We’re going to protest on Saturday. Here I am a 75 year old retired priest encouraged by his spouse to get out on the streets with my neighbors and “wear em down.” Perfect timing when we look at the lesson of this Sunday’s Gospel story.
Jesus suggests that there may have been some judges in his day who weren’t exactly on the up and up. In fact, the judge in his story admits to having no fear of God or respect for anyone. Sound familiar? I guess some things never change.
Naturally, we’d love to believe that every jurist who has donned the black robe will be a paragon of wisdom, logic, fairness, and impartiality. I am not naïve to think, that since our judges are elected and reliant on the goodwill of certain unions or other monied interests, it’s entirely possible their judgements might be a trifle skewed in favor of one party over another.
It’s pretty easy to believe the game is rigged against us, and simply let ourselves sink into the lake of hopelessness and drown without even trying to swim. But the little widow lady in Jesus’ story isn’t going to go under quite so easily. She’s not going to let him get away with injustice. No sir. She’s going to raise holy hell until this guy caves and does the right thing. In the end, it turns out she has more power than he does. Jesus praises her for her persistence.
And this is how our Lord tells us to pray—with persistence. I can understand why people would ask what the point of prayer is. After all, if God is going to do what God does anyway, why bother? But there’s power always in our prayers.
We can pray prayers of praise, prayers of intercession for our neighbors, and prayers of petition for our own needs, fears, wants, and whatever. Our prayers may not change God, but they will always change us. Prayer is the necessary medicine for the sickness of cynicism and disillusionment. To be in constant prayer is to affect your whole view of the world and your outlook on life. It changes you.
Prayers of praise keep us focused on how good God has already been to us. The discipline of praise reminds us that we’re not as totally screwed as we may think we are. In fact, the crappiest day we’ll ever spend on this earth will be full of more blessings than we can count. If you’re not living on the street, you’re doing pretty okay. If you turned on your tap this morning and drinkable water came out, you’re ahead of the game. Despite the high cost of groceries, if you have food in your house, you’re doing better than most families.
Our prayers for others that you forward to our Sonshine are equally essential. When our friend gets a cancer diagnosis, our prayers for their healing keep their circumstances before us. We continually practice empathy and compassion, and such empathy and compassion will lead us to action. Whether our prayers for a loved one encourage us to visit them or undertake some task they can’t do for themselves, or if our prayers for peace on earth lead us to social action, volunteerism, or protest, the prayers we pray have an effect.
Our personal prayers before God, aren’t just a matter of bathing in our own depression and disappointment. Prayer is our hope. If hope is dead, faith will follow it to the grave. Like the widow in the parable, we are called to “pray without ceasing.” Even if one avenue appears to be closed, our constant prayer of hope will lead us down another path. Despair is not an option.
We pray our earthly judges will all be fair and impartial and seek that which is best for all concerned. We can be thankful that our Heavenly Judge is merciful and always partial to the needs of his children.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are out on the streets protesting. The sign I am carrying has this slogan: “Despair is Not an Option. Pray for our Judges.” God bless you for reading this week. Please leave me a comment if you are so inclined—and keep praying even if you’re not inclined!
