately to put an extension on the hospital because they couldn't handle all the patients. She turned to me, and she said, "Reverend, would you please lead us in prayer that the Lord would provide for our sister in Venezuela?" And I said, "No!" She was taken back by that. I stood up, and I said, "I'll tell you what I will do"—and it was a good day to pull it off because I was only carrying $2.25—I pulled out my wallet, and I pulled out the two dollars and a quarter, and I slapped it down on the pulpit and I said, "That 's all the money I'm carrying. Madame Chairman, I want you to put all the cash you're carrying on the pulpit." And there were about 1,000 women in this group. I said, "I'm going to ask each of you to do the same. No checks. Just the cash you're carrying. Bring it up. Lay it on the altar. We'll count up the money, and if we don't have enough, I will ask God to write out a check for the difference." The woman took out $110 of unadulterated cash and put it with my $2.25. A hundred and ten dollars in cash! Why didn't I marry somebody like that? I said, "We're on our way; we've got $112.25." I said, "You're next," and I pointed to a woman on the front row. She looked around. I said, "I'm serious. Come up here and put your money on the altar." You see, I come from a black church, and you know that's the way you take up an offering, you see. And she sheepishly came up and put her money on it, and I said, "Okay let's line up and do it one by one." And they did it! Money kept on piling up and piling up and piling up. When it was all over, we counted the cash. And we had over $7,000, instead of the five that was being required! And I know we didn't get it all because I could see women giving me dirty looks as they walked by. And I said, "The sheer audacity of asking God for $5,000, when God has already provided more than $7,000."
Jesus told the disciples that they should pray and not give up, he asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” And that is the lesson for us today. Unlike like Ariel and Christy going from door to door believing that somewhere someone will care, we are invited to go directly to the One who does care. Prayer that demonstrates faith is like the prayer of Paul, who three times prayed that God would remove the thorn in his flesh, then said, “God’s word to me is ‘My grace is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’” Prayer that demonstrates faith is Jesus’ prayer for his disciples and us which requested, “Make them one Father even as we are One.” Prayer that demonstrates faith is like the prayer of the Publican that simply says, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Prayer that demonstrates faith is like the prayer of Jacob which said, “Lord, I will not let you go until you bless me.” Prayer that demonstrates faith is like the prayer from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”
These prayers are God-focused. These prayers are faith filled. These prayers seek the glory of God.
What are our prayers like? Are they selfish? Are our prayers wish lists presented to a celestial santa? Are our prayers daydreams of personal happiness? Or are they God focused? Are they faith filled? Are they seeking the glory of God? Do they long for God’s kingdom to prosper? Are they prayers of a heart that yearns for God’s presence and God’s peace? Are they prayers for justice and mercy?
Prayers from our own wish lists are offered and then we watch for our wish to be fulfilled so we know God has answered. However, prayers of faith that focus on God’s glory and justice, are not so easy to evaluate. And so Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the world?” Will you continue to pray when justice seems far away? Will you continue to pray for salvation when hearts seem hard? Will you continue to pray for peace when violence seems like the answer? Will you continue to pray for grace when hatred is filling the world? Will you continue to pray for forgiveness when hurt keeps piling up? “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the world?”
Today, I want to challenge in your prayer life. It is my hope that each of you make prayer a regular part of your life. This week I want to challenge you to try to direct all your prayers in just two directions. First, pray for God’s glory to be seen in you. Don’t pray for anything else for yourself, only for God’s glory to be seen in you. Then second pray that God’s kingdom of salvation and peace would break out around you. Pray for justice in our world, pray for peace in our society, pray for grace to overcome hatred, pray for forgiveness to heal the hurts of hearts. Let prayers for God’s glory in you and God’s kingdom around you to consume your prayers this week. I believe that if you will do this, you will find the heavens open and a new purpose for your prayers. When the Son of Man comes, may he find faith in us.
