Luke 18:1–8

¹And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

²He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

³And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.'

⁴For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man,

⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"

⁶And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

⁷And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

⁸I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

He was sitting in jail, charged with rape and murder. The police, the district attorney, even the press were calling for his conviction. It seemed like all the powers on heaven and earth were joining together to destroy him. It was a nightmare. He could not believe it was happening. He sat there alone, helpless, abandoned in that tiny jail cell. Wanting to cry out in despair, but there was no one to hear. The horror of it all was that he knew he was not guilty. But no one would listen. They had made up their minds and were determined to annihilate him. His only hope was if the judge would hear him. That would be his last chance and he had to make it work.

Jesus tells about a woman coming before the judge to get relief from her enemy. Someone was making accusations against her. It is significant that we don't know if she was guilty or not. That's not the point. The point is that someone was making accusations and in desperation she went to the judge for help. But he would not listen. He was a cold hearted man uninterested in justice or in helping a poor, helpless widow. She wrestled with the judge day after day, not willing to give up her fight. Just as Jacob had wrestled with God all night and would not let go of him until he received a blessing. This widow would not give up until she had received a remedy from the court. But the judge just kept shutting his ears.

Like the Canaanite woman who pleaded with Jesus to help her demon possessed daughter. Jesus did not listen to her cries or answer her pleas. But she kept pleading. She kept crying out to Jesus.

In this life we have many enemies. Our souls cry out in agony. Enemies accuse us from all directions: from outside us, from inside us, from above us and from below. From the outside we are accused by the creation. This perfect creation of God where all was right and good, but we destroyed that goodness and perfection. We cry out in pain as our health declines and old age robs our bodies of their normal functions and piece by piece they stop working.

The perfect marriages and families that God created accuse us as marriages end in divorce and families fall apart. Our souls are deeply distressed as our children wander from the straight and narrow path into lives of hedonistic self-destruction and all we can do is watch helplessly from the sidelines.

We are accused from above by the law of God, the law which tells us to trust God above all things and love our neighbor, but we find only love for self. We trample on the rights of others, we have been unjust in our dealings with our neighbor, we have caused suffering and grief for others, and sometimes we are even proud of it, thinking he or she deserved it. Thinking we are just setting things right. Standing up for our rights, or just exerting our power to make others do things they way we want.

We are accused from below, with the accusations of Satan showing us our most evil side and reminding us of all the things we have done to deserve God's wrath and fury. Those memories of past deeds that haunt us, that keep alive the hurts we have caused and the relationships we have broken.

We are accused from inside as our conscience keeps telling us we are unworthy, accusing us of sins past, allowing our memories to haunt us.

So we find ourselves, like the widow, in court; in the cosmic tribunal of God, crying out for relief from our accusers inside, outside, above and below. But, like the widow, it sometimes seems as if the judge does not hear our cries for mercy; he does not seem to care if our enemy accuses us or not. So we continue to come day after day to seek relief from the judge of all creation. Like Jacob, we wrestle with God all the night long. Like the Canaanite woman we keep pleading for just the crumbs that fall from the Lord's table. It's OK to wrestle with God. It's OK to argue with him. It's not a sign of weak faith. Just the opposite. When the Canaanite woman kept on arguing with Jesus he commended her for her great faith! It takes great faith in God to keep on pleading with him when he seems to be deaf to our cries.

That is the point of this parable: do not lose heart. If an evil, unjust judge finally gave relief to the widow because he was tired of her bothering him, how much more will a loving God hear you! When Abraham was willing to offer his son in sacrifice, God said, "Now I truly know that you love me." So also when God was willing to offer his Son in sacrifice for us, we know that he loves us. We have been loved while we were yet enemies. Will he forget us now that we have been reconciled through the death of his Son? The cross is the sign of God's infinite love for us. The open and bloody wounds of Jesus are the sign of God's faithfulness to us. On the cross the blood of Jesus poured forth, not just a few drops, but an abundant stream of his blood flowed out from five parts of his body, just like a grape that is squeezed to make wine is crushed and liquid pours forth from every side, and in the wine of Communion is the blood of Jesus.

He was accused falsely so that would not be accused by the law of God or by Satan on the day of judgment. He was condemned on earth so we would be absolved in heaven. He chose to be slapped on the cheek so we could be saved from the blows of conscience and Satan. He suffered mocking so we could not be mocked by the insults of Satan. His face was veiled so the veil of sin would be removed from us. He Was punctured with thorns to cure the puncture of our hearts. He sustained the weight of the cross to remove from us the weight of eternal punishment.

Do not despair then, O faithful soul. You have offended the infinite Good with your sins, but an infinite price has been paid. Perhaps the widow was guilty of the charges brought against her. We certainly are, but the Son of God has already been judged for the sins of the whole world, which he took upon himself. Your sins ought to be punished, but God already punished them in his Son. The handwriting was written against you in the court of heaven, but Christ's blood has blotted that out. Therefore, the passion of Christ is your ultimate refuge. The judge will rule in your favor.

The tribunal of heaven is the courtroom which declares us innocent of all accusations, even though we are guilty, because the Son of God has paid for all our sin. The God who made you in his own image will restore you to that image. The Son of God is flesh of your flesh and blood of your blood. He gives you his very flesh to eat and blood to drink in Holy Communion. He is your blood brother. Now, as our brother in flesh and blood he will surely listen to our cries and give us the legal remedy against our enemies.

If God gave his only Son on a cross how will he not graciously give you all things? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We are set free in Christ from the law of sin and death. Your conscience can no longer accuse you. If God is for us, who can be against us? Satan can no longer accuse you. Who can bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Jesus died and was raised and is at the right hand of God interceding for you.

The widow found refuge in an unjust judge. Our refuge is in the wounds of Christ, in his side pierced through with a sword from which flowed water and blood; the water of Baptism and the blood of Holy Communion. From that water and blood Jesus gave birth to his church, just as in Baptism and Holy Communion he makes us his church and nourishes us continually.

Do not lose heart! Keep wrestling with God, pray always. He is coming soon and will restore all justice. He will make right every wrong. He will wipe away all tears. He will renew your flesh and create a new body without corruption. He will maintain the cause of the afflicted and will execute justice for the needy.

But will he find faith in the world? Only if he word is read and proclaimed in all the world. Only as you take the precious word of God to all nations and make disciples by baptizing and teaching them. That is your mission. That is what God has called you to do. As brothers of Jesus you go out every day into the world, into the workplaces, the markets, the schools, the highways and byways to bring that word of love and forgiveness to all people. That way he will find faith in the world.

Always praying and never losing hope until the day the Lord returns, we know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and will execute justice for the needy, therefore the righteous shall give thanks to his name and the upright will dwell in his presence forever.

Amen.