Luke 18:1-8

Pentecost +21 - Year C

Luke 18:1-8

Hot on the heels of a week of dreaming comes one that starts with prayer. Define the difference between a dream and a prayer and spelling will be a major category. We dream for better, we pray for better - not just for ourselves or some, but all of creation (anything less is that much less worthy of it name).

At issue is "justice" - seemingly almost in hand, but never quite, like dreams and prayer, that need persistence and hope (combined - and this is more than a spelling difference).

The widow's hopeful persistence is, itself, a prayer form - even if there is never a religious word uttered. Trying to limit prayer to G*D and Church is like trying to return the jar Pandora opened to never-having-been-opened.

Listen to what the unjust judge said. In listening, hear that G*D is not interested in prayers asking for an intercession with the unjust. G*D is saying, "Get out there and do something about what you think you are praying about."

Oh, folks so wanted to hear Jesus going on to suggest that G*D was open to manipulation by prayer and would eventually, no matter whether early or late, bring injustice to heel, that they wrote it in. Even if this is accurately recorded, there is still the matter of whether attempts to pray G*D to a particular action is faithful praying. To put it all on G*D may be to lose our faith, our ability to trust that our participation in transforming life toward justice, day in and day out, has a worth of its own.

As you take a look around at issues needing more justice anticipated and applied, can you see your action as prayer, regardless of the form it takes? From time to time we will use one of the traditional prayer forms to re-energize our participation, but our prayers can never be constrained by a particular idiosyncratic religious tradition(s). Can you redefine your justice issues and actions as prayers offered by a descendent of our ancestral aunt, St. Widow of Importuning?