Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Reading — Jeremiah 31: 27-34; Psalm 119: 97-104; II Timothy 3: 14-4: 5, Luke 18: 1-8
St. Paul wrote to Timothy:
…be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
We know the work of an evangelist is to do good, to do kindness, and if necessary, use words. To spread goodness, to spread kindness is not Republican, it is not Democrat, it is not Independent. And we are, following the Baptismal Covenant, to look for the goodness, to look for the kindness, in others. In our time, this is serious ministry. This is tough duty. This is sometimes even hazardous work.
In our Gospel according to St. Luke, we hear the words of Jesus to us in these times of ours. …to pray always and not to lose heart.
I have found that to “not lose heart”, I have to pray. I pray three times a day, most days. Upon waking, at noon time, and just before I fall asleep at night.
In the waking morning, I pray the Song of Mary as a song of praise.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
For this day all generations will call me blessed:
The Almighty has done great things for me,
And holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
He has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
And has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,
For he has remembered this promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers,
To Abraham and his children for ever.
I follow it with the Prayer of St. Francis.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
At noon time it is the Lord’s Prayer, knowing that every day I have already fallen short, already done things and left undone things. There are kindnesses that I have not done; goodnesses that I have not done.
At bedtime before falling asleep, I join with St. Simeon in his prayer as when he first met the infant Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem.
Lord, you have now set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see.
A light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of the people of Israel.
Hopefully each day I have seen the face of Jesus in the actions of others, sometimes in very unexpected places. I review the day to find him.
People are marching. People are wearing masks. People are angry. People are hungry. People are armed. People are violent. People are verbally abusive. People are bullying. It can be ugly out there, while we strive to be people of goodness, people of mercy, people of kindness. As St. Paul wrote to young Timothy, say your prayers, do not lose heart.
Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. This I know, for the Bible tells me so. Jesus wraps his arms around you. Jesus feeds you with bread and with wine. Jesus feeds you with body and blood, his body and his blood. Jesus dies for you, and he rises again for you. He rises so that we may rise with him today, tomorrow, and all the days to come as we walk with him into eternity.
Say your prayers. Do not lose heart.
Amen
