PERSEVERE AND PERSIST

PERSEVERE AND PERSIST – 29^th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year C

            Success stories are often about persistence and perseverance. Many of life’s tasks, great and small, and circumstances, simple and complex, call for persistence and perseverance. To persist means to stand through some experience. To persevere means to remain with the task or circumstance as long as necessary. Some may be able to hold out for a time, but unable to stay with a task or circumstance until it is completed or ended. Someone may persist for a time, but not persevere till the finish.

In a five mile run someone who is persistent in spite of the difficulties and hardships may make it for two or three miles, and then pull out of the race. Someone with perseverance may stay in the race till the end. In some circumstances, it may be smarter to pull out than to stay in. Someone may persevere in some endeavor that it would be better to abandon. Depending on what is involved, one decides if it is better to persevere or to only persist for a period.

            Life with its spiritual, moral, emotional, social, educational, economic, and personal battles, conflicts, challenges and struggles, confronts us with decisions on persistence and perseverance. Moses was confronted with a situation demanding persistence and perseverance when “Amalek came and waged war against Israel”. Moses decided to send his men into battle knowing he had a chance of winning with God on his side. He told Joshua he would be on the hill “with the staff of God in my hand”. The staff had opened and closed the sea as well as found water in the desert.

            Moses took Aaron and Hur with him. His work would be to persist and persevere in prayer with his hands upraised until the battle was completed. As time went on he grew tired, and his hands began to fall. This letting up in his persistent and persevering prayer affected the battle. “As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight.”

            Not only are we to be persistent and persevering in our major life struggles, but we are to help others in theirs. Aaron and Hur supported the upraised arms of Moses so that he could hold out to the end of the battle. Moses’ “hands remained steady till sunset”. Joshua and his men won the battle.

            At times we are called to do the work of Aaron and Hur for others, so that others have sufficient power to persist and persevere in important life works. We are called to different levels of support for others. Joshua and the soldiers supported Moses and the people differently than Aaron and Hur. Usually the circumstances will reveal the kind of support we are to give. In the same circumstances some are called to give moral support, others spiritual support, and others material support. Through the help of others, the Lord helps us. “Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

            We all have some life tasks that we know we have to persist in and persevere in until the end. The Church will always persist in and persevere in proclaiming Christ to the world. Paul charged Timothy “to preach the word, to stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient, correcting, reproving, appealing, constantly teaching and never losing patience”. Supporting others in this work is a major call to all the chosen people of God.

            Jesus gave us a parable on “the necessity of praying always and never losing heart”. A widow persistently went to a corrupt judge requesting her rights. The corrupt judge gave her justice not for her sake but for his sake. Jesus told us to listen to what the corrupt judge said. “I care little for God or man, but this widow is wearing me out. I am going to settle in her favor or she will end by doing me violence.”

            How much more will the Lord respond to our prayers for ourselves and others, because of God’s great love for people, which is totally opposite of the corrupt judge, who granted the persistent and persevering widow her rights. The corrupt judge did it for his own good. The Lord does it for our good. In all times and circumstances may the Lord give us the strength and help to persist and persevere!

Reflections from Divine Mercy #193

“It is from Jesus that I derive strength to fight difficulties and oppositions.”