Sermon for Oct 19, 2025

Premier Doug Ford and some of his staff were flying over the Greenbelt in a small plane when, looking down upon miles after miles of farmer’s fields, the Premier mused "You know, we could crack open a window, drop out a $20 bill and make some farmer very happy." The staffers all laughed at his joke, except for one cynical old guy at the back of the plane, who leaned over and whispered to the person next to him "Or we could open a door, drop his butt out, and make everybody in the province happy!"

Humour plays an important role in our society, and in our politics, and I think it’s always been this way. From jesters in king’s courts, poking fun at king’s vices, to political cartoons inspiring thought, to the fascinating developments in late night talk shows, engaging the issues of the day with a clever whit can open us up to see things we might’ve missed. Political powers recognize this, that’s why they’ve been trying to shut up comedians like Stephen Colbert, John Stewart, and Jimmy Kimmel. I’m very interested to see how these ‘giants of late night’ work together to expose the destructive ideologies and practices in their country.

We probably don’t think of Jesus as a comedian, but I think he does use humour at times in a winsome way to get his point across. Take today’s gospel as an example. Jesus is providing an unusual example of faithfulness. He describes a widow, a ‘persistent’ widow…someone most people today would readily characterize as a ‘bitch.’ She approaches this man in power, the judge, who we are told, who likely takes advantage of his position for his own benefit (Jesus calls him an ‘unjust’ judge); and over and again he’d deny her request for justice.  Jesus doesn’t expand a lot on this detail, but the language used by the judge gives us an indication of just how bothersome this woman was to him. 

He laments, “because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming…” ‘Wear me out’ is actually a very soft translation of the original text.  It literally means, ‘she will give me a black eye’ by her efforts.  A black eye.  Like from a fight: a barroom brawl or boxing match. This man in power was intimidated by this poor little widow, by someone with little rights and fewer resources at her disposal. It is likely Jesus audience laughed or at least snickered at this image.

In our culture we’d call this woman militant, pushy or bossy, for she would not be denied. If she was a man in our society, we’d probably applaud her persistence and assertiveness. But most often in our culture, and certainly in her own, she would have been deemed to be acting without what might be called feminine grace and politeness. 

Jesus’ parable might remind his audience of the story of Jacob’s wrestling all night with the mysterious being. Jacob’s story is more typically praised: he’s a man, he uses brute strength and tenacity to overcome his opponent. He is even renamed ‘Israel’ – which means, one who strives with God and man.

The widow, like all women who behave in such a way, was much less likely to be held up as an example to emulate. That’s the joke. In this world, it is too common that men are praised for being tenacious leaders, assertive, and courageous – where women, behaving in the same way, are labelled as abrasive, bossy, or even bitchy. Have you ever noticed how the media reports about women in politics? Have you ever wondered why American women in politics are named by their first names: Hilary, Michelle, Kamala, where their male counterparts are known by their last names? Another little example to consider: We have a certain type of women labelled as ‘Karens’ – are you familiar with that? Is there a male equivalent? Oh you know, that guy, he’s such a Don, isn’t he?

I think there is at least some of this in many people’s attitudes toward Greta Thundberg – the young Swedish neurodivergent social activist. Recently she was in the news for being arrested by Israeli soldiers while attempting to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza. After her release, she reported, “They hit and kicked me…and threw an Israeli flag over me to humiliate me…then they ripped my frog hat off, threw it on the ground, stomped and kicked it and kind of had a tantrum,” she said. Thunberg alleges her hands were cable-tied and the soldiers took selfies with her as background as her belongings were slowly cut up with knives. During their captivity, Thunberg claimed jail guards frequently threatened to “gas” the activists in their cells. Thunberg added she was isolated in her own cell, which was infested with insects.

Israeli officials deny this happened, and Swedish authorities have declined to comment. My first impulse was to believe her testimony, why wouldn’t I? Then part of me wondered, ‘Well, maybe she’s exaggerating to further her cause…if it was this bad, why wouldn’t her government say something?’ Then I have to give my head a bit of a shake. Would I be more inclined to believe a man giving such testimony? Would I even question it if it came from a prominent male journalist or celebrity?

I’m not sure that I would – but, I have to at least stop and recognize that I still have some bias. The work of considering my own bias is ongoing – I must be persistent in considering my prejudices and preconceptions. I must also listen carefully to those voices I might want to dismiss because they are uncomfortable or off-putting to listen to. If I don’t understand the angry tone of these voices, instead of looking away, can I consider that generally underneath anger lays a wound? Are these pesky and abrasive people responding out of deep pain? What is the source of that pain? I think that’s my first takeaway from today’s gospel: We need to listen more to the ‘abrasive widows’ in our world.

I think my second takeaway comes from the fact that Jesus holds up this widow as an example of faithfulness. In other words, we need to be resilient and persistent in the pursuit of justice, we cannot let the indifferent, or malevolent, in power have the final say. Evil can be overcome. The problems in our world are great, too much for a single person to tackle, right? Does that stop us from doing what we can? I think sometimes those at the top of oppressive power systems want you and I to think that the problems are simply too big for us to handle so that we don’t even try. Perhaps you’ve seen images from the ‘No Kings’ protests held across the US and Europe yesterday. (Elvis pic – only one king). These kinds of activities might not appear to be changing things, but they send an important message to corrupt leaders, and maybe more importantly, they can inspire those staying on the sidelines to become persistent widows.

Lastly, Prayer is primary in this work. I love the wedding of prayer and social action in this parable. Jesus is providing an example of how we are to pray, but in that example that prayer shows itself in concrete social action. Some years ago I heard someone talk about the importance of not just praying for change, but be willing to be that change. Don’t just pray for the hurting to be comforted, be the answer to your own prayer by going to them to offer them care and compassion. Be the change you want to see in the world, said Ghandi. In that vain, be the answer to prayers you pray.

Meeting today – how can we make an impact in our community as a church?

Fight the good fight with all thy might!Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right;Lay hold on life, and it shall beThy joy and crown eternally.

Run the straight race through God's good grace,Lift up thine eyes, and seek His face;Life with its way before us lies,Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.

Cast care aside, lean on thy Guide;His boundless mercy will provide;Trust, and thy trusting soul shall proveChrist is its life, and Christ its love.

Faint not nor fear, His arms are near,He changeth not, and thou art dear;Only believe, and thou shalt seeThat Christ is all in all to thee.