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In 1999, albeit brief, I met the Dr. Ruby Bridges Hall at Connecticut College where she was endowed with an honorary doctoral degree.  While there she told the story of her life which included the story about the day she prayed for the people who taunted her as she walked towards school.  At the age of six, little Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to integrate the all-white William Fritz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Each morning, during those first few weeks, she was escorted to school by United States Marshals. Each morning she was heckled by those who believed she had no right to be there. But still she walked, up the stairs and through the doors, tall, silent, persistent.

On one particular morning Ruby’s teacher watched out the window as Ruby walked towards the school door. On this morning, unlike the other mornings, Ruby’s lips moved as she walked. The teacher believed she was saying something to the crowds. But later when asked what she had said to them, she explained that in fact she was not speaking to the people who heckled her. She went on to explain that her parents had taught her to pray and so each morning, as she rode in the car with the Marshals, she prayed to God for those who said words of hate. On that particular morning, however, as she got out of the car, she remembered she hadn’t yet said her prayers. So as she walked towards the school, flanked by Marshals and hecklers, she prayed, “Forgive them. For they do not know what do.”

Written on her heart were words of faith. Written on her heart was the truth about who God is—trustworthy and good.  Prayer – speaking and listening to God from the heart-- is rooted in our knowing who God is. It is trusting that God will always be God—loving and just.

The reality of prayer feeds and sooths the soul! We all know of a time or two when the power of prayer helped us know the reality of God’s presence in our lives and in the world. Prayer speaks to the fact that  1) that we belong to God; that we are God’s people  2) it reminds us that there are people who love us and care about our well being.  3) it shows our care and concern for one another and the other.

The practice of prayer, on the other hand, often brings with it challenge. In fact, if we were to be honest with ourselves, we would acknowledge prayer is problematic for many of us. I know that at times it is for me. Sometimes as we pray we ask ourselves, “Am I talking to God or am I talking to myself? Am I listening to God or am I listening to myself? Am I saying the right things, or doing it right?” I know when I am seeking to be contemplative, I tend to worry more about what I am not supposed to be doing than I do freeing myself to sit and simply be with God. 

Many times as we pray, we wonder if God is really listening, or even speaking for that matter. This is especially so when it appears there is no response to our petitions. We pray and pray and pray. But when our prayers do not seem to produce results, especially “our” desired results, we lose heart.  Often, instead of believing in the power of prayer, really believing that prayer can affect the quality of our lives as well as bring peace to our world, we doubt its power and effect and then lose hope. Truth be told, if we were really convinced that prayer changes things, heals broken lives and restores severed relationships, we would pray ceaselessly. Instead, when we can’t see change, or don’t experience hope, we simply lose heart.

In a sermon preached several years ago on Laity Sunday, Ruth Caldwell, the preacher, suggested when expressing concerns of the heart, rather than using that word heart-- we could in fact substitute the word focus. Through this lens, she says, we see that the word heart refers to what we think and believe.  For example, to say, “my heart is just not in it" is to say my focus is not on that thing or event. To say, “I give my heart to you" is to say you are my focus—the center of my effort.  To “take heart” is to recover one’s focus and to reenergize the energy that goes with it.  Loving God and neighbor is at the heart of Jesus’ message so when Jesus says “Love you neighbor as yourself,” it means “focus on your neighbor’s needs in the same manner in which you focus on your own.  Where you treasure is, there you will find your focus.  Suffice it to say, when we lose heart, we lose focus.

As we heard in the passage from Jeremiah, when the house of Israel and the house of Judah, exiled in Babylon, lost hope – God put a new law, a new covenant in them, and wrote it on their hearts. Homeless, tired and ready to give in, a new covenant is stitched onto the center of their hearts. In essence, God gave them a renewed focus—God gave them hope!

When early Christians became discouraged, tired of waiting for Jesus’ return; when they became anxious and suffered--tired of being persecuted as a tiny minority in the midst of a great big, powerful empire, the Gospel of Luke speaks a parable in their ear while reminding them of what God has written on their hearts. It is the story of an unjust judge and a persistent widow.

The widow went to the judge seeking justice and protection because her rights were being violated. We do not know the specifics, but it is clear she is unprotected and powerless. And yet, day after day, she kept coming and day after day, she kept after him. When the judge did not give her his attention. She simply continued to persist with her lament, relentlessly.

The Hebrew word for widow means “silent one” or “one unable to speak.” Yet, in this patriarchal Mediterranean world where men alone played a role in the public arena, this widow spoke up for herself, demanding something change in order to make her life and potentially other lives better.

She was willing to tell the judge what needed to be said whether her request was granted or not.  This was not out of arrogance or disrespect, but because in speaking her story, in speaking her truth, she remembered who, and most importantly, whose she was. Each time she petitioned the judge, she was praying to God.  And did she pray! With her whole being, her voice, her finger, her fists, the straightness of her back, the purposefulness of her thoughts, her eyes, her soul, she prayed. She prayed and did not lose focus, for the words of faith were written, etched, on her heart.  Her heart she did not lose.

Tired of her persistence, the unjust judge eventually says, “I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think, but because this woman won’t quit badgering me, I better do something and see that she gets justice, if I don’t she will wear me out by coming here again and again and day after day.  In his mind she was a nag. Eventually he quit ignoring her and granted her justice. If it were only that simple.

In reality, we don’t know how long it took for the judge to get fed up and give in, but we do know restoration and justice take time. Challenging systems and changing the heart is not an easy task. We look around and there we see a world that often looks broken, unjust and corrupt.  Too many are unnecessarily hungry and too many unnecessarily die. War is a reality and peace is still coming. Jobs are too few and housing less and less affordable. Racism and homophobia are alive and well. Access to healthcare is limited and the cost of healthcare continues to be on the rise. Genocide is raging and abuses of power by the government in places like Darfur and Myanmar is certain.  And still we pray on!

Justice and restoration for Dr. Ruby Bridges and her family and New Orleans and the whole of the Louisiana community continues to evolve slowly. The story of the Jena six reminds us so.  The pain Dr. Bridges felt all those years ago, while lessened, remains at the pit of her soul. And still she prays, in silence and out loud, hoping to not lose heart as she focuses her life on improving the quality of life for African American children in her neighborhood, while reaching out to parents across the country, encouraging them to take an active part in their children’s lives and education.

The world is not yet as God intended it to be. Yet, in the middle of our being, even as we take in all that is around us, we know the world is basically good. We know it because God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good. 

And so we pray on, always, constantly, persistently as best we are able with our whole being, trying not to lose focus, hoping not to lose heart, asking and trusting God to be God..  Don’t worry about the mechanics or your doubts and don’t be disillusioned by what seems to be your ineffective efforts. For as our daughter reminds me often, “prayer is not about making God aware of us, it is about us being aware of God.  So pray on…

Thanks be to God.  Amen.

**Portions of this sermon were inspired by:

Reflections from William Willimon
Ms Ruth Caldwell, a lay member of Amherst Congregational Church, Amherst New Hampshire
The Message by George Peterson

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