Justice Defined: Reverence for God, Respect for People

Each of the Gospels was written as a way to preserve the meaning of the life, teachings, miracles, and death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. A generation had gone by since Jesus had ascended and promised to return. So, the people who knew Jesus in person had died, and the people who had known someone who knew Jesus were coming to the end of their lives. Luke addresses his letter to Theophilus, literally means “to one who loves God” and says his reason for writing is to give an orderly account of the life of Jesus as it was handed down to them by eyewitnesses that the one who loves God might know the certainty of the things that he or she has been taught.

They are starting to doubt. Paul had taught them at first that they shouldn’t even get married because Jesus was returning so soon. But, time had passed, and Rome’s oppression had continued, the early believers had suffered persecution and faithful friends had been martyred, the apostles had died. So, it is to people who have lived in expectation of Jesus’ return and have prayed diligently for it that Luke is writing, which is important for our understanding the meaning of this passage.

Luke is the only one of the Gospel writers to include this parable that Jesus told. And he sets it up with the reason he is including it, “Jesus told them a parable, about how they should always pray and not give up.” Parables, though, are not so easily digested, and if the interpretation seems clear and palatable, we probably haven’t chewed on it enough.

So let’s remove Luke’s introductory explanation, that the parable is about being persistent in prayer, and listen to the story Jesus told: There once was a judge who didn’t have reverence for God and didn’t have any respect for people. There was a widow who came to him and said, “Judge my case! Rule in my favor against my enemy!” For a long time he refused. But, in the end, he said to himself, “It’s true that I don’t have reverence for God, and don’t have any respect for people. But because this widow is causing me a lot of trouble, I will put her case right and judge in her favor so that she doesn’t end up coming and giving me a black eye.”

A few things to note: throughout Scripture, we find that God is concerned about people whom the culture makes vulnerable. Throughout Scripture God warns against mistreating widows and orphans and makes it the responsibility of the community to care for them. The widow in Jesus’s story has fallen through the cracks of all the safeguards God has put in place. When her husband died, she evidently had no adult sons, or father, or brother to take her into his household. The community has failed her. She was vulnerable, victimized, and now she is demanding justice by shouting for a judge to hear her case. Luke focuses on her as he encourages his community to keep praying, to keep faith, to remain constant in hope for God’s kingdom to come.

The judge is the character that Jesus wants us to focus on, though. Jesus describes him, and then Jesus has the character repeat the same description…in a parable, what is repeated is important. This judge did not have reverence for God and didn’t have any respect for people. And we see in the judge’s response what the one thing he does care about is looking out for #1, me, myself, and I. Why does he hear her case and rule in her favor? Because if he doesn’t he’s afraid she’s going to haul off and hit him and give him a black eye, well that’s the literal translation…it’s possible that give him a black eye meant bring him public shame. Still, his motivation for justice was selfish…all he was concerned about, really, was himself.

Jesus then interprets the parable. He has set up a daylight and dark comparison…you see how this unjust judge is? God is just the opposite. “Don’t you think that God will see justice done for his chosen ones, the vulnerable who shout out to him day and night? Do you suppose God is deliberately delaying? Let me tell you, God will rule in their favor very quickly.”

And then we get the hard part of the parable, because every one of Jesus’s parables carry a lesson that is hard for us to hear. “But – when the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Will he find that there are people with faith that God is bringing about a new kingdom, that God’s Will is going to be accomplished on earth? We have a choice to make. Will we be like the judge or like God? Will we hear the shouts of the vulnerable and rule in their favor? Will we act justly? And how will we know what is just? By having reverence for God, awe, humility before God, and respect for people, seeing the image of God in the other, recognizing a person’s dignity, looking beyond a person’s circumstances to their humanity.

Because when we have reverence for God and respect for people, we can’t help but take the cases of the vulnerable we hear shouting. I know you don’t think you can do much, but what Jesus is asking in this parable is, “Do you have enough faith to try?” God might bring more justice through you than you will ever know. In 2012, an 8 year old girl saw a picture of 2 boys her age who were slaves. This little girl lived in California and before she saw that picture didn’t have any idea that there are somewhere around 18 million children in the world who are held as forced laborers. But once she saw the picture, she knew she had to do something, so she opened a lemonade stand and set a goal. She wanted to free 500 slaves. It would cost about $100,000. That’s a lot to raise with a lemonade stand. So, she started a Facebook page. You may have seen her TED talk or seen or read one of her many interviews; she spent time with Pope Frances at the Vatican. She began a movement called Make a Stand. She raised over a million dollars. I tried to find where she is now…she’s about 21. She continued to be an activist into her teen years, but it seems like right now she’s attending college and her mom’s Facebook posts show their family at a pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago. She didn’t end childhood slavery, but she ended it for many children. She had reverence for God and respect for people, so she sought justice.

Do you have faith that God’s Kingdom will come? What abilities or resources do you have to offer in reverence for God? It might be that you have a hobby or a craft or a talent that you could leverage. It might be that you know how to help someone else in the congregation set up a business to leverage their hobby or ability. It might be that you have some money but no time or talent…and it might be that someone else doesn’t have the money to invest, but has time and an ability. What if we were honest with each other about how we are able to honor God and put those offerings together? What hurt, what pain would you want to address? Whose cries of need have you heard? Whose picture have you seen? What vulnerability pricks your heart’s respect for people? That is your call to do justice.

You might not raise a million dollars…and most of you are too late to do it by the time you are 10. That’s not what matters. You do realize that you are already faithfully and compassionately doing justice. Each year we begin building the church budget by allocating 10% of your pledges that you turn in on your pledge card to mission and service. In the last year you have funded 4 cisterns at $3,500 each and the plan is to fund and build 4 more this coming January. Over the years, you have funded and packaged 154,782 meals for Rise Against Hunger. You have offered shelter and food and holy hospitality to 966 guests at Room in the Inn. You have given over $40,000 in disaster relief. You have supported sending kids to camp at Pinecrest who have never been to the woods before to breathe in the fresh air and be surrounded by the wonder and love of God. And I could go on with the things we have done, but the challenge is before us, what things will we do? Do our hearts have reverence for God and respect for people? Yes? So what shouts will we hear and decide to do justice? Because THAT will reveal what kind of faith we have that God’s Kingdom is coming. Indeed, this parable is about how we should always pray and not give up.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.