Law and (dis)order — Never stop praying

A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Anglican Church, Summerland BC on Sunday, October 19th, 2025 — Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost y the Very Rev. Ken Gray

Kathie and I love watching TV legal dramas. It’s where I can channel my inner lawyer. She can speak to her favourites, but here are my top three.

1) Perry Mason, which I watched as a kid sort of understanding what was going. Based on the novels by Earle Stanley Gardner. Mason is a fictional criminal defense lawyer in 1950s Los Angeles who effectively defends a client accused of a murder they did not commit. Typically, Mason establishes his client’s innocence by finding the real murderer who often is in the courtroom at the time. Mason was played by Canadian Raymond Burr who grew up in New Westminster.

2) Law and Order, a formulaic New York City based series that divides its time between the investigation of various crimes with courtroom discernment. I prefer the earlier series before derivatives focused on more salubrious investigations. There is a Canadian Law and Order generation based in Toronto that I have not yet seen which sounds interesting. A victim thrown off the CN tower — great stuff. Who did it? Mark Carney?

3) My favourite courtroom drama by far is a lesser known English series, Kavanagh QC. Played by the late John Thaw (of Morse fame) Kavanagh is usually seen defending a client who seems likely to be convicted until a twist in the case occurs. The main plot often features Kavanagh confronting cases with a subtext of racism, sexism or other prejudice. The stories are cleverly conceived; the acting appropriately dramatic and stylishly presented; the twists and turns are often unpredictable and unexpected. And yes, he  personal life too.

Some might suggest that courtrooms and drama are a poor combination. Through much of her ordained ministry, my colleague, the Rev. Katherine Hough combined her priestly ministry with duties as a lawyer with the BC Prosecution Service. She often says that arguments and summations, especially before a jury, are by definition, dramatic. A good performance sometimes tops legal procedure or precedent.

We don’t know where or in what context today’s gospel legal drama unfolds. Maybe the annoying pest of a woman knows where the corrupt judge lives and which door to bang on; possibly they meet at the checkout at the food store; maybe she stands up, repeatedly, at the local assize. She seeks justice for herself against an opponent, over, and over, and over again, a constant nagging, an unwillingness to let the matter go, refusing to accept that as a woman in a patriarchal society that her voice was muted if nor outrightly ignored. She knows the facts; she demands — the very word is significant — justice from a corrupt judge who finally caves in and grants her wish. At last, now he can get a good night’s sleep.

We can rightly ask: Would a just judge deliver a similar outcome? I would hope so, though possibly, a corrupt system could not supply an incorruptible arbiter. The emphasis in our story is not the judge himself though he faces a dilemma. The focus is on the woman’s advocacy, her strident zeal to see justice done so she can get on with her life. She will not give up, nor should she. Franciscan nun, Colleen Fulmer, set this story to song back in the 1980s, a time where many activists provided support and a welcome to what we now describe as “undocumented workers.” It was an era of concern about nuclear war and about economic abuse through structural adjustment policies which benefited the lender less than the borrowing country. She sings:

The widow woman’s comin’
Bangin’ on my door
Says she wants to see me,
But she’s been here before
Says she wants . . .

JUSTICE FOR ALL PEOPLE,
PEACE IN EVERY LAND.
FOOD TO FEED HER CHILDREN,
FREEDOM JUST TO STAND.
WITH NO MORE FEAR OF DEADLY WEAPONS,
CORPORATE STRUCTURED PLANS
AND NO MORE WAR.

Her song, and Jesus parable itself, instructs us to not only pray without ceasing as St. Paul advises us, but to take our prayer up a notch, telling us when faced with injustice to pray with intensity, conviction, passion, and faith in God’s will to help us and grant us justice.

“And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.”

We don’t see him a lot, but my friend and colleague Jim Hodgson continues to teach me about justice, where it is required, and how to demand it. Followers of my blog will know that Jim has a lifetime of experience demanding justice for vulnerable persons and communities throughout South and Central America. As both journalist and activist he has worked with many groups including the Canadian Council of Churches and the United Church of Canada in the area of global relations and justice advocacy. Now retired here in the town of his childhood he has drawn me into particular projects in recent years, including advocacy for persons wrongly detained or convicted through unjust legal systems in Guatemala, Columbia, Haiti, and Venezuela. In a recent blog titled International allies against mining in El Salvador applaud new “not guilty” verdict he writes:

“I write to share the statement Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025 celebrating a second not guilty verdict in the political persecution of five environmental protectors in El Salvador. They should never have been arrested. The statement comes from allies around the world who came together more than 15 years ago to accompany communities in El Salvador in their defence of water resources against a Canadian mining company . . .”   

I encourage everyone to read Jim’s full blog here. If indeed “it takes a whole village to raise a child,” for justice to be done, it takes advocates — professionals and amateurs, persons of influence and those who live at the edges, members of faith communities and secular organizations committed to the common good — persons willing to learn what is happening all around us, voices of concern, and yes, people of faith, and hose willing to pray.

Luke’s final line is so telling, so penetrating, so very true. As we confess in the Nicene Creed: “And [Christ] will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead,”

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  I certainly hope so.

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