“How more likely”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, June 8, 2023

Luke 18:1-8 (Forward, p. 41) CEV p. 1086

Sometimes Western readers of the Scriptures run afoul of correctly understanding particular passages because we fail to recognize and appreciate Semitic, Middle Eastern figures of speech. For instance, in Luke 13:32, Jesus uses a couple of them. Firstly, when He refers to Herod Antipas as ‘that fox’, he is not suggesting that he is not giving him a complement, as is often the case in English where we think of a fox a sly, somewhat attractive, stealthy, but conniving person. No, a fox in Middle Eastern terms was like a jackal or a hyena, a person who was basically weak and powerless and who only existed off what he or she could scavenge from the predations of some stronger beast—a beast, for instance, like a lion. Herod only existed, Jesus was implying, at the whims and behest of Caesar.

And then Jesus also mentioned ‘three days’, which was not meant to imply three literal days, but a short length of time, a period of time which was solely in God’s control and wholly independent of whatever Herod might say or do.

Here, in today’s passages, there is yet another ancient figure of speech, something called an argument a fortiori. It’s logic goes like this: If something less likely is true, then something more likely will probably be true as well. Thus, we might say, “if we do not trust one of our children to safely operate a bicycle, then a fortiori, we will not trust that child to operate an automobile.”

So, what Jesus is saying in our passage is not that God needs to be pestered, coerced into listening to our prayers, but that if a totally corrupt and uncaring judge is willing and able to respond, how much more would a loving and caring God be willing to do so. And so, Jesus’ council is this, namely that we should be all the more willing and quick to go to God in prayer, and all the more persistent, deliberate and constant in it—knowing, as we do, that He is quite happy to hear us and respond! How much more likely He is to hear us when we pray that any earthly being! Thanks be to God.

Forward notes: “And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?’” (verses 6-7)

“In seminary, I was taught that parables are designed to get one pithy point across. They are not, it was argued, meticulous allegories where every detail and character correspond to something or someone in the real world. I find this is hard for me to uphold in practice. I can’t help but try to squeeze every last drop of parallel and allusion out of parables. But the first verse of this chapter tells me that this parable is about praying always and not losing heart.

“In my reaction against over-spiritualizing biblical teachings, I run the risk of removing the dimension of personal piety from my interpretations altogether in favor of making everything immediately practical and political.

“Yet am I praying continually and earnestly? Where have I seen God grant justice? I cannot overlook these questions just because they are right there on the surface.”

Moving Forward: “How do you combine piety (prayer) with practice (action)?”