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October 21, 2007 Jesus has told some confusing tales, but this one seems particularly bizarre. The Parable of the Unjust Judge… An obnoxious man who cares for no one but himself… A man consumed with his own power over others. And then a widow living in poverty, who wants justice… who wants what has been stolen from her, returned to her. The judge could care less about the widow, and he responds with the greatest cruelty: he brushes her off as if she were NO ONE. But the widow refuses to give up, and shows up on the judge's doorsteps DAILY. She's DETERMINED that he will SEE her, & he will HEAR her… eventually, no matter how hard he tries to ignore her. And, finally, he gives in… just to get RID OF HER! Does Jesus REALLY want us to think of GOD as the UNJUST JUDGE?!?! Is Jesus REALLY telling us that we should PRAY UNCEASINGLY SO THAT we will eventually wear down God's patience and we will finally get what we want?!?! Does Jesus LITERALLY mean to cast GOD as an OGRE, and US as SPOILED BRATS?!?! Or… is he exaggerating (as he is sometimes wont to do) to get our attention? Let's play with this parable for a few moments. What if we DIDN'T take it LITERALLY? What COULD Jesus be trying to tell us? Dr. King Omhig from the Episcopal seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, makes some interesting observations. Maybe, he says, Jesus is telling us that "everyone who comes to God in prayer must do so PERSONALLY. The fact that (this parable) never mentions the widow having a lawyer is no accident. NO ONE has to MEDIATE for her & present her claims before the judge. She deals with this unpleasant tyrant face-to-face. It's a personal confrontation," claims Dr. Ohmig. "And THIS is the way Jesus wants his disciples to understand the bedrock of truth about ALL prayer: GOD is an unmediated Presence, approachable DIRECTLY by every individual. At ANY TIME, ANY PLACE, in WHATEVER is of concern to US – GOD OFFERS US THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD."(Synthesis, 2007) Why does this make me think of our baptismal covenant? Specifically the part about promising " TO RESPECT THE DIGNITY OF EVERY HUMAN BEING."(BCP, p. 305) I was tickled at what Dr. Ohmig has said about CHUTZPAH in prayer. "According to Rabbi Telushkin in his book, "Jewish Humor," CHUTZPAH is one of the few Hebrew words to gain wide acceptance in English usage. It means, LITERALLY: 'insolence' or 'audacity.' In Hebrew it has an overwhelmingly NEGATIVE connotation, epitomized by the story of a man who murders his parents & then begs the judge to take pity on him… BECAUSE HE IS AN ORPHAN! "But when the Yiddish borrowed the word 'chutzpah' from Hebrew, it meant 'guts bordering on the heroic.' BUT… Is that what Jesus wants us to get from this parable?" asks Dr. O. "Does GOD have to be cajoled, nagged, nearly tricked into answering prayer as was the crooked judge? I don't think so (because) elsewhere Jesus said: 'When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases toward God… (because) your Father knows what you need before you ask' (Mt 6:7-8). (So here's the punch line, if you will.) "When the things you pray for mean as much to YOU as the things about which the WIDOW endlessly bothered the judge, POWER IN PRAYER OCCURS. The ASKING, KNOCKING, & SEEKING, in other words, are for US, not for God" (Ibid.).
Here's the bottom line: If you MUMBLE your prayers… If you are RECITING your prayers with as much enthusiasm & emotion as you would your "To Do" list… If praying makes you SLEEPY or just downright BORED… WHY DO YOU THINK GOD WOULD BE ANY MORE INTERESTED IN YOUR PRAYERS THAN YOU ARE?!?! Like the widow in this parable, Jesus wants us to bring EVERY PART of OUR SELVES into prayer. EVERY thought , EVERY feeling, EVERY concern, EVERY fear, EVERY joy… God isn't interested in making polite, cocktail party conversation with us. God wants us FULLY PRESENT in this relationship… God wants us FULLY PRESENT in this conversation. Do YOU and I have the CHUTZPAH to pray with as much passion as the widow in this story? And if not, why not? How can we encourage & support one another in HOLY CONVERSATION with God, and each other? Try something this week: Pick three people in this parish to pray for EVERY SINGLE DAY… Every time you think of each of these three people, close your eyes & picture them in your mind. Once you have a picture of them, work up some passion, some holy chutzpah in offering them up to God, for HEALING, for GUIDANCE, for leading them through their fears & into your Peace. Pray with passion… with holy chutzpah… For their highest good. Picture them vibrant, happy , ALIVE with enthusiasm & hope. Picture them well loved. Picture them passing that love on… Try it, if only for a week. |
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