16th October. 2022. Service.
Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with
North Queensferry Church
Worship 16th October 2022
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Prelude: “Sing a new song unto the Lord”
Bible Introït 769 “Holy, holy, holy!”
Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 132 “Immortal, invisible God, only wise”
Call to Prayer
God promises us justice,
and teaches us persistence.
God promises us compassion
and teaches us not to lose heart.
God promises to be with us
and teaches us to care for each other.
So let us worship our God of comfort and challenge,
We bring prayers and praise to the God of hope and healing.
Prayers of Adoration and confession
Loving God, you are the truth far beyond all knowledge, the word excelling all human ideas and wisdom, the joy higher than all delight and happiness, the glory brighter than the light of a billion stars. Yet you are nearer to us than our thoughts, and dearer to us than our deepest love. We trust you; we worship you; we adore you! In wonder and love we lift our hearts in praise and form the prayers of faith and love in our minds through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit within us.
Let us examine heart and mind before God, acknowledge where we have lost our direction, or where we have sold ourselves short.
Let us pray.
Maybe we have been too busy to notice deeds that are beautiful and good; or too preoccupied to say ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’. Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Maybe we have been too stubborn to apologise for our mistakes; too proud to do inconspicuous tasks, or too independent to let others help us. Christ, have mercy.
Maybe we have been too self-demanding to enjoy a task well done though not perfectly; or too proud or too humble to gracefully accept thanks from a colleague. Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Merciful God, Saviour and Friend, forgive us for our obsessive busyness, for our pride, and for our overdone humility. Forgive us for hurts we have inflicted on others, and for the love we have denied them and ourselves. By the grace of Christ Jesus, restore us to the joy of salvation. In his name.
God is neither too busy, nor too proud, nor too humble, to say “I love you.” In Jesus, he has declared himself forever. His love and mercy are over all his works.
“You shall know me from the least to the greatest,
I will forgive your evil and remember your sin no more.
Prayer for illumination
How sweet are your words to me, loving God,
much sweeter than honey in my mouth.” Let them teach us not to lose heart, to care for one another and to find healing in your presence today
Amen!
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever Amen.
The Intimations
Coffee Mornings
Inverkeithing Tuesday 11th 10:00-noon
Christian Aid Concert
Saturday 22nd October 2pm Dalgety Bay Church
Tickets £6 under 18’s £4
Entertainers. Sing It – a group of 30 singers
Ivy Partridge (Ukulele Group)
St Fillan’s Handbells Ringers
Tickets available from Liz Hunter or Chris Duguid.
Kirk Session Meetings
The Inverkeithing Kirk Session will meet on Wednesday 19th October 2022 at 7pm in the Sunday School room.
The North Queensferry Board and Session Meeting will be held on Thursday 20th October 2022 at 7pm in the Church.
If you wish to participate in the Inverkeithing Church Choir for Christmas, our preliminary meeting will be on Saturday 29th October at 2pm in the Church to decide on the music and rehearsals. Please let the minister know if you would like to participate.
A Time to Remember memorial service for all who have been bereaved in the past years will be held on Sunday 6th November at 3pm in Dalgety Bay Church.
The minister has intimated to the Kirk Session his intention to retire from the ministry and the parishes on January 31st 2023.
The Offering
Like the widow at the judge’s bench, God persists in asking for our response to needs we might think are beyond us. Trust that God will bless what we offer and do surprising things with us, for us and through us, through Christ, our Living Lord.
Prayer of Dedication
God of the great and the small, we bring from what we have received, to share, the fruit of our lives. Bless our gifts and our lives, that generosity and justice may join hands and surprise the world with your goodness in Jesus’ name. Amen
All Age Talk
I have a sticker for each of you this morning. As you can see, the sticker says Never Give Up. Before I give you a sticker, I am going to tell you a story that Jesus told. One day Jesus told a story about a woman who went to a judge.
Do you know what a judge does
A judge helps people know what is fair. Jesus said in the story that the woman said to the judge, “There is a man who is not being fair to me. Give me my rights!”
At first, the judge refused to do anything, but the woman kept asking him. Finally, the judge said, “This woman is bothering me. I will see that she gets her rights, or she will bother me until I am worn out!’”
After Jesus finished the story, he said, “Learn a lesson from the judge. God’s people cry to him night and day. God will always give them what is right, and he will not be slow to answer them. I tell you, God will help his people quickly!”
Have you ever found yourself in a situation that was so hard that you just wanted to give up? Maybe you were having trouble with your schoolwork. Perhaps you and a friend had a disagreement, and you just couldn’t seem to work it out. Or maybe one of your classmates kept being unkind to you.
What Jesus wants us to learn from this story is that God, our Heavenly Father, loves us and wants to do nice things for us. He wants what is best for us and he has the wisdom to know what is best.
But don’t forget, God likes to hear us ask, not just once, but again and again. He doesn’t want us to ask once and then give up!
Here is a video about this:
Hymn 185 Come, children, join to sing
Reading: Jeremiah 31:27-34
27 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,’ declares the Lord. 29 ‘In those days people will no longer say, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” 30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes – their own teeth will be set on edge.31 ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declaresthe Lord.
33 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ Amen.
Hymn 600 “Spirit of God, unseen as the wind”
Reading: Luke 18:1-8
18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”
4 ‘For some time he refused. But finally, he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!”’
6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’ Amen, this is the Word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 135 “O laughing light”
Sermon
I enjoy reading legal thrillers by the American author, John Grisham. The last one I completed was The Judge’s List, a story about a highly respected judge with an impeccable background who was in reality a vengeful, psychopathic killer.
Grisham is an expert wordsmith, with a very readable and compelling style which carries his stories along. His judge could be described in the same terms as the judge in today’s parable, an unjust judge or as the original Greek and Aramaic puts it, a “judge of unrighteousness.” The other character in the parable is described as “troublesome” widow. Translated literally; it says that she troubles him with continual “blows to his eyes.” It may be that his is an Aramaic expression for “she is constantly in my face.” Jesus, like Grisham uses idiomatic language which is colourful and appealing.
The story begins with these two eccentric characters. First, we have the judge. One can almost picture him, with his nose in the air, sailing through life not wanting to be bothered by anything, not caring about anybody. He has no fear of God — does he even really believe that there is a God who cares, one way or another, what he does? He has power and influence and neither does he, by his own admission, “… care what people think.” Does he care about anything? How does he feel about himself? What does he want out of life? He is a judge — but does he even care about administering justice?
Apparently not, because right on his heels comes this widow, pestering him and pulling at his robe, to the extent that he’s afraid she’ll attack him if he doesn’t give her what she wants — which is “justice against my adversary.” He decides to give her what she wants, but not out of concern for justice or for balancing two claims on an impartial scale, or anything like that. He just wants to get her out of his life as quickly as possible.
Who, shall we say, is the most important character in the story so far? A related question, difficult as it may be to acknowledge it, is with which character do we most closely identify? The judge or the widow? Might we see ourselves in both?
Some people might identify with this judge, especially when they relate to “not caring” — not caring about God, about what people think, about the widow’s complaint or about justice in general. Such an attitude could be a front, a shield against a life that has turned out to be too much, or not enough. In Grisham’s story the trigger for the villain was humiliation in a law class in his college class. The judge just wants to get on with life, moving along without frustrating complications, enjoying what pleasures there are. And, of course, to accomplish that, he must at least go through the motions of doing this job. Although the job gives him prestige and a good income, it may nonetheless be a job he doesn’t like all that much — addressing the demands of different characters, with their tiresome abstractions about justice, fairness, and law. He is trying to follow the path of least resistance and get through it. The not-caring is a mask for the profound weariness of a jaded man with nothing to believe in, nothing to care about — not even God — and certainly not for people and their pointless, meaningless opinions. Or this insufferable woman, with her demands.
More people may identify with the widow. She wants justice against her adversary. She is obsessed with her complaint. We are not told what that complaint is, only that she demands justice — justice as she defines it, anyway. We are not given any specifics. A casual glance at the world today shows us that demands for justice are common. Everyone wants justice, but we do not all define it the same way. In every conflict the adversaries have a sense of injustice to justify their behaviour. For instance, Putin thinks the west wishes to destroy Russia and that Ukraine is historically part of old Russia and feels aggrieved.
The January 6th insurrectionists in America, and their defenders, were convinced that they were pursuing justice. People who feel oppressed by masks or vaccine mandates demand justice, or one of its elements, their liberty, their freedom to choose. Rioters loudly, sometimes violently, demand justice before all, or any, of the facts are known about the case they are rioting about. Justice in this parable, and in many cases, is just a word. The louder we shout it, the more convinced we become that we have the right completely on our side.
We are not given any details about the widow’s complaint, or about any defence her adversary might offer. Justice, when dealing with someone as single-minded as this widow, might mean anything. Whatever it means, she wants it from this judge, and she is not taking “No” for an answer!
And there is a third character here — the widow’s unnamed adversary, against whom she demands that the judge rule in her favour. Who is this adversary? What does the adversary want? We don’t know. We don’t even know if that person is a man or a woman; we only know that this widow has claim against someone. The judge knows, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about anyone. Not even God.
So where does this leave us? What is Jesus getting at here? Are we supposed to identify with one of the characters, and if so, is it the judge, the widow or the absent adversary? Where is Jesus going with this? What is this parable about? Justice? Unanswered prayer? The practice of prayer? Or the importance of prayer?
But of course, we know where Jesus is going with this. We are told, in verse one that this is a parable about praying always, and never giving up.
“Listen to what the unjust judge says,” Jesus tells us. Pay attention, not to what he does, but to what he says, which in this case, is to say okay to the widow’s demand. Whatever we do, we are to listen to the unjust judge. If that widow is a model for us, at least in her persistence, that judge, in his response to the widow, shows us something, too: that persistence pays off. What kind of “justice” is that widow looking for? Does it matter? She “prays” for it, and she will not stop until she gets an answer.
But isn’t it the case that sometimes our own prayers go unanswered? If it is not because God isn’t listening or doesn’t care, then why?
Why did the judge refuse, at first? We don’t know. Was it because the widow’s claim wasn’t as airtight as she would have everyone believe. Was it simply his prerogative to ignore her petition. There is a comparison with God here; it is surely God’s prerogative whether to grant our prayers, or even hear them. But Jesus’ point is that God will not use his prerogative in such a way. If even an uncaring, unjust judge will relent, so will God.
Yes, this is indeed a parable about prayer, with the purpose of encouraging us to “pray and not give up.” To whom are we praying? To God, of course. Does God sometimes seem like this judge, who is not simply “impartial,” but who just doesn’t care?
One of my commentaries remarks on this passage that Jesus is not comparing God to an unjust judge, he is contrasting God with an unjust judge. His point is, if you pester such an unjust judge relentlessly enough, he is going to give you what you want, if for no other reason than to get you off his back. God is caring. God loves us and so God will answer our prayers, and not simply as a way of shooing us away as if we were annoying insects. God will answer, but in a way that gives us what we really need. God will respond to the genuine need which lies behind our constant prayers. And what we truly need, as opposed to what we think we want, is not easy to discern — not for us, anyway. Our enthusiastic, prayerful demands are so often like that widow’s relentless demand for justice. We don’t know what it means, really. We simply want what we want because we want it. And God hears.
God hears … and God truly listens — much more closely than that unjust Judge. God hears and God knows what we do need, and more. God knows what is needed in our situation. And God will answer, but only when we are truly ready to receive.
This is another “how much more” metaphor. It is an extreme version of what, on another occasion, Jesus said about parents responding to a child’s request for a fish or an egg to eat. Remember how he said that if parents know how to give good things to their kids, how much more will God answer our prayers.
But note that Jesus is not telling us to keep nagging like the unfortunate woman. That was a cultural “accidental” in the parable. She was a widow, and widows in that culture were in an extremely precarious position. The Bible consistently ranks women among those who need special assistance; what today we call positive discrimination. There is a comparison here with the situation of women in Iran who are agitating for a justice of their own. Her only chance was to keep at the judge and give him no peace and the that is what the women of Iran are telling the Ayatollahs who are judges in that land.
In our dire need we cry to God; not because the louder we cry the more likely we are to be heard, but simply because we are in distress. In our misery it is the most natural thing to cry out for God’s help. Longer prayers, louder prayers, repetitive prayers, do not make them more effective. Quantity and volume are not some kind of bargaining chip with God.
We must say then: relentlessly nagging God does not make prayer more effective. That is not the point of the parable. The thing Jesus wants us to get is the contrast between God and the unjust judge. The “how much more” component. If anything, one prayer is faith is enough. What is challenging here is holding on to that faith. Having asked, we may have to wait with faith. Faith is trust, faith is patience. Faith is godly acceptance of how life unfolds.
The problem with this is that despite Jesus’ assurance that God will act speedily, does that fit with our experience? It does not appear to be as obvious as we would like.
The cry of the people of God is pitiful and unceasing. It pours out of millions of people. At this moment while we sit comfortably here, there are the most fervent prayers, the most agonising prayers, rising from the face of this planet. Yet for many, their prayers do not seem to be answered.
Parents cry out to God for the healing of their children.
Children pray to God for the healing of their parents.
Some beg for the restoration of broken relationships.
Prisoners of conscience, and their loved ones, pray for release.
Victims of torture are begging for a speedy death.
Thousands are praying for the overthrow of tyrants.
Millions are begging for the end of all warfare.
The dispossessed and the persecuted are crying out for justice.
Starving people are pleading for food for their little ones.
The mentally ill are begging for peace of mind.
To answer that we must recognise that what God promises in Jesus is an ultimate safety. Jesus’ own experience of faith and much prayer in this life took him through the cross and death. The answer to every prayer is that whatever our experience, God is with us. The purpose of prayer is not necessarily to change our circumstances but to affirm our faith in the goodness of God. The answer which the Cross gives is not a pretty, “neat and nice” one. But it does connect with the fundamental reality of God’s love with us now. Jesus does not give us neat answers; he gives us the assurance of Immanuel: God-with-us.
Do you remember how Jesus said that not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing its fall? It not a promise that sparrows won’t fall, but that they cannot fall without God being intimately concerned. In the same way, there is no promise that marriages will not break, that car accidents will not happen, or that cancer will not ravage a lovely person. Yet somehow, by the breath, depth and height of God’s resilient, indomitable love, these tough and tragic experiences will be worked into an ultimate vindication. So, what are we left with? You could conclude that God does not answer your prayers, or delays, and give up… or you could keep your faith alive by persistent prayer.
That persistent prayer is really about faith, not the outcome of our petitions, is emphasised by the final thing that Jesus says in this parable: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Amen.
Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession
The miserly soul is never satisfied. The generous spirit is thankful for many things. And all thanks belongs to you, Holy God.
Glory be to you for the deep mystery of our being,
and for all that sustains us hour by hour.
Glory be to you for our measure of health and strength
and the things that make each new morning a delight.
Glory be to you for the people who are around us and for us;
for their friendship and support in good times and bad.
Glory be to you for the special gifts we enjoy as Christians;
for church, Scriptures, sacraments and fellowship.
Glory be to you for the One who has made our faith possible;
for Jesus your true Son and our Brother and Saviour.
Glory be to you for his suffering love, and for his blood shed
for the healing of the world.
Glory be to you for the gifts of faith and prayer to sustain us
through this life’ arduous journey
Glory be to you for the Holy Spirit, who takes the Word of Christ
and makes it sweeter than honey in our mouths.
All thanks belongs to you, Creator, Saviour, Counsellor and Friend of your people.
God is the earth’s best Friend. Each creature has a place, each person has had a divine fortune invested in them.
Loving Friend of the poor, the neglected, the abused, and the distressed, we pray for any who on the top of such other sufferings are now feeling forsaken and without hope for tomorrow. In your mercy, God of many mercies, do not forget the needs of –
The embattled people of Ukraine,
The migrant, the child, the elderly,
the deserted wife, husband or children,
the teenage loner or the spurned parent,
the new arrival in a strange city or country,
the shy person alone in a small flat,
the political prisoner without recourse to justice,
the hospital patient without any visitors,
the dying soul with no one to sit with them,
the grief stricken with no one to comfort them.
Merciful God, send some human angels of mercy to all such people.
But most of all, by your Holy Spirit with them, draw the ache from their hearts and grant them quietness and peace. Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Amen!
Hymn 352 “O for a thousand tongues to sing”
The Benediction
May the Living Word of God be with you. May He live through you and fill your thoughts and deeds. May He fill your mouth with God’s message of love and sustain you in good times and bad. May He equip you for a ministry of peace and hope! Amen.
May God’s blessing surround you each day
Postlude: “Sing to the mountains”