Do you have stories of being persistent in your faith? Maybe you were praying and asking the Lord for something for years and the Lord answered your prayer. Whatever it was you persevered. The final words of Jesus in the Gospel today are unsettling. When the son of man returns will he find faith on earth? The Lord knows the human condition more than anyone. Our world is in many ways devoid of faith. It’s disheartening. So, the Lord starts this gospel by encouraging us, to take heart. What would he say to us here, what encouragement would he give to us? The answer is lots! He has lots of encouragement for us. He gives us some suggestions today so that we can be persistent in our faith. 1. Get some friends. Be strengthened in community. Who will hold your arms up when you need strength? 2. Find strength in the Eucharist. Jesus in the Eucharist is that victory poured right into our souls. 3. Be persistent. We need to keep knocking on heavens door, to not give up. Always come to Jesus and be real with Jesus. He wants to be real with us. In the first reading, Moses foreshadows Jesus himself as he holds his hands up and they continue to win the battle; as he lifted the snake in the dessert so Jesus was lifted high on the cross for our salvation winning the victory, winning the battle. The priest during the mass lifts his hands up, in the person of Christ, celebrating the same sacrifice Jesus won for us; that same victory that Moses foreshadowed, that Jesus won, and is celebrated every Sunday on this altar. The strength that we receive here we get to bring with us out into to world. So we come with expectant hearts, to be strengthened so you can persist. We can be persistent in our faith and spirit filled. Persistent faith will make saints out of us. I hope the Lord when he returns will see the body of Christ alive and exuberant and renewed. And I hope he will see saints among us.
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