 | Prayer Father God, strengthen our faith as we seek justice. Teach us to be persistent in prayer and to trust in Your vindication. Amen. Activity (If there are children) [Set someone (an adult, or older child) as the judge. Give them strict instructions to refuse all requests, until the last one. As rudely as they like, within reason. Get some volunteers to ask for a sweet.] [Activity 1] Injustice Injustice is all around us. Perhaps you have been the victim of injustice yourself. Today we are going to look at the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. First, though, let me remind you of one case of serious injustice that is still going on in our country. The Post Office and Horizon This is the Horizon scandal. | ||
 | In 1999, the Post Office begins rolling out its new accounting system, known as Horizon. The system was developed by Fujitsu, on their behalf.
Almost immediately, they start to receiving notifications of shortfalls from sub-postmasters. In 2003 Alan Bates is dismissed from his sub-postmaster job for refusing to cover a shortfall. Many others are also dismissed, go bankrupt, or are prosecuted and in some cases jailed. A few even take their own lives. From 2012-2019, Paula Venells is CEO of the Post Office. She is also an Anglican priest. During her tenure, she maintains that there are no problems with Horizon.
In 2019, Bates v Post Office, a group litigation finds Horizon had "bugs, errors, and defects" leading to a £58 million settlement which was largely spent on legal fees.
Two years later the Court of Appeal quashes 39 convictions; and a statutory Public Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, begins.
Damages are awarded, but are mostly yet to be paid in 2025. No-one has been prosecuted, neither have Fujitsu been sanctioned by the government.
Cause This injustice was caused by the pride of a few senior managers, and directors, who did not want to admit their mistakes. These people were more concerned about their own reputations than the livelihoods and reputation of those they employed. [Activity 2] | ||
| Parable – the Judge In the parable, the unjust judge does not care about his reputation. He is in a position where he is not accountable to anyone. In those days there was no justice system like we have today, there was no police force. The Roman army would deal with unrest, or violent uprising, but you couldn’t go to them to sort out a theft or even a murder. It was your job to investigate, then accuse someone and go to an appointed judge. He would be found in a tent somewhere, with a few assistants outside protecting him. To get past them would usually require a bribe. The judge heard your case and ruled, however he ruled – so, you either won your case, or you didn’t. That may have depended on who bribed the judge, too. The sub-postmasters didn’t really get much of a better deal with our more complex and less corrupt system. | ||
| [Activity 3] Widows Jesus chose a widow as the other protagonist in this story because they had few, if any, rights in that society. Women did not go to court, their husbands were supposed to look after them. As she had no husband, she was poor, and could not afford to pay any bribes to get close to the judge. God had always reminded His people to take care of the widows: Jeremiah 22:3
This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
HarvestToday, is our harvest celebration, as part of that we bring gifts to help those in most need – the widows, the fatherless and the very poor. We have at least learnt that much. | ||
| God is the judge? So, can we say that the judge is God in the parable? He certainly seems to have absolute power over the widow. Well, no, it’s not that sort of parable. The comparison Jesus is making with this story is man’s ways to God’s ways. He is showing that God’s ways are so much better than man’s ways. We can tell that by verses 6 & 7 6 the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 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? The questions are rhetorical.[Activity 4] Chosen Ones The chosen ones are Jesus’ followers, those who have committed themselves to Him and to bringing about His kingdom. Jesus has been telling them that the Son of Man (Jesus) will return and bring in His kingdom. This is what they are to pray for. At the start of that passage, Jesus tells the Pharisees “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” | ||
 hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. | Lord’s Prayer This is what they are to pray for – the coming of the kingdom of God. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, he gave them the Lord's prayer. We will say it later, but I wonder if you remember the first few lines: Our Father in heaven, After acknowledging who God is, they are to pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth, and for God’s will to be done on earth, just as it is in heaven. This is before they pray their own needs and the needs of others.
Then and only then can we have true justice, when the one who is judging is not corrupt, or selfish, or jealously guarding their reputation. We all do that all of the time in little ways and with small lies.hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. [Activity] | ||
| The final question The passage ends with a final question: However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? This too is a rhetorical question. The answer seems to be “no”. Will all the earth be ready to trust Jesus as the righteous, incorruptible, loving judge? Of course not, but for the elect – those who follow Jesus, like His disciples in the reading and us now, the promise is that true justice will be swiftly dispensed. Our lives will be vindicated. The value of everything we have done, of everything we have stood for and against will be seen. | ||
| Persistence The parable also teaches us persistence in prayer, in general, not just for the kingdom of God. It is hard to understand why there appear to be delays when we are fervently praying for something. But the persistence, and the wait, also serve a purpose. They help us to focus, both on God and what we are praying for. I regularly pray for my sons and my grandchildren to come to faith. It is difficult to keep on when nothing seems to change, but we have seen examples of people who have prayed for their family members far longer than I have, who have seen the miracle they desire. So, we should keep going, until, at last, our persistence will also be vindicated. Amen. [Final Activity] |
References
https://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/search/label/Luke%2018%3A1-8
https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/c_proper24-29.htm
https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/Pentecost-C/c_proper24-29/kids.htm
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/luke/18.html
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-18/
https://prmarlon.com/blog-2/when-you-pray
https://www.crossway.org/articles/did-jesus-teach-that-our-prayers-are-bothersome-to-god-luke-18/
https://blog.cph.org/study/digging-deeper-into-scripture-luke-181-8
https://www.gty.org/sermons/42-227/persistent-prayer-for-the-lords-return
https://cornerstonechurchkingston.org/sermon/3071/pray-and-dont-give-up/
copilot and gemini were also used in research. copilot produced the images. <
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