October 16, 2016 – Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
Never Give Up
Lectionary 29C – October 16, 2016
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
From the time I was a kid I have loved the cartoons of Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner.
And every time one comes on television I cannot resist watching.
There is something endearing about the coyote who will just not give up the chase.
And there is something admirable in it too.
No matter how beat up he gets, no matter how many defeats he suffers, Coyote never gives up.
Coyote is persistent.
I thought about that this week in light of our readings.
Persistence shines through all the readings like a bright light that cannot be dimmed.
Scripture is inviting us to consider this week how closely aligned faith and persistence are.
In some ways, Wile E. Coyote is a model of faith or faithfulness for us.
The very model of persistence.
Jacob will not give up wrestling the angel who, we learn, is God.
Jacob persists through the dark night and will not give up until he prevails and
receives what he seeks – blessing.
Jacob never gives up – Jacob is persistent in his relationship with God.
The writer of 2 Timothy writes to encourage those he addresses – Never Give Up!
Persist! Pursue! Endure! Whether the time is favourable or unfavourable, Never Give Up!
The widow Jesus speaks of in his story never gives up.
She is persistent – so persistent that she will not shut up until she receives justice.
Even though the power balance in their relationship is wildly lop-sided,
she persists, she endures – the widow is feisty.
Our translation even has to tone down for polite readers what it is she does to the judge:
he doesn’t say that the widow will wear him out if he doesn’t give her what she wants;
he literally says she’ll give him a black eye!
Ha!
She is a model of faith or faithfulness for Jesus.
She will not give up – she persists.
She knows there is something better in store for her.
We are not used to thinking of the life of faith as Wrestlemania or the boxing ring,
and yet that is what we are invited to see this morning.
We have been raised to be politely religious, and yet here we have readings –
separated by at least a thousand years – that witness to the struggle that
the life of faith can sometimes be.
And even though we are not used to thinking of the life of faith as
Wrestlemania or the boxing ring, I think that is actually how we often experience it.
And this morning I’m here to tell you – that that is okay.
Because the biblical writers and saints across the ages will tell you exactly the same thing.
And I’m here to invite you to persist – to persist in your pursuit of healing and justice.
I’m here to invite you to endure and to pursue the healing God offers.
Not because it is all up to you.
But because God promises to meet you in the midst of the struggle.
And God will keep you there.
Christian baptism is no guarantee of an exemption from suffering – just ask Jesus.
But it is an assurance that God will meet you in the midst of difficulty and
keep you in God’s care and extend blessing.
So you can be persistent with courage and with confidence in your pursuit of healing.
Psalm 121, which we read this morning, is one of the most beloved of the 150 Psalms.
I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come?
I used to think that the person praying this Psalm was very passive, just
sitting there waiting for God to come over the hills like the cavalry and rescue him or her.
But that is not actually what the Psalm is expressing.
This is a Psalm of pilgrimage – it was sung just as pilgrims were setting out on
the long dangerous journey to Jerusalem, to the house of God, to the Temple.
They sang it before they set off into the hills, into the unknown, into dangers where
thieves lurked and perils threatened.
They sang it to remind themselves that God meets us when we set off into the hills,
into the unknown, into danger.
And so they could set off with confidence, knowing that God doesn’t remove us from danger,
but blesses us and keeps us in the midst of danger.
They went on their journey confident that they would never give up till they reached their goal,
because they knew that whatever happened,
God would be with them and keep them in care.
Most of us are on a journey of healing in one form or another.
Whether that is physical, mental, or emotional.
We are broken creatures – but that is not all we are.
The Christian witness is that brokenness does not finally define us.
The relentless love of God for us does.
We are broken creatures, but we have a God who meets us in the journey toward healing and
who sees us through to the end and who finally will bless us.
Never give up.
Be persistent.
Know what to pray for.
Anyone who has gone through the experience of healing knows that it is not a passive process.
It engages all of who you are – body, mind, and spirit.
As a person who struggles with mental illness,
I know that I have to be proactive in pursuit of healing.
But I also know that God meets me in the journey.
I know that I need never give up.
I know there is blessing in the struggle.
At food bank a couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a woman who is caring for
many, whose family is filled with struggles, and who has struggles of her own,
not least in caring for so many who are struggling.
“I stopped praying for God to take it all away,” she said to me.
“And I just started praying for something that was actually useful –
I started praying for stronger shoulders to carry it all with.”
That is a prayer that is confident that God will meet you in the midst of the struggle and
grant you blessing.
That is the prayer of someone who will never give up.
That is the prayer of someone confident that they can journey into the hills of danger –
and find God there.
So, my friends: in your journey toward healing – never give up.
Be persistent. Whether the time is favourable or unfavourable, journey into the hills.
For that is where God will meet you and keep you from all evil,
who will keep your soul as a precious treasure, who will keep your going out –
and your coming in – from this time forth forever more.
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
