Persistence

“Persistence”

Luke 9: 51-62 (NRSV) 

Here on what some would call the start of July 4^th I can think of no better term than that of persistence when thinking of the traits that lead to this great country’s birth. 

A journalist was assigned to the Jerusalem bureau of his newspaper. He gets an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. After several weeks he realizes that whenever he looks at the wall he sees an old Jewish man praying vigorously.

The journalist wondered whether there was a publishable story here. He goes down to the wall, introduces himself and says: "You come every day to the wall. What are you praying for?"

The old man replies: "What am I praying for? In the morning I pray for world peace, then I pray for the brotherhood of man. I go home, have a glass of tea, and I come back to the wall to pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth."

The journalist is taken by the old man's sincerity and persistence. "You mean you have been coming to the wall to pray every day for these things?" The old man nods. "How long have you been coming to the wall to pray for these things?"

The old man becomes reflective and then replies: "How long? Maybe twenty, twenty-five years." The amazed journalist finally asks: "How does it feel to come and pray every day for over 20 years for these things?"

"How does it feel?" the old man replies. "It feels like I'm talking to a wall." 

Walls and rocks can be washed away by a steady drip or stream of water over a long time. It requires persistence to accomplish. 

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 

When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village 

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

Last week we talked about perspective: this week we’ll talk about persistence. 

Persistence means “lasting or enduring during a painful, tedious action, or long term activity.” Persistence is a combination of the fruits of the spirits of patience, faithfulness, and self-control. It is an act of commitment to/for a course of action. 

In “setting his face toward Jerusalem” Jesus is committing himself and His Heavenly Father to a course of action that will both condemn and redeem Jerusalem at the same time. 

This passage is written using similar language and in the style of the words describing both Ezekiel and Elijah, possibly the two greatest prophets of Israel. Jesus is linking his ministry and life to the history of Israel. 

By mentioning Samaritans and Jerusalem, Jesus is further saying that He is allowing the Jews and their close relatives to choose their fate by how they respond to Him. Their divided loyalty and lack of common focus has doomed them. 

The phrase “let the dead bury their own dead,” illustrates the fact that Jesus is asking for a complete commitment, a total persistence, of faith and trust in Him as the Son of God. Anything else will fall short. 

 

Your priority must be on heaven and not on just helping that aging parent or family member, or that job. Jesus and God must come first and then the rest.

There is a bit of irony here in that God has always uplifted family and personal commitment as a virtue, yet here He is suggesting another priority.

Edward Eggleston said, “Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure.” Jesus is saying that the law of Moses and the Jews is ending in failure. 

If you look closely at the language used here you see that failure to follow through in following Jesus happens when something else, like needing recognition, a place to live/possessions, family obligations, or lack of commitment in doing the work of the Kingdom of God sometimes interferes. 

Jesus is saying that a disciple must be ready to sacrifice security, duty and affection in responding to the call of His Kingdom. Jesus says that because of the urgency of the call all other human loyalties must yield to the kingdom. 

In a nutshell Jesus is saying that while we might consider the greatest choice we make to be between good and evil it’s actually between the good and the best.  

We can serve God in our homes, families, and communities but we also need to be prepared to go further if needed – to hazard our security to advance His kingdom, to go out of out comfort zone to persist in sharing His message. 

A few years ago a young man asked me how he could live a life committed to Christ every day even though he worked in a sterile high-pressure technology environment.  

My advice to him was to realize that each day must become an opportunity to show others the priorities of his life, to God, family, and work. But I also suggested that he read the Gospel of Luke, chapters 9-11, as well. And I pointed out that Jesus always kept His eyes on Heaven as He walked with us here.  

Having a place in heaven prepared for us should give us a freedom to not worry about how the world perceives us. He was inspired and began to look for subtle ways to proclaim God anonymously in the workplace, which resulted in him and several of his co-workers organizing lunch-time Bible studies.

If he hadn’t been willing to go out of his comfort zone nothing would have happened other than his sense of growing guilt. Listen to Jesus and take a risk! 

If our founding fathers had not hazarded the risk we would have no country. They persisted in bad conditions, poor morale, poor support, poor finances, and tremendous odds to win a war many felt unwinnable. Yet they won.

 

And the country they founded has changed the world.

 

Jesus is asking us for the same commitment and dedication. Amen.