“Minding our P’s and Q’s”….. I imagine some of you are wondering; what exactly does he mean by P’s and Q’s? Looking up the meaning of the phrase I discovered that it is probably English in origin and related to pints and quarts at an English pub. It was important that the bar keep not short the patrons on the amount of beer they ordered so minding your P’s and Q’s became a phrase for keeping someone honest, that they would deliver as promised. I have amended the P’s and Q’s a bit to stand for Prayer and Quiet, actions that we too are to be honest about and that we should incorporate into our lives as Christ Followers. I invite you to please sit back, open yourself up and see what God would reveal to us this morning. Listen for places where minding our P’s and Q’s, praying our prayer persistently and actively listening in the quiet, leads us closer to God.

In this second letter to Timothy that Hannah read for you we have Paul letting him know that there is nothing like the Word of God for showing the way to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Every part of the Word is God breathed and useful one way or another.

The scripture shows us the truth. It points out where we hesitate. It corrects our mistakes and trains us on how to live as God would have us live. All of this training shapes us to accomplish the tasks God has for us.

Paul goes on to caution that we remain aware that God watches over us, that he is our judge in life. We are to be watchful and urge everyone who will listen, do not quit ! Just keep it simple. Follow the word. It is all laid out here for us to be Christ Followers.

Paul cautions further that there will be times when people will have no desire for solid teaching but fill up on spiritual junk food, something that strikes you or tickles your fancy at the moment. They turn their backs on the truth, but grasp instead, as a way to understand, what turns out to be a mere mirage.

What God reveals is that being a Christian is not easy. There are no easy answers. Some folks sell Jesus as the simple answer to all the problems of life. There is even a popular bumper sticker that reads, “Jesus is the Answer.” I believe it is just the opposite. Jesus is the problem. Yes I know Jesus and Problem don’t fit in our minds but His teachings and his actions cause us counter cultural problems when we realize that is how we are to live to be Christ Followers. If it were not for Jesus I would spend all my money on myself, probably on empty, useless things. If it were not for Jesus I could pass a homeless person on the street and convince myself that they are too lazy to work. If it were not for Jesus, I could spend my time doing things for me instead of sharing in the needs of others. If it were not for Jesus I could just come to church on Sunday sit in my spot and wait to be entertained not realizing I also needed to participate with my time, talent and treasure in this faith community. If it weren’t for Jesus I wouldn’t think to visit the sick or homebound or stay with a friend who just needs to talk

You see, Paul does not try to sell us a miracle potion that will make life suddenly an effortless journey. Instead, he shares with Timothy about having a fulfilled life, a life complete with meaning and truth. This life is not a breeze, but quite worth the journey. To struggle daily with being a disciple of Christ may not be the easiest way to live, but it is the way that will make a difference both now and for eternity.

So we see that Paul instructs Timothy that the truth is to be found in the Word. Answers are revealed to us when we make reading the bible a part of our daily devotions. Through prayer and listening in the quiet God trains us in the Way. Lets see what truth God wants us to take from reading and examining this second reading. It is a parable entitled The Unjust Judge and the Widow. Parables are these wonderful stories, teaching tools for us, that Jesus told while here among us in God’s Kingdom. Through his parables Jesus disturbed the comfortable and comforted the disturbed. These are stories that would seem to point to an obvious conclusion, but then jolt us by an unexpected ending. Through parables, Jesus upsets us by challenging conventional wisdom. He so upset the leadership of his time by his stories that they eventually had him eliminated by crucifixion.

The parable in today’s gospel is particularly intriguing. It is introduced as a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. It tells about an unjust judge who had neither fear of God nor respect for people. This judge is someone who cares only about himself , his success, and money. He doesn’t care about the homeless or widows or anyone else in the shadows of life who are God’s children and who need an advocate and helper who sees their plight and feels compassion. This judge worried about how he was publically perceived and wanted respect because of his title and not by his actions. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!” For a long time he refused but at last he said to himself, “maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for people, but since she keeps on pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worrying me to death.” The widow was an inconvenience that needed to be handled so that she would stop pestering him.

It could be interpreted that the unjust judge heard the widow because of her persistence, annoyance really, and not because of the merits of her case, so too God will hear us if we persist in our requests; That if we pray long enough and hard enough and keep at it God will hear our pleas and grant us our petition.

But I don’t agree with that. It seems odd to me that God would act like the unjust judge promoting an understanding that prayer is answered because of nagging God into action without any concern for the heart of the petitioner or the content of the prayer itself. God always identifies with the widow and the orphan, with the marginalized and the sick. The unjust judge cares only for self when God is unconditionally selfless. These observations are not meant to confuse us but rather they invite us to consider looking at the Parable, this teaching story, from another vantage point and find the true meaning in the unexpected.

Think for a moment that we ourselves are the unjust judge who neither fear God nor respect people. We are dominated by our egos and generally are looking for what is in it for us. We are really stubborn in our self seeking. We don’t care about anyone else and scrape and claw our way to recognition and temporal fame thinking that will solve that lonely ache in our heart, the feeling that for all we have we still are lost, unloved and self absorbed. In a phrase we simply lose heart.
If we really believed in the power of prayer, if we spent time in quiet listening, if we really believed that prayer can affect world peace, if we were truly convinced that prayer changes things, heals broken lives and restores severed relationships, then we would be praying constantly. You couldn’t keep us from praying. But isn’t the problem with prayer the one that Jesus addresses here? We simply lose heart. We don’t have the time, We fear the quiet , because we might have to face the truth.

But the good news is God is the widow in the parable. God is persistent in love for us. God is the one who wears us down, by persistently pursuing us in love. Eventually, we yield and let God enter our lives and guide us to do the right thing. In this interpretation we see God as persistent in trying to break down our lonely ego centric defenses. We see prayer as allowing this pursuing God to enter our lives and challenge us to listen in the quiet for His call to change our self destructive behavior and not lose heart by living by faith and in love.

Think of prayer, not as asking God to do this or that for us, but rather as asking God to be God, to be who God is.
When as a child you suffered some injustice, received some blow from life, what did your mother say? She attempted to comfort you. “There, there, she said. “It’s all right.” What did she mean when she said that? She didn’t mean that your pain was silly, for why would she comfort you if you were not in real pain? She did not mean that everything is going to be all right in that moment. You know enough of life to know that often things don’t work out all right.
What she meant was that finally, ultimately, in the larger picture, the world is structured in such a way that things will be right. Pain does not last forever. Even the worst set-backs can be integrated into life and you go on. In other words, when she said, “There, there, everything will be all right,” she was making a statement of faith about the ultimate character of the world.
This parable is a story, not so much about the efficacy of prayer, but about the character of God, the trustworthiness of God. The judge revealed his sleaziness. God reveals God’s goodness.
There will be in each of our lives a problem that knocks us down. The choices are when it strikes, some will say, "Why did God do this?" and others will say, "How will God use this?" The widow in the parable said how will God use this? I don't know, but I am going to keep going. I am going to keep trying. I don't care how many odds are stacked against me, I am going to persist in my quest.

At the end of the parable Jesus asks; how much of this kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on earth when he returns? This is a very serious question. We have been asked to pray without ceasing, so that we tap into God’s love and live as true disciples in his kingdom here. We have also seen that we can be self centered and easily lose heart since God does not answer prayers the way we want him to or at the time we necessarily expect. We are heard but it’s in God’s time and God’s way. Some might say I am only human, the struggle here on earth is tough. I have to juggle family, work, church, school, sports, chores, and relationships. It can be and is overwhelming. We look at the calendar and realize that 2007 is almost gone. Where does the time go? We massage the back of our necks where the nerves are so tight and knotted we feel frazzled and lost. We think of Jesus’ question that asks how many will I find who have remained faithful upon my return? Yikes ! I can’t keep my head above water as it is, the last thing I need to worry about is Jesus’ return and remaining faithful. I think though this is the very thing we do need to think about. God has promised that to those who remain faithful He will be with them. If God is with us than we can accomplish anything. When we literally surrender it all to God through prayer and faithfulness and in listening in the quiet, minding our P’s and Q’s we live. We live this human life anew in Christ. God loves us and we must remain faithful and rest in his love. He hears us and wants us to hear his answers.

Following Christ is counter cultural . It is not anything we would expect because in remaining faithful we let God lead. We remain open and vulnerable to where we go and who we meet realizing that each minute is God’s. He has planned it, he knows what he needs from us to fulfill his will and we are the instruments he uses while here on earth. Not following Christ though is like the unjust judge who thinks only of self and earthly glory asking questions like; But what about me? I have to take care of numero uno , If I don’t protect myself who will? This is where we often lose heart. In a society that breeds being number 1 and living only for self it is hard to remain faithful. It is hard to care about others more than self. It is just plain hard! That was Jesus’ point in asking the question. How many will I find who are faithful. His answer for living is in the question. To those who remain faithful like the widow through all the trials and tribulations, who still trust God more than self and through giving and receiving the unconditional love that led Christ and all our fellow saints and martyrs to pray and listen in the quiet for God minding their P’s and Q’s, they literally have life, they remain whole and pure because they love and are faithful to GOD. It is not easy, nor does it always make human sense BUT it is God’s way and His desire, for our way to life in God’s kingdom here on Earth. Jesus asks: How many will I find who are faithful when I return? May it be so for us all.

Let us pray. "Lord, we ask that you would help us to see again your greatness and your mercy, the extent to which you suffered for us, the extent to which you were victorious so that we might have life. So that we might know your great love and remain faithful for the day you return, So that we might start a new life. Help us Lord not to quit. Help us to mind our P’s and Q’s. Help us in reading the sacred Word to find answers. I pray for each person in this room who wants to throw in the towel. I would ask that you would come to them now. Wrap your loving arms around them, take them by the hand and lead them step by step. Revive their souls and help them to know that you are greater than any struggle and that you Word contains the Truth that can help us in seeking you and your path.. We pray for all this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."