Read Luke 18-19 ~ So I love
the persistent and persuasive woman who keeps begging the judge for justice. I see her showing up in the courtroom,
silently staring at the judge from the back row. I see her waiting outside his chambers,
following him home every night and arguing her case day-after-day. I see her waiting in the morning as he is
sipping his coffee. She keeps showing up
for justice. Justice cannot be
microwaved or manufactured. Justice is
not singularly/only up to us as humans and our own will power, rather justice
is aligning ourselves with God’s work.
This is a place where we need to be careful not to assign roles in
parables. I don’t think
the unjust judge equals God. I don’t
think God needs us to pester God to get our way. God is the one who knows us better than we
know ourselves. God is the One who
continually calls us and initiates the conversation with our
souls daily. God is more like the
woman than the judge. Maybe, I
am more like an unjust judge than I care to admit or accept. Hold this.
Hold Jesus’ inviting himself over to the house of the very one seen as
an enemy. What would you do if God invited God’s self over to the house
of someone you thought/saw as unworthy?
I would think, “What in the devil is God doing?!?” And maybe that unveils the shadow side of
envy. I want God to come to my
house, not that person’s house.
I want to hoard and control God, rather than let God be
lavish/extravagant/wasteful (see Wednesday) with God’s presence. I pray you are finding places in Luke where
the Spirit is stirring and swirling, maybe even in ways you would prefer the
Spirit not move. I hope
you have found a few narratives in Luke you’d like to return to and re-read in
the days to come. I pray as we move
toward completing our third Gospel next week, you are discovering truths that
are Good News, Gospel medicine, to your soul in these days. Amen.
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