October 21, 2007
Pentecost 21

Perseverance

One of the words that I have been using to close my sermons in the last year is Perseverance, and in today's lessons Perseverance is a theme that resounds the most— perseverance in the face of suffering and injustice, perseverance in the face of neglect and rejection, perseverance in the face of trials and adversities. The kind of perseverance that is featured in our scripture readings today is based on the perseverance of faith that is held up to us, the perseverance that comes out of the hope that we have in God and which plays out in how we live in the world, whether the time is in our favor or not.

Jesus tells the parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge to illustrate what our prayer to God should be like: it should be continual, demanding and never given up; never give up no matter what the opposition throws at us, never give up until the day when the justice he has promised arrives. This rings true to our own history as a parish, we have prayed continually for God to prOVide to us the means to fulfill our mission. We have experienced in our celebration for our 50th anniversary a glimpse of what it could be like if we would work together as a community of faith.

The other tool that we have is the faith we have in God; the faith that is referred to in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge when Jesus, asks: "and yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Faith is a living thing, and like all living things, produces still more life, that is if it survives long enough and if it is nurtured and nourished properly. Let us make sure that we feed the faith that is in us that we may endure with perseverance to see what God has in store us.

Silito

Take a look at some of the previous messages from the Rector