2542AFC101725 – Hang in there Adelphos! ← PODCAST LINK 😀
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Exodus 17:11-12 – 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set.
Psalm121:3-4 –
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 – 14 But as for you, continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe. You know who your teachers were, 15 and you remember that ever since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, 17 so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.
Luke 18:7-8 – 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! This coming Sunday, all three readings point toward one specific characteristic of a well-lived Christian life: Perseverance. Moses obeys God by holding up his hands and staff as Israel battle against Amalek. The effort is supported by Aaron and Hur who help him keep his posture of perseverance. Amalek was the grandson of Esau and the namesake of the Amalekites, a nomadic people who were considered arch-enemies of ancient Israel. Their kingdom was not a single defined state, but a nomadic people inhabiting the Negev desert region south of Canaan and other surrounding areas. The Amalekites are known for being the first nation to attack the Israelites after their Exodus from Egypt, a hostile act that led to a divine curse and a command for their eventual destruction. The divine curse against Amalek stems from their unprovoked attack on the Israelites as they were escaping Egypt. In response to this “vicious and unnecessary attack,” God vowed to “wipe every Amalekite from the face of the earth” and commanded Israel to blot out their name forever.
The biblical account details Moses leading the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites, and God’s promise that he would completely blot out the memory of Amalek. God promised to make war on Amalek “from generation to generation”. The curse was a command to completely wipe out the Amalekites, which was later repeated by Saul, who was tasked with carrying out the destruction. Saul did not completely wipe out the Amalekites as God commanded; instead, he destroyed the weak but spared the Amalekite king, Agag, and the best of their livestock. This act of disobedience was a major failure that led to God rejecting Saul as king. While Saul’s army defeated the Amalekite forces, he did not follow God’s instruction to utterly destroy everything and everyone. The prophet Samuel rebuked Saul for his disobedience, famously stating that “to obey is better than sacrifice”. Samuel then personally executed Agag.
In the second reading, the Apostle Paul counsels Timothy to persevere in his teaching and preaching – in living out his mission or spreading the Gospel – because he know that what he has learned is true and the people who taught him are trustworthy. In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus gives us a parable about a corrupt judge and a persistent widow who finally gives in and renders a just decision for a woman whose perseverance leave him little room to do anything else. Jesus tells us that God, who alone is the Just Judge, will surely grant justice for those who persevere in crying out to him. Recall that we have previously noted God’s Immutable Justice – what is right gets a blessing what is wrong gets a curse, what is good is our goal, what is evil is our peril.
In Ephesians 6:18, the Apostle Paul tells us further, “18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.” And also, Philippians 1:6 – 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. That is the motivation, the reason, to persevere – “I know a Guy.” He follows that with 2 Timothy 1:12 c I know the one in whom I have put my trust (↔ Music Link), and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. So, here is The Apostle Paul, in prison, expecting death any day, and still he perseveres because he has entrusted is soul to God in Christ Jesus who is Truth and Justice, and perseveres for All Ages in this World and The Next.
“Persevere” is one of those interesting sort of Olde Fashioned words that we occasionally hear, usually in the context of difficulties impeding our efforts. We have other ways to say the same thing – Stay the course, keep on track, persist always, keep going, never give in, don’t take no for an answer, stand your ground, go the distance, leave no stone unturned, eyes on the prize, (↔ Music Link), stick to your guns, and these days the ever-popular “hang in there.” All of these carry with them the implication that we will continue to pursue a goal or path under arduous circumstances regardless of any opposition, danger, difficulty, or doubt. For those who deem themselves “self-reliant,” this is a formidable challenge. For those who know the power of Scripture and prayer – especially prayer in and through Scripture – this is almost second-nature because we remember that God speaks to us through his word and listens to us through our prayers.
When we look at our lives – especially our prayer lives – do we see evidence of persevering faith? “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Are we truly trying to live a righteous life where we “… do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?” (See Micah 6:8 – again) Could it be that the biggest of all the tests of faith is whether or not we always believe God is listening, that we’re not just talking to the inside of our heads when we pray? Do we have the faith, the determination, the discernment, the patience and perseverance, and especially the humility to ask again? Can we, should we, will we persevere that faith until the very day when we meet the Lord? And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” How do you know, how do I know, how do we know we have faith? We must check our hearts for evidence of sin, and then take out the M.A.P. (↔ Click it)
Why is this important for Christians to remember? We’ve touched on this before in Mark 10:28-30 – 28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus told us in John 16:33 – 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! In the Letter of James we read, “2 My brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (See James 1:2-4)
James follows up in his letter on ethical conduct for Christians with this in James 5:7-11 – 7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Let’s look at the three Key Verses presented above and see what they tell us. Let’s begin with the Gospel selection. That last sentence is kind of a shocker: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” We earthlings have a bad reputation for giving up hope when our expectations of deliverance are long delayed. It seems in God’s economy that his swift and complete action arrives just when we have foolishly given up hope. Jesus, while in the flesh, told us not even he knew when the day of deliverance or justice would come. Are we still waiting with perseverance? When the relief we seek finally does come, it seems almost too good to be true – after 70 years in Babylon, Israel suddenly learned they were going home! It was like a dream: Psalm 126:1-2 – 1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” We know this is true and trustworthy because we have a record of all that in Scripture. It is Scripture that God uses to teach us, and Scripture is the best Authority because it is inspired by God.
The Apostle Paul clearly told Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is [also] useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” If we know the Truth, perseverance is easier to accomplish because we know we can trust it – we can use what we know to give us hope, strength, perseverance, quietness, and – above all – F.A.I.T.H. (Fully Aware I Trust Him). We see this expressed in Lamentations 3:22-26 – 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. “Quiet” is not an easily found commodity these days!
And what about Deuteronomy 8:3? 3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord [by anything the Lord decrees]. And again in Psalm 119:9 (a memory verse from “long-time-ago”) – 9 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. And Psalm 119:11 – 11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. All of these Timothy knew in his heart, and that gave him – and his flock – greater perseverance, enough perseverance to overcome evil and publicize the Gospel.
In our Key Verse excerpt from Exodus, we see one of the Heroic Men of the Old Testament, Moses, doing the hard work of persevering – and he accepted the help of his brethren Aaron and Hur. Oh, Belovéd, how often we fail at that small but important commitment to perseverance! So often we tell ourselves, our loved ones, and even our God like a two-year-old child, “NO! I do it myself!” Now there’s a case for God’s perseverance! It is indeed a good thing that “his mercy endures forever,” and that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” With that to hold onto, perseverance is basically a matter of remembering, and as Catholics, we’re pretty good at that.
“We Remember How You Loved Us.” (↔ Music Link) “Do this in memory of me.” “Remember your love and your faithfulness O God.” “Remember your Saints …”Remember your servants who have gone before us …” ” … and in communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.” We can choose to remember, to pray, to feed on The Word, to speak to and listen for God. We can recall how the many who have gone before us have cried out, “How long O Lord, how long?” (See for example Psalm 13) When it gets to be too difficult, which others of the earthlings around us will stand with us in prayer, or even at our bedside – or death bed as we wait? I know who I want at my side! “Come Holy Spirit (↔ Music Link). Walk with me on this long road to Home. With you at my side and Jesus in my heart, we’ll all get to Heaven as soon as we ought.”
To persevere is to bring to bear the power of Love. Even the greatest of sinners will find Peace and Perseverance in Christ Jesus. We’ll close with this testimony from the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:12-14 – 12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. As well as Psalm 46:10a – 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” This we know because we know The Word and the Lord. What we know, we use to enrich our lives and the lives of others by testifying to the Truth no matter what. When Jesus does come, he will find Faith in those who persevered. Truth and Justice, we might say, are two sides of the same Eternal Balance pictured on our Key Verse Key. ʻŌmea, the fulcrum for that balance is Grace, and the stand supporting the balance is Mercy. The weight-pans illustrate God’s Immutable Justice.WE know our future hangs in the balance and so we must as well hang in there, Adelphos! God’s Immutable Justice will prevail.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.
You already know how, but just in case –
How: Romans 8:26-27 – 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
