“APPEAL INCESSANTLY”

 22nd Sunday after Pentecost 

It happens at every criminal sentencing. After a criminal defendant has been convicted of the
crime they were accused of, and after the judge pronounces the sentence, one final right is administered
to the guilty – the right to appeal! An appeal takes place when the criminal defendant, or the defense
attorney representing them, makes a legitimate argument that, in the transcript of the case, the judge
made an error, either by overlooking necessary evidence, or by rendering a judgment that is contrary to
the laws of state and country.
The appeal process is important to the court system in our country, because it helps to ensure that
proper justice is administered, and that every citizen has had the opportunity to have a fair day in court.
And if a person is convinced that they were not treated fairly according to the law, they have the right to
appeal – first to the judge who made the judgment in the first place, then to the circuit court, then the
Michigan Court of Appeals, then the district court (in Cincinnati), then the Michigan State Supreme Court,
and then finally, if it gets that far, a case can be taken all the way to the United States Supreme Court. And
while that may seem to be an annoyance that someone make numerous appeals to the ladder of justice,
the right to appeal is in place, and the ladder of appeals is in place so that justice is served – the ultimate
goal of our court system.
Prayer is the way that Christians make appeals to the Supreme Judge - God. In the parable today
from Luke 18, we’re going to learn two reasons why persistent prayer is a necessary part of the Christian
life and character, and why we should never give up praying. First, the judge must hear us. He must
listen to our appeals, not because he is bound by civil law, but because he is bound by his revealed
character. He has promised to lend his ear to our prayers, and he must be faithful to that reputation.
Secondly, the Superior Judge must be just and fair. There is no reason for us to ever think or believe that
God will deal with us in an unjust way, that he will go against his Word, or against his reputation. When
he speaks, he acts. When he promises, he fulfills. He will be just. He will be fair, punishing the wicked
and offering mercy and compassion to the downtrodden sinner in the way that he chooses and in the
time that he chooses, whether from our perspective it is quick, or long-suffering.
With those thoughts in mind, now, we encourage one another to appeal incessantly! Pray
persistently, because the judge must give us a fair hearing, and because the judge must give us a fair
judgment!

I. The Judge must give us a fair hearing!

The parable itself, which is unique to the gospel of Luke, offers a basic point of instruction for the
disciples and for us: We should never give up praying. Always be confident to make your appeals to God
for yourselves and others, because the Judge must listen to you! Jesus illustrates that central point this
way: “2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 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 about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she
won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”
In the court system here in the State of Michigan, and throughout our country, if someone is
convicted of a crime and if they did NOT plead guilty, at their sentencing, the judge will read the rights of
the convicted, and give them the necessary paperwork to bring the case to appeal. An appeal can be
granted for any number of reasons, but, so as not to beleaguer the point, all of the reasons have to do with
a perceived injustice on the part of the convicted. One of the wonderful aspects of our system of justice,
though, is that, if someone does feel that they have been treated unfairly, if they think that justice has not
been served, or that something unlawful has taken place in the courtroom, not only can they appeal, their
case MUST be reviewed by the next higher court. If there is still a feeling that justice has not been
properly served, the appeal process can go all the way to the State Supreme Court, and, if need be, the U.S.
Supreme Court, given the right circumstances.
In the parable, there are two central characters, the judge and the widow, both of which step out of
the expectations of society. What is expected of the judge? Quite simply, even if he has no regard for the
Word of God, that he will at least have a shred of moral fortitude. He doesn’t. He ignores the poor widow.
What do we expect of the widow, probably to simply go away and not be heard from again. She doesn’t!
She pesters! She hounds! She appeals and appeals and appeals until the judge finally has to say: “OK, I
will see that she gets justice, lest by her appeals she gives me a black eye!”
He had to listen to her! Even though he wished that she would just go away, even though she was
annoying, his reputation demanded that he listen to her appeal and offer appropriate justice, even though
he neither was a believer, nor really cared about his fellow man, and really didn’t care about this widow
specifically. His reputation as a judge was at stake. He had to listen. Her case had to be reviewed.
In the same way, God must be true to his reputation, and faithful to his promises. He must listen to
our appeals, not because he is legally bound, but because he is bound by his revealed character and Word,
in which he tells us not only to pray, and to do so persistently, but that, when we do, he will listen
carefully: “Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will honor me,” our God
promises in Psalm 50:15,
But, as one of our prayers so adequately confesses, God is always more ready to listen than we are
to pray! What a privilege we have, a great right we have as Christians to pray, to make appeals to our
Supreme Judge, not just for ourselves, but for others as well, and for the well-being of our world and the
Christian Church, and we just don’t make use of that right as often as we can! How foolish it would be if a
criminal defendant was convicted of a crime they did not commit and they did not make use of their right
to appeal to a higher court. If a convict perceives that an injustice has taken place, they have every right
to appeal and appeal and appeal until justice is finally served either in their favor or to their detriment.
Either way, the courts MUST listen!
And so does God – the Supreme Justice of the Universe! If the unjust judge of the parable finally
must turn his ear to the widow’s request for appeal, however reluctantly, then how much more will the
just Judge turn his ear willingly to your prayers and requests, to your appeals for his mercy? Appeal to
him incessantly, continually, repeatedly. Don’t give up on the power of prayer, on that privilege that is
granted to you by faith. Make use of your Christian right to have audience with the Divine Majesty, ever
confident that he MUST listen, because our Supreme Judge is bound, not by civil law, but by revealed
righteousness and word, and he will be true to his reputation. Balaam’s Oracle in Numbers 23 asks the
rhetorical questions: “Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
 II. The Judge must give us fair justice!

It’s that element of reputation that really drives us to pray for this second reason – that when we
make our appeals to God in prayer, we do so always based on his reputation of mercy and compassion, as
a God who will always have divine justice prevail. Jesus’ explanation of his own parable sets that point
before us: “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.
The unjust judge of the parable not only has to hear the widow, he has to grant her the justice she
is seeking because his reputation depends on it. And since this is a parable that argues from the lesser to
the greater, here’s the point: if the unjust judge MUST give fair justice even to the poor widow, how much
more will our God, the perfect Judge, willingly grant mercy and compassion to those who make an appeal
to him for it? If the unjust judge must provide both relief and vindication to the persistent widow, how
much more will the God of all grace give relief and vindication for the ones who cry out to him in faith, in
prayer?
But we are so reluctant! Certainly one of the reasons that our prayer lives become stale is when
we don’t believe that God is listening. Another reason is the thought that God isn’t going to act, that he’s
not going to do anything, that we’ll end up having to figure out everything for ourselves, that we’ll have to
bear our burdens alone, that we’ll have to bear our crosses by ourselves and that God is on some far-away
cloud somewhere totally disconnected from life, disconnected from you, disconnected from the burdens
that come from living in a world of sin, pain and despair.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Look at his reputation – the Supreme Judge. Is he not a
God of action? Is he not a God who provided relief for you by exonerating you, by punishing his Son
instead of you? This is not a God who is far off, inaccessible, inapproachable. The Lord is a God who
actively sought and achieved your acquittal, your freedom, and remains near to you in Word and
sacrament so that we are ever confident that justice has been served for our sins. He is not just a fair
judge, he is a gracious judge, who did the unthinkable for us - punished the innocent, Jesus Christ, so that
we could be set free.
Wouldn’t you expect him, then to treat you fairly with every other appeal you bring to him in
prayer? Romans 8:32 tells us: “32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will
he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” No appeal is too small, no appeal is too big. No
appeal is too light a matter. No appeal too weighty. The Lord will hear them all and attend to them all.
And just like the Michigan State Court of Appeals, sometimes your appeals will be granted quickly and
with a resounding “YES”, sometimes not. Don’t give up. Don’t give up on prayer. Know that your Savior-
God who has secured for you a place in heaven will attend to your every need, your every request, your
every petition until he brings you there. That’s what he promises. And he will fulfill it.
So, make your appeals. Pray with confidence and continuity. And like the persistent widow, know
that when it comes to appeals, persistence does pay off! Amen.