The Kingdom of God, is a transcendent mystery. And to
describe it is impossible.
To try, Jesus used parables - stories and images to
give the mystery of the kingdom form. The Kingdom is like a mustard seed, a
sheepfold, or a pearl of great worth and so on. Jesus described not only the
kingdom’s character, but also its process of coming into being.
Jesus has said it will come like a master returning
unexpectedly, or thief in the night, unobserved. No one will announce “look,
here it is or look, there it is” because the Kingdom of God, in some fashion,
is already here. The incarnation (Jesus' life, death and resurrection)
and the Holy Spirit proves God’s reign has begun. Yet, Jesus says it will come
unexpectedly.
At some time the kingdom will break into the world or will
instantly transform our reality. Somehow some way all things will be made new.
In its suddenness there will be no time to change anything, to gather things or
say goodbye. The earthly life we have tried so hard and so long to save by
denying the kingdom of God will be lost, but the life we have freely given up
for the kingdom will be saved.
Prior to today’s gospel the disciples have cried out
"where is this kingdom, Lord" and he answer them with today’s
parable which is not
about where, but about how.
In response to where
the kingdom is Jesus teaches them about the necessity to pray without becoming
weary. And so we can reasonably connect perseverance of prayer with
the unexpected and sudden coming kingdom.
Out of everything
Jesus could tell them about prayer, and I imagine he could tell them a lot, he
tells them it’s about not getting weary. This reveals one dynamic of prayer (at
least from our perspective) and that is - persistence. Jesus seems to be pointing to the continual work and effort
needed in prayer.
For me prayer means; praying, both private and public; with
heart, mind, and voice, but also doing prayer (which is often called praxis)
with will, body and action. And we must pray and
do prayer without getting weary. This is all about the long haul and being
prepared for the sudden coming of the kingdom.
And with God’s Grace
and the help of the Holy Spirit, we can live prayer and do the work of prayer
with determination to the best of our ability. This does not mean perfectly.
But, it does mean with hope and joy.
Living prayer is the work of faith. It is a state of being and what we,
as Christians, do.
In the first reading Moses stays in the fight. He perseveres
in holding up his staff from sunrise to sunset. The very same staff which
struck the red sea and parted the waters. Moses held high the staff as a sign
of God's presence and power. He was showing it to encourage and strengthen Joshua and the Israelites in battle. He was
also showing Amalek where God stood! We get a real sense of the determination
of body and spirit. The physicality of
old arms lifted up (and when needed, helped by Arron and Hur) and, of course,
an indomitable human spirit well experienced with God.
Because, faith can only be transforming and life giving if it
is done out of unwearied love from sunrise to sunset.
Pray always without becoming weary Jesus tells us. There was an arrogant and self-serving judge and a widow who
came before him seeking justice. This widow, as all widows, was vulnerable,
without income or security. In the Torah she held a privileged position of
deserving care and concern by those who are righteous, but in the everyday
world of the courts no one thought a fair decision was possible.
She wasn’t learned or wise, but she was persistent in her
pleading and the judge, who neither feared God nor respected human beings,
delivered a just decision for her. Not because he sought justice, but because
he was tired of being bugged and fearful of what she might do if he continued
to put her off. Jesus says pay attention to the action of the judge.
If a judge, who
neither fears God nor respects human beings, can be persuaded by persistence to
come to a good decision we can be sure that God will secure justice of those
who call out to him day and night. Clearly, Jesus is telling us God hears our prayers and will
answer those who are humble and determined.
But, when will God do this?
Jesus says - I tell you he will see to it that justice is
done speedily. Now speedily, could mean in a short time, and perhaps
tomorrow is the day, but I think speedily means suddenly and unexpectedly! And
this is the problem.
God and his kingdom seem beyond the horizon, beyond forever.
And in this temporal haze we are lulled into dozing comfortable in things as
they are. We get lazy and complacent. We
have all the time in the world. We can put off doing faith, prayer and praxis,
for a later day, especially if it is inconvenient or uncomfortable or without
immediate reward. This world has made us very short-sighted.
But, God isn't waiting.
His reign and kingdom has already begun through Jesus and the Spirit. It
is here now, yet, it will come in a flash! Where does this leave us?
Remember, it wasn’t the widow’s powers of persuasion or her
hold on the subtleties of the law that won the day. It was her humble
persistence and confident determination.
Our Salvation comes from God. But, we are measured not for who we are, what we know, or
have, but by how we have lived out the grace of our baptism. It will do us no good to say we have faith, if we do not do
work of faith. It will do us no good if we do it out of pride or fear, but
not out of love.
It will do us no good if we do it today, but not tomorrow. God’s love and faithfulness is not in doubt. He hears and
answers our prayers.
His kingdom is here, yet coming and its arrival will be
unexpected and sudden. Yet, we are left with
one question - what faith will the Lord find when he comes? I remind us all, this is not a question about the Lord, but
it is a question about us.
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