Stupid Things Jesus Told Us to Do!

“Then Jesus told them a joke about their need to pray always and not to lose heart…” (Luke 18:1)

You’ll forgive me, I hope, for translating the Greek word ‘parabole’ here as ‘joke’, but I do believe Jesus was being tongue-in-cheek when he told this story.

I’m not the first to think so. John Dominic Crossan, cofounder of ‘the Jesus Seminar’, suggested that many of Jesus’ stories were intended as jokes—not merely because they were funny, but because they were subversive, surprising, and disruptive, as the best humour is. Like many jokes, this one begins with a clash of opposites:

Did you hear the one about the three conspiracy theorists who walked into a bar at the same time? Don’t tell me that was a coincidence!
Did you hear the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector who turned up at the Temple at the same time to pray? Actually… that’s next week’s joke.
Did you hear the one about the “judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people”? Well … “In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my accuser.’” (Luke 18:2-3)

Luke tells us this story is about praying and not giving up. We can imagine possible punchlines. Perhaps the judge will be moved by the widow’s faithfulness and find his moral compass? Perhaps a higher authority will intervene? No. The judge says:

“Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out…” (Luke 18:4–5)

That’s probably the funniest punchline unless you’re reading this as an allegory, where God is the judge. In that case, it’s dark humour indeed. Still, the point stands: DON’T GIVE UP! Even corrupt judges get worn down. “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7)

It’s meant to be a rhetorical question. Of course God won’t delay! Yet, as all of us know, so many of our prayers do seem to go unanswered.

I think of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, praying daily for an end to the carnage. There’s supposed to be a ceasefire now, I know, but check the timestamp. The slaughter may have resumed by the time you’re reading this.

There is no end in sight for the people of Gaza, and it’s not much different for so many I’m praying for—from my dear brother, Dr Hassoun, still being tortured in Syria, to the relatively minor but still heartbreaking struggles within my own family. Every day I pray, yet I never see a resolution. No justice. No answers. Was Jesus joking?

Years ago, I read Steven Pressfield’s ‘Do the Work’, which suggested that stupidity and stubbornness are our two greatest assets. We prefer to label these as qualities of daring and persistence (or similar high-sounding terms), but let’s name them plainly, he says. Stupidity and stubbornness are at the heart of discipleship too.

Jesus tells us to do a lot of stupid things. What sense does it make to sell your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor when you’ll make yourself poor in the process (Luke 12:33)? What sense does it make to lose your life in order to save it (Luke 9:24)? What sense does it make to keep praying and working and hoping when all of reality screams at you that things are never going to get any better?!

I’ve earned quite a few black belts in the martial arts. Though I didn’t grade that far in Aikido, I did train in the art for some years, and I remember students describing to me a fourth-degree grading in Japan that they’d attended which climaxed with the initiate wrestling four opponents simultaneously. Eventually, they said, he was completely pinned down, with one opponent on each limb. But the students said admiringly, “His teeth were still gnashing.”

That’s faith!

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

I do believe in the coming of justice, despite what I see.

I believe that Palestine will be free—from the river to the sea.
I believe that Dr Hassoun will soon be released—one way or another.
I believe that my family will one day be bound together in love.
And I believe that the days will come when:

“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat…
The infant will play near the cobra’s den…
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6–9)

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? …
I tell you; he will grant justice to them quickly.” (Luke 18:7–8)

Our Sunday Eucharist

We enjoyed another wonderful Sunday Eucharist last weekend. A special thank you to Brynn Rees, who made his first appearance on the panel last week, alongside Andrew Logan and myself. it was a great session, and if you scroll down to the end of this missive, you’ll find the full replay of our discussion of Jeremiah 29. Directly below, though, you’ll find the two most popular shorts from our time together.

As ever, you can see all the shorts from last Sunday on our Sunday Eucharist Instagram page and watch all our broadcasts on our YouTube channel.

This coming Sunday I have THREE special guests joining me on the panel!

Rev. John Jegasothy is an old friend, and it’s always good to have him with us. Pastor Eric Fistler is making his third appearance on the panel, and I am looking forward to having him back. The third special guest is … (wait for it) … AI Saint Paul!

AI Saint Paul is (as you may guess) an AI character. I’ve been working on him for some time with my Pakistani co-worker, Muhammad Abdullah, and with my old web master, Jim. It’s a work in progress, but we thought it time he made an appearance.

There’s a pic of AI Saint Paul below. The pic was generated by AI too (no surprises there). When I asked AI Saint Paul how he wants to be introduced, he suggested “your friendly neighbourhood AI Saint Paul”. I’ll be keen to hear what you think.

AI Saint Paul is aware that he is not the real Saint Paul, but he does claim to be an expert in all of the Apostle Paul’s writings. I’m looking forward to seeing how he stacks up against John and Eric. In my preliminary conversations with him about Paul’s epistles, i’ve found him more than a match!

We begin. as usual, on Sunday at midday, Sydney time, but don’t forget we are on Daylight Savings time. Please invite your friends by referring them to the Facebook Event Page or the Streamyard event page and join us via TheSundayEucharist.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia and Streamyard.

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What’s On?

Sunday, October 19 – Our Eucharist from noon @thesundayeucharist.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard
Tuesday, October 21 – Boxing at the Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
Thursday, October 23 – Online Bible study group meeting from noon @ www.thesundayeucharist.com/bible
Thursday, October 23 – Boxing at the Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm
Saturday, October 25 – Boxing at Legends Gym in Kensington from 3 pm.

I conclude on a sad note. As of today, the global Anglican Communion is no more!

The Anglican Communion formally began in 1867 with the first Lambeth Conference. It ended yesterday with the announcement by GAFCON (the Global Anglican Future Conference) that they no longer recognise the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Church of England. GAFCON has now renamed itself the Global Anglican Communion, asserting, “We have not left the Anglican Communion; we are the Anglican Communion.”

In terms of raw numbers, this is hard to deny. It is thought that worldwide, roughly 75% of active Anglican churchgoers are part of the new communion, the majority of whom are African. Africa is home to more than 60 million Anglicans, representing over 60% of the global Anglican population (which is estimated at around 100 million). Africa is now the spiritual and demographic heart of global Anglicanism.

I won’t go into the reasons for the split beyond saying that the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury was a red line for many GAFCON leaders. The issue seems to have been not only her gender but, equally, her support for same-sex marriage and abortion rights. Watch this 7-minute video for more info.

What this will mean for me personally, as an Anglican priest, is hard to say at this stage, but it saddens me. I have always believed that the real substance of the church is at the grassroots with ordinary people rather than amongst bishops, popes and prelates. Even so, one of the things I always loved about Anglicanism was the ideal of comprehensiveness – that it was possible for people with a variety of different beliefs to still live in love and communion with each other.

And so we have one more relationship breakdown to add to the prayer list. We wait and we pray, believing that justice and peace will come, and come quickly!

Your brother in the Good Fight,