Sermon from The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 10/19/2025
Proper 24 | 10-18-25 | Luke 18: 1-8
Ever wondered what it would be like to be incarcerated - and held in solitary confinement?
Several studies conclude what you are already probably thinking - that it is a bit like hell on earth.
One study says that 70% of those in solitary show signs of an impending nervous breakdown; 40% suffer from hallucinations; and 27% have suicidal ideation. One inmate saying, "I would rather have been given the death penalty than solitary confinement." Those who go to solitary are usually the worst of the worst - which is surely what Todd Ashker was.
This California man had been breaking in, stealing, and killing since he was 6 years old.
An ornery, tattooed, Aryan Brotherhood gang member, Todd Ashker found himself locked up in Solitary confinement - which he came to abhor. So he complained about. And complained. And complained. But who's going to listen to a guy like this?
So he studied law - and came to believe that Solitary confinement violated the 8th amendment regarding cruel and unusual punishment. And Ashker just kept complaining. And complaining. And complaining.
Then in the spring of 2013, Ashker reached out to others in Solitary confinement - communicating through air vents - and notes passed through lawyers - and found commonality with rival gang members - that they were also fed up with solitary confinement.
So Ashker worked out a truce with these rival gangs.
And he organized a hunger strike - from his solitary confinement cell - which eventually involved more than 29,000 prisoners across the state of California.
It was the largest hunger strike in U-S history - culminating in a court case settled in 2015 in favor of the prisoners - and ending with the release of more than 2,000 California inmates being moved out of solitary confinement - the welfare of untold numbers of people was changed forever because one insignificant and powerless, societal cast-off wouldn't leave it alone.
Sound a bit like our Gospel story?
And that determined Jewish woman - a Nood-nik - or Noodge - to use the Yiddish - who kvetched - who complained - unceasingly to someone who couldn't care less about her.
She was another societal cast off - a woman with no social standing - she had no husband, father, brother, or uncle to do her bidding - so she took it upon herself to do what no one else would do for her.
And this mismatch of power and status eventually evaporated as this woman's persistence pays off - and the unjust judge gives her what she wants, '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 by continually coming.'
It's persistence - it's staying the course - it's fighting the odds!
It's an old timey version of Todd Ashker - that teaches us the importance of perseverance in pursuing the goal -Jesus, Todd Ashker, and the Nooge form the unlikely chorus:
Keep at it - keep it going - keep trying - You know what you're facing today!
It's that diet you keep messing up, that wagon you keep falling off, that anger that keeps popping up, and that worry that you just can't put down!
Don't be discouraged!
Don't throw in the towel!
Continue the long slog - fight the good fight!
And because we all mess up along the way I'd like to hit the pause button for one second and talk about self-forgiveness.
When I mess up I get mad at myself.
At my worst I might call myself names, or at my best, at least be disappointed with myself and get down. And this not only affects me - but those around me.
I'm quicker to fly off the handle - maybe even get mad at others.
Many times the anger and frustration we have with others is actually displaced anger we have with ourselves.
Can I get an amen - or is this silence speaking to me?
Much of our anger at others - people, politics, and unrelated problems - is actually anger at ourselves. And so it's really crucial that we learn to deal with it in healthy and practical ways!
So here's one:
So next time you get angry with yourself - 3 steps.
First, own it. Be aware. Say to yourself, "I'm mad that I flew off the handle at a customer today." I'm embarrassed, ashamed, and I feel really bad for that customer, and I know I have to apologize. I just keep making this mistake over and over - and it really stinks."
Second, realize that everyone does this. You are not the first nor the last to tell off a customer. Congratulations, you are a member of the human race, and humans do these things. Humans are not perfect, they make mistakes like I just did.
And finally, treat yourself kindly. Talk to yourself as if your best friend had done what you did - and you were talking with them. Chances are you would not nearly as critical and cutting with your best friend - as you would with yourself. So be that best friend to yourself.
Part of persistence is encountering our flawed humanity. You will fall off the wagon. You will have a cheat day on your diet. You will tell off someone and regret it.
But don't blow it out of proportion.
Dust yourself off, get back on the horse, and continue the journey.
This is what it means to have persistence!
And today we're not talking about persistence for persistence'-sake - but it's to be persistent about the main subject of our Gospel - which is prayer.
Prayer is the goal of the spiritual life - union with God - alignment with the Almighty - living as much as we can, according to our spiritual selves - which is what Jesus was getting to when he told his followers, in our Gospel, to 'pray always.'
It's what inspired St. Paul to write: 'Pray constantly' in 1 Thessalonians, 'Pray at all times' in Ephesians, and in this morning's Epistle to, 'Be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable...'
The first line of our Gospel read:
"Jesus told this parable to his disciples about their need to pray always and not to lose heart."
Persistence is the half of it - prayer, or connecting ourselves with God, is the other half.
When we connect with God, we come to the conclusion that cruel and usual punishment, in the case of solitary confinement, is bad - injustice, in the case of the Nooge, is bad -
And it is our conscience - our spirits inside of us - that will inform us that these things are worth fighting for.
What is your conscience saying to you today?
You may have marched in one of those big 'No Kings!' rallies across America yesterday - to protest against the current U-S leadership.
- and you might not have marched, and feel the exact opposite of protests like that.
But no matter where we stand - we must strive to do so with a clean and open conscience.
Disagreement is not bad - it is good - it's how we improve.
How we disagree, though, can be bad - and it can ruin us personally and as a nation.
It is not our disagreements that will sink us - it's the way we disagree.
This is one reason why our grounding in God, in scripture, and especially in prayer is so important! Because this grounding will lead us not to denigrate and despise one another - but to respect and learn from one another.
Our better angels will tell us to forgive, make peace, and talk well of one another - especially those who hold opposing opinions –
It's that dark angel - those lesser angels, who will tell us differently.
And it's hard to listen to the better and not the worse!
Just this week, driving to work in rush hour traffic on Telegraph Road - a man in a pick up truck was cut off by another man in an SUV - so much so that the pick up had to swerve onto the shoulder and almost lost control of his truck.
And what was his reaction?
Just as soon as he got control of his truck - he sped up as fast as he could to cut off the driver who had cut him off - a high speed and high stakes he-man contest that could've ended very badly.
When we are persistent about our endeavor to live in God - to live in the light of forgiveness and peace - it is harder for us to entertain those dark angels of retribution and revenge.
That's not to say it doesn't happen - we're all human!
But it is to say that when we walk in regular connection with our inner light - it's harder.
And this is our job at St. David's - it's to live in the light - it's to cultivate our bright sides - so that we can go outside this place and shine that light - which chases away the darkness.
Does this mean you'll never give that middle finger salute to that driver who cuts you off?
Maybe not - but at least you may do so below the dash where he can't see you!
We're not looking for 180-degree changes after this sermon - but can I challenge you to consider 1-degree?
What is that one step we can take toward the light?
What does it look like to better cultivate that spiritual voice inside of us?
What are the influences around us that make that hard to do?
And what might we do to better our surroundings to make spiritual growth, easier?
Brothers and sisters - let us be persistent - let us forgive ourselves and get back on our horses - and let us move to deeper places of prayerful connection with God that will produce an abundant harvest of justice and love in the world around us.
Amen.