{"id":687702,"date":"2025-09-08T11:52:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T15:52:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-15T07:57:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:57:38","slug":"widows-pentecost-19-c-october-19-2025","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/widows-pentecost-19-c-october-19-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Widows, Proper 24 (C) \u2013 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=DFMS6491913898&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/proper-24c\/\">[RCL] Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Pr24-2025-Sermon-Title-FB-EN-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-337713\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a lot of voices in today\u2019s parable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s the voice of Luke, the gospel writer, who tells us this is a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s the voice of Jesus, who tells this parable about a widow and a judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s the voice of the widow and the voice of the judge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we\u2019ve heard this parable in the past, we might also hear the voices of commentators who have offered interpretations about whom to listen to as we try to hear the word of Jesus for us today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commentators often say that Jesus\u2019s parable is about a widow who badgers an unjust judge until she wears him down and, though he doesn\u2019t give a fig about justice, he finally relents and gives her what she asks for. They point out that what the widow does in \u201cwearing [the judge] out by continually coming\u201d is, literally, to \u201cfinally come and slap [him] in the face\u201d or \u201cgive him a black eye.\u201d This widow is relentless. She\u2019s tough. She\u2019s no pushover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About the judge, interpreters are careful to point out that God is not like this judge. God is the opposite of this terrible judge, who doesn\u2019t care about God or people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But we still end up with a comparison between the bad judge and the good God, both of whom face down an annoying petitioner. The point of the parable, they say, is something along the lines of <em>Be like the widow\u2014incessant, dogged, and unafraid to pester and harangue God. God actually loves human beings and cares about justice, so you will be able to wear God down way more quickly than the annoying widow wore down the unjust judge. Persistence is all that stands between us and getting God to do what we ask. Get to it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem is that this characterization of the widow\u2014bothersome, annoying, harassing, violent, even\u2014is all, and only, the judge\u2019s opinion of her. He\u2019s the one who describes her that way. But why should we trust his opinion? The only thing this judge is honest about is his lack of fear of God and concern for people. We might imagine him saying to his cronies at the club, \u201cYou should have seen her. She wouldn\u2019t leave me alone! She\u2019s hysterical, unhinged! Dangerous! Forget justice. I just wanted this loser off my back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s what the judge says about the widow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What Jesus says about her is that she kept coming to the judge and saying, \u201cGrant me justice against my opponent.\u201d That\u2019s it. Jesus doesn\u2019t call her hysterical, hotheaded, or violent. He does say her action is repetitive and durative\u2014it continues over time. Like daily prayer over the course of a lifetime. Like going to church, week in, week out. Long after others have given up, stopped attending, stopped saying the words, she\u2019s still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She wouldn\u2019t be the first persistent widow in the Bible.<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s Tamar, who, though it took years, wouldn\u2019t let her father-in-law Judah deny her the right to have a child that was hers according to the law (Genesis 38). There\u2019s Ruth, who wouldn\u2019t let her mother-in-law return home without her and uttered the now-familiar words, \u201cWhere you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God\u201d (Ruth 1:16). There\u2019s Bathsheba, made a widow by King David, who wanted to cover up his adulterous affair with her, who would not let David overlook her son, Solomon, when naming his successor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These three widows are Jesus\u2019 great-great-grandmothers, part of Jesus\u2019 genealogy that kicks off Matthew\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These widows, and more, sometimes in a process that takes years, cling to God\u2019s will, against opposition and against voices who say that God doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or in answer to the question, \u201cDoes God keep God\u2019s promises?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the beginning of Luke\u2019s Gospel, there\u2019s the widow Anna, who has been fasting and praying day and night in the Temple for more than sixty years, waiting, longing for the good news of the arrival of the redeemer. When she sees Mary and Joseph bringing the baby Jesus to the Temple, she praises God and speaks about Jesus \u201cto all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem\u201d (Luke 2:36-38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s the widow of Nain, whom Jesus meets when her son has died and is being carried out of the town to be buried. Jesus has compassion for her and raises her son, her only son, from death (Luke 7:11-17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s the poor widow, whom Jesus sees putting her last two coins into the temple treasury, \u201call she had to live on\u201d (Luke 21:2-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are lots of widows in Jesus\u2019 life. Maybe that\u2019s why he tells today\u2019s parable about a widow. He knows there are widows who are rich, poor, feisty, faithful, resourceful, persistent, dependent on others, speaking for themselves, aware of God\u2019s promises and trusting God will fulfill them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But maybe Jesus tells this parable because Jesus is like this widow in his parable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, he will be on trial before a bunch of unjust judges. Jesus will be brought before the Sanhedrin, who listen to him only to get the evidence they need to get the gears of injustice grinding against him. Jesus will stand trial before Herod\u2014a puppet king\u2014and Pontius Pilate\u2014a man so cruel, even the Romans eventually dismissed him from being governor. Neither Herod nor Pilate cared about God or justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet, Jesus goes. He doesn\u2019t yell or shriek or rail or commit violence against them. He goes, and repeats, by his action of giving himself over, what he has been saying with his words, his teaching, his healing, his paying attention to widows all his life\u2014that God is merciful and just.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The widow in the parable goes before an unjust judge to obtain justice against her opponent. Jesus goes before unjust judges to obtain salvation for an unjust world. The parable is not about badgering God until God gives us what we want. But it is about persistence in prayer in a hostile world that God is intent on saving. It is about our need for constant connection with God, which is prayer, as we live in this world and face injustice, but never lose heart that God keeps God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps that\u2019s why Jesus says, \u201cListen to what the unjust judge says.\u201d Why? Why would we pay any attention to that unrighteous jerk?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The context in which Jesus tells the parable is his teaching about the coming of the Son of Man in the fullness of time, at the end of time. In Luke 17, Jesus talks about how days are coming when you will long to see the days of the Son of Man, the time of God\u2019s justice, when the Kingdom of God will be complete, unmistakable, and obvious, and an end will come to the suffering and sorrow of all who have been crying out to God. That time is coming. It will come swiftly, suddenly. And God will not delay in granting justice. But it isn\u2019t here yet. Just listen to what the unjust judge says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe a lot of voices in the world sound like his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are we left to our own devices in the meantime?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Absolutely not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have prayer, to keep us connected to our God, the source of justice, mercy, our strength, and our salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We have God\u2019s vindication of Jesus by raising him from the dead, God\u2019s declaration of the end of injustice, the defeat of petty tyrants, of puppet kings and violent overlords, whose power, in this world, looks like it will go on and on and on. It will not. The victory is already won. We\u2019ve seen it in the face of the resurrected Jesus, who resembles a widow who looks powerless in the eyes of an unjust world, but knows she\u2019s already won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whose voice will we listen to? When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>Dr. Amy Richter.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-98ba6aac-4ac1-4d2f-ab53-3ed4ed417050\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sermon-Proper-24-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Proper 24 (C) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sermon-Proper-24-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-98ba6aac-4ac1-4d2f-ab53-3ed4ed417050\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-5d7d2aee-14ae-45f3-b35e-12d690de4889\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sermon-Proper-24-English.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Proper 24 (C) Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sermon-Proper-24-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-5d7d2aee-14ae-45f3-b35e-12d690de4889\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 There are a lot of voices in today\u2019s parable. There\u2019s the voice of Luke, the gospel writer, who tells us this is a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart. There\u2019s the voice of Jesus, who tells this parable about&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,3],"tags":[357],"class_list":["post-687702","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-24c"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":357,"label":"Proper 24C"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/687702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/687702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3473304,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/687702\/revisions\/3473304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}