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<P><FONT size=4>But God is love, and love is not coercive. And so God never
<STRONG>imposes</STRONG> justice. Yes, God does desire justice right now. And so
God's immediate response is that justice be done - and done right now. But
because God works only through the willing cooperation of human hearts and
minds, actual justice comes at the speed of changed hearts, minds, and
behaviour. And - sadly - we all know how fast that is.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>The moral of the story is <STRONG>NOT</STRONG> about the judge
finally responding. The moral is about the widow's persistence for justice
during the long period of the judge not responding and giving no indication that
he ever would.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>And note that this is <STRONG>NOT</STRONG> a parable justifying
being persistently pig-headed and stubborn. The widow's persistence is praised
because it is persistence for <STRONG>JUSTICE.</STRONG> </FONT></P>
<P><A
href="http://www.holytextures.com/2010/10/luke-18-1-8-year-c-pentecost-october-16-october-22-proper-24-ordinary-time-29-sermon.html"><FONT
size=4>http://www.holytextures.com/2010/10/luke-18-1-8-year-c-pentecost-october-16-october-22-proper-24-ordinary-time-29-sermon.html</FONT></A></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Ewart, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>God does not care about the "justice" of the poor widow's
case, or, for that matter, the justice of <SPAN
style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">anyone's</SPAN> case. Whether you
deserve heaven, or a good swift kick in the keister, is completely
irrelevant. God settles all these cases not on the basis of who deserves
what, but on the basis of the death and resurrection of his son. </FONT>
<P dir=ltr><FONT size=4>Let anyone think they have a just cause, the real truth
is that we are all losers. As Martin Luther said on his deathbed, "We are
all truly beggars." In our winner-take-all world, we see this as bad
news. In God's world, however, this is <SPAN
style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">good</SPAN> news--good news precisely
because "the Son of Humanity came to seek and save the lost
(19:10)." </FONT></P>
<P dir=ltr><FONT size=4>God raises the dead without regard to the "justice" of
anyone's case. We are all lost and dead in our sins, but God's "justice"
is the "justification" of sinners. God judges all on the basis of the
cross and resurrection of his Son. There are no other
considerations. </FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/10/lectionary-blogging-luke-18-1-8.html">http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/10/lectionary-blogging-luke-18-1-8.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Petty, 2010 </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...know one thing. This is not about nagging prayer or an
unwilling God, it is about a God who bears the suffering of people with them.
<P>I think I speak for most of us from Western Christian backgrounds when I say,
“<EM>We would like to have all our problems fixed quickly.</EM>” It may even be
one of the main reasons we pray at all. Prayer thus becomes what one Textweek
blogger recently referred to as , “<EM>a process of giving God a ‘to-do’
list</EM>” That is not what Jesus understood by prayer.</P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><EM>In Jesus day:<BR></DIV></EM>
<UL sizset="2" sizcache="5">
<LI><EM>Unmarried women were not allowed to leave the home of their
father.<BR></EM>
<LI><EM>Married women were not allowed to leave the home of their
husband.<BR></EM>
<LI><EM>They were normally restricted to roles of little or no
authority.<BR></EM>
<LI><EM>They could not testify in court.<BR></EM>
<LI><EM>They could not appear in public venues.<BR></EM>
<LI><EM>They were not allowed to talk to strangers.<BR></EM>
<LI sizset="2" sizcache="5"><EM>They had to be doubly veiled when they left
their homes</EM>.” <FONT color=#7f1d1d><A
href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/ofe_bibl.htm">http://www.religioustolerance.org/ofe_bibl.htm</A></FONT></LI></UL></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://thelisteninghermit.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/why-god-doesn’t/">http://thelisteninghermit.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/why-god-doesn’t/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Peter Woods, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...what is it I want? I think I want, if not a moratorium, as
least greater caution in labeling our positions as matters of justice from the
pulpit. (And, for the record, I'd also caution against too quickly labeling one
side of an argument a matter of "principle" or "morality" for the same reasons.)
Because whenever we use those labels we rule one group of Christians and the
views they hold immediately out of bounds, shut down conversation, and divide
the Body of Christ.<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=415">http://www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=415</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Lose</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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