Persistence

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Gn 18:20-32

Col 2:12-14

Lk 11:1-13

A good priest friend of mine came by the house last week to talk. He was extremely depressed. He’s an interesting guy. Part of him wants to go off and be a hermit and part of him wants to teach at a university. Like many people, he sees the last forty years as a disaster in catechesis; we have raised three generations of Catholics – us included – with little or no or incorrect formation in the faith. He is eager to correct this and has lots of wonderful programs he’s put together to engage teenagers and young adults.

And he’s frustrated. He’s frustrated because he thinks that if he can get just ten percent of the young people in the parish to go through his programs he can form them into a strong leadership team that would then go out and evangelize the rest of the parish and the community, and they could turn things around. Problem is, he can’t get ten percent of them to commit. He can’t even get three percent. And so, I told him it’s a bit like the reading from Genesis today.

I love this story. Abraham has real guts, pushing God to see exactly how just a judge he is. What if I can find only ten faithful people? Will you do it anyway? I turned it around and told my friend, “What if you can’t find ten percent? What if you only find two or three people to go through your programs? Will you still go through all the trouble for the few? Will you spend two years of preparation and presentation for only two or three people? It’s that whole idea that has him depressed.

I can relate to his problem. We do have a crisis in catechesis in this country and in this parish. I think that most of us would admit that we don’t know enough about our faith and what it teaches us and calls us to do. We get most of our information on what the Church teaches from sound bites and headlines, not from reliable sources. We’d love to know more, but don’t know where to look for the truth or don’t have the time or inclination to take the initiative ourselves. And so we’re frustrated. I’ve found that every time I put on any sort of in-depth teaching programs I get a lot of folks who enthusiastically say they’ll come, then end up talking to the same six ladies who come to everything anyway.

Is it worth it to put in all the effort for just a few folks? That’s the issue.

My friend Fred Engel likes to tell the story of the little town who sent for a new preacher to serve them. The preacher showed up on Sunday morning to meet his new congregation. Ten o’clock came and went, and he looked out and saw only one old farmer sitting in the back row. Despondently, the preacher walked down the aisle and stood by the farmer. “I guess it’s just you and me today,” he said. “It’s not really worth it to go on; perhaps there’ll be more folks next week.” “Preacher,” the farmer replied, “if I go out in the morning to feed my cows, and only one heifer shows up to the trough, I feed her anyway.”

The preacher perked right up, strode back down the aisle, and climbed up in the pulpit. He gave it his all, waxing eloquently for over an hour and a half. He was preparing to go on even longer, when he looked up and saw the old farmer dozing off in the pew. Indignantly, he walked back down the aisle and shook the farmer awake. “What are you doing sleeping?” he asked, “You said that if even one cow showed up to eat, you’d feed her. Well, I’m feeding you.” “Reverend,” he replied, “I said if one cow showed up I’d feed her, but I wouldn’t give her the whole load.”

So yes, even if only one or two show up, we are to feed them. But maybe we give it to them in small bites. We are to do our very best, but it’s not our responsibility that they accept it. It’s theirs. My job is to lay it out for you, it’s your job to accept it or not. The truth is the truth. My job is to be faithful, not successful. I can’t convert you, only the Holy Spirit will. And that’s what Jesus says this morning. He doesn’t say ask and you shall receive a new Mercedes, or a new job or television set. He says how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

That is Jesus’ greatest gift. The Holy Spirit.

We heard the same thing last Sunday in the story of Martha and Mary. Mary had chosen to learn from the Holy Spirit at the feet of the Son, and that would not be taken away from her. Not because Martha’s hospitality was less important, but that if you have the Spirit all else will follow. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. The first gift Jesus gave the apostles on Easter night was the Spirit. He gave them his peace and then told them to receive the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is not about programs. The Spirit is about people. Jesus taught, but he did so to folks just where they were. He didn’t sit in the synagogue or a university and wait for people to come to him because he had a great program. He went to their homes and their sick beds and fed and healed them there. He dealt with them on the most basic level, sometimes only with a short parable or two to make them stop and think. And he never imposed his will on anyone. He only proposed.

And that’s what we are called to do. We should never impose, only propose. Pope Francis said this week at World Youth Day, “We do not want to be presumptuous, imposing ‘our truths.’ What must guide us is the humble yet joyful certainty of those who have been found, touched and transformed by the Truth who is Christ.”

We are to lay the truth out for all to see, and then let the people decide what they’ll do.

But Jesus calls us to be persistent, even annoyingly persistent like Abraham. St. Paul told the Thessalonians, “Never tire of doing what is good.” Jesus never gave up. Even on the cross he made a disciple of the good thief. Jesus knew that some would accept and follow him and most wouldn’t. He knew that some seed would fall on barren ground and never sprout and some would fall on good ground and bear fruit. Even then he continued to sow the seed. Jesus had realistic expectations because he knew human nature. But he still sowed the seed.

My priest friend’s expectations are too high. He has put too much pressure on himself to be successful. He doesn’t realize that he does not control the outcome. None of us do. And he expects too much from his people. He expects them to be as excited about Jesus as he is. It’s natural when you’re excited about something to want everyone to be just as excited. And it’s easy to get discouraged when they aren’t.

You can never control what other people do. You can only control your own actions. You can’t control whether or not anyone else will be formed in the faith. You can only control your own formation. But do you? How persistent are you in learning about your own faith? How persistent are you in practicing it? How persistent are you in prayer? It’s no coincidence that Jesus linked prayer with persistence.

Why aren’t our prayers answered the first time we ask? Is God sitting up there with a counter in his hand, just waiting for you to ask for the three hundred thirtieth time before he answers? And then gleefully says no? Persistence in prayer forces us to relax and forces us to be humble. It helps us understand our true place in our relationship with God. It’s not about us, it’s about him. Not in our time but in his. Not our will but his.

Prayer is not just saying prayers. Prayer must be in a lived context. Jesus didn’t just say prayers. He treated people with compassion, he healed them, he taught them, he lived and he died for them. That is what made his way of praying different. He really lived it. And that’s what made it so effective.

It doesn’t really matter what you say. The fact that you want to pray is a prayer in itself. What matters is that you pray consistently and constantly, so that it becomes a part of the fiber of your life. The simpler the better. And your actions become a part of your prayer. Your life becomes your prayer life, and your prayer life becomes your life.

As Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”