Trinity 20

2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5; Luke 18:1-8

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

One of my favourite characters on TV was Rumpole of the Bailey!  I wonder how many of you remember him, that wonderful creation of John Mortimer’s, so satisfyingly portrayed by Leo McKern.  He was a lovable character, a barrister, permanently in dread of his wife, ‘she who must be obeyed’, but those whom he represented in court were lucky; despite the fact that he appeared frequently before difficult and unsympathetic judges who objected to his unorthodox methods, he always won his case by a mixture of skill, low cunning, persistence, and a concern for his clients.

The parable of the unjust judge at first sight appears to be about God and the disciples of Jesus, but to show what God is not, rather than what he is.  Here is a judge who cares nothing for anyone; he’s not at all concerned about justice as long as he can live a quiet life – the complete opposite of what we might expect of God.  The woman has little chance of winning her case, not only because the judge can’t be bothered with her, but because she is a woman, a widow, and therefore very low down the pecking order – she is simply not worth his attention.  She has obviously no male relative to represent her, and certainly not a skilled advocate, or she would not be doing her own pleading.  But she will not give up, making herself a real nuisance until the judge gives in just to get rid of her. 

What are we meant to infer from this story?  If God is not like the judge, are we not meant to be like the widow?  Trying to identify the meaning of every detail in a parable can be misleading; if we stand back from this one, and ponder the last verse, which at first sight may seem to be unconnected with the story, something else emerges.  Jesus is talking about people with two different attitudes – is he asking us to consider ours?  When he returns, will he find his followers still faithfully persevering with prayer, not losing heart if they don’t get instant answers, or will they have lapsed into a comfortable religious glow, a quiet life in which the demands of the Gospel have little place?

Just as Jesus teaches about the need to be persistent in prayer, so the advice Paul gives to Timothy is ‘be persistent’.  He, Paul, is in prison, perhaps facing the knowledge that he may not live much longer, and he wants to pass on his work to the next generation.  Timothy is young to be a church leader, but Paul is aware of his good qualities.  He has been brought up by his mother and grandmother to know the Jewish scriptures, and he has also learned the Christian faith from them.  Paul regards Timothy as his child in the faith, and reminds him to continue as he has been taught, using the scriptures to help him in his own development, and also for encouraging and rebuking others – a tall order for a young man, but it’s necessary, to equip himself and others for God’s work.  He is to be persistent in proclaiming the Gospel message, whether it seems like a good time or not.

The reason for all this advice is that the Christians are living among people who are not interested in Jesus Christ, and this is going to get worse.  Listen to verses 3 and 4 again: ‘For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.’  Paul’s words, written two thousand years ago, have a really modern ring, don’t they?  Today people look for some kind of ‘spirituality’, but they want to choose bits from here and there to suit themselves, ideas which appeal to them – the ‘pick and mix’ approach.  They like parts of the gospel, find others hard to believe, and often see the Christian faith as being too rigid – a set of rules designed to restrict us.  How can we show them that it is really a joyful allegiance to a God who loves us more than we can ever understand, and who wants to set us free to live life to the full?  ‘I am come that they might have life,’ said Jesus, ‘and have it more abundantly.’  Well, we probably need to consider what we convey to others by our own way of life – not what we do on Sunday so much as what we are like on the other six days of the week.

But this has to be underpinned by something more, and here we come back to our readings.  First, Jesus encourages us to ‘pray always and not to lose heart.’  We come to church today bringing our concerns for ourselves and others, joining our prayers with the whole family of God; if we so ‘re-charge our batteries’, do we top them up every day?  Even just a few minutes of quietly opening our hearts and minds to God, with words or in silence, can, if we persevere, make such a difference to our lives.  Trying to live the  Christian life without praying has been compared with trying to drive a car with an empty petrol tank – it’s impossible.  Prayer is the lifeblood of our faith.  When we find it difficult, and everyone does at some time, we can take comfort from two things; wanting to pray, to connect with God more closely, is a prayer in itself; and, as Paul tells us in Romans, the Holy Spirit prays within us to help us in our weakness.  ‘Persevere’ is the message Jesus gives us, and those who have written about prayer down the ages say the same.

Secondly, Paul points out to Timothy the value of the scriptures – the Bible contains so much guidance for our daily lives.  Again, even a few verses each day can provide a starting point for prayer, and often illuminate a difficulty in our lives just at the right time.  Most people need a bit of help with deciding what to read and understanding it, but there is plenty available in the form of daily notes or accessible commentaries.  Like prayer, it is vital for our own spiritual growth and our witness to others, especially now that so many people know little or nothing about the Bible.

We cannot begin to guess when Christ will return, and we don’t need to know that.  He comes to us in our daily lives; he is with us, as he promised, always.  He comes to us this morning in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.  Does he find us persisting in prayer and faithfully persevering in our faith, in the sure and certain hope that one day we shall be with him for ever?