Your Keeper
“Your Keeper”
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 16, 2022
Jeremiah 31:27-34 Psalm 121 Luke 18:1-8
First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint, Idaho
Pastor Andy Kennaly
There are many ways to interpret this passage from Luke, especially with Jeremiah’s prophetic words as background to provide thematic context, and the Psalmist’s vision of the LORD as “your keeper.” The Gospel passage could be an archaic shout out to the powerful magic of prayer. Prayer is an expression of hope, and this hope is directed toward the Holy one, which is God. Many people assume God’s holiness is separate from creation, from us, and prayer becomes a link that bridges a gap until, someday, Jesus returns.
Sometimes people look at this passage through the traditional lens of Jesus dying to save sinful humanity. In the same way the woman’s persistence triumphs over the judge’s power, Jesus courageously frees us by appeasing a wrathful God. Jesus becomes what we are not, acceptable in the eyes of God. When God looks at us, God no longer judges us because God sees Jesus in our place. This substitutionary atonement assumes we are powerless, like the woman in the story. God’s gift of faith overcomes this weakness, only through the gift of salvation in Jesus.
Perhaps the story reflects a modern tendency toward social justice, coming alongside the Gospel writer as Luke includes the outsider. The widow is female, at the mercy of a male judge. The system of religion was intended for devout expression, but now excludes anyone that doesn’t measure up to the high demands of purity codes. The law becomes a stumbling block as people break covenant with God. Clerics become gate keepers, and they judge. Like a social activist, this woman is a role model of courage in response to crushing injustice, persistence in the face of prejudice, and an excellent example of hope, that what we do makes a difference in life. But all of this done in a modern structure keeps God and Jesus at arm’s length. Let’s not get too personal, just focus on issues and rally for the cause.
Magic, Traditional, Modern; I’ve probably preached something of all these approaches over the years. The power of magic, the structure of tradition, and the passion of postmodernism help for a while; they certainly feel empowering in their own ways. But ultimately nothing really changes, and in fact the opposite effect takes place: there is a regression to the very injustice, exclusion, and sense of separation that Jesus tries to release us from. Jesus points out that people, even sincere people, have a tremendous capacity to miss the point.
Each of these approaches are appropriate reactions, and each has a place and purpose, but something else is needed to really sift the dynamics. But to work, it’s a huge leap, quite a stretch, and taking steps beyond what we’re familiar with can be clumsy. Yet from an integral stance, through a mystical lens, something else is revealed, something foundational. But to be an integrated human being, wrestling with the dynamics of this passage can feel like losing, involves vulnerability and getting wounded for Love’s sake.
Through this story, Jesus illustrates deep Wisdom. As a metaphor, the story is about an unhealthy, heavily defended ego. It involves constant judging, the dualistic mind. With that ego placed in central space as the reference point, this judgement mostly rejects all others in reference to itself. That self is regressive, only in dialogue with others to the extent that it maintains the illusion of separation and isolation. In practical terms this appears as power and control, and people use each other and the Earth, but this is delusional. The small self seeks to replace God, and genuine relationship with others is shunned in favor of selfish behavior that uses others for the ego’s benefit. In different ways, this manifests at all levels. Jesus tells us that this dynamic comes to an end.
The woman represents a non-judge. She faces resistance as someone who suffers at the hands of others. She seems stuck between an opponent who commits injustice on the one hand (stretch out one arm), and on the other hand (stretch out the other arm), a powerful judge who perpetuates the dilemma. Notice the stance? It is the cruciform nature of reality, of giving oneself to another in Love.
The woman has respect for people, but less by recognizing external authority, and more by honoring intrinsic value. She expresses the larger need to hold people accountable to a higher standard of conduct as human beings created in God’s image and likeness. She has no supports externally as society, religion, and the system are against her as a female widow. Externally, she is dismissed. Internally, she has tremendous support as she trusts the expansive truth of inner authority that turns the world on its head.
Jesus uses this story as a satire against patriarchal religious systems that perpetuate the idea of a separate self. The woman represents God’s longing for unity and righteousness, that relationships function as intended. This involves mutual benefit, expansive tolerance, and gender that maintains healthy balance of male and female energies. The woman calls for justice, but not necessarily in the retributive sense that escalates cycles of revenge. More in the restorative sense, of a healthy ego in full communion with God and others.
Jesus uses the satirical irony of this story to show radical inclusion of those that society and religion formally exclude by systems of laws and doctrines. He calls disciples to pray always and not lose heart. This is a call toward recognizing the divine presence within. This mystical awareness allows for unceasing prayer, which is unity, connection, and participation in divine Essence as created beings. This is encouragement based in the heart, and this clarifies and heals the false self, renews the mind by the transformation of the ego into a translucent and unique expression of the Living Christ. This is experiential, a felt knowledge of an ego as intended to be. This sets one free to face injustice. Like the widow, one takes righteous action, always toward the intent of the healing and wholeness of all things. This is the emergence of the Integrated Human.
One final observation that is quite subtle but very powerful in implication involves the nature of time. “Time” is mentioned by the need to pray always, and the widow kept coming to the judge, which he describes as “kept bothering” and “continually coming.” In this story, linear time powerfully participates in God’s eternal purposes.
We are familiar with things that are two dimensional, like a photograph printed on paper. We are adept at functioning in a three-dimensional world, where perspective helps us compare one thing to another and how those things are, especially in reference to us. Using two eyes provides depth perception in our seeing on a physical plane and we are trained to look up and down and assign higher or lower value to each. Jesus introduces the fourth dimension, which is time. Time freedom changes everything, and all previous measurements and assumptions become relativized in light of the ultimate, the Transcendent.
As humanity experiences the unfolding of reality, with each leap into another dimension there appears to be a larger degree of separation. Jesus as a Wisdom Master points out that this is an illusion. Time as the fourth dimension is not based on separations that create distinctions that are judged, or based on perspectives that become unhealthy and exclusive. Time helps free us into deeper relationship, a wholeness that helps us experience the deeper reality of creation and Christ, an emergence of One. Creation is God’s self-revelation and Christ manifests this as spirit and matter merge through the diversity of life as gift. The individual ego does not have the capacity to be a central reference point; this leads only to exclusive boundaries rigidly defended. A transformed ego becomes engaged in expansive participation.
We are told to listen to what the unjust judge says. What he says is ironically used as an encouragement that God’s creativity is unbroken. Love is the framework of reality, Love is the Essence that fills that framework, and Love transforms any sense of separation as the false-self yields to the True-Self and the larger, connected purpose of unity that all life shares in the One. When the Son of Man comes, there will be no need for faith, for Love’s fullness full-fills all things in Christ. This is not a linear time thing; Heaven and Earth are one, for everything is from and of God.
As God’s self-revelation unfolds, thanks be to God! Amen.