The Tenacity of Faith
October 19, 2025
Opening Thought
We are often taught that prayer should be polite. We approach God with reverence, we state our needs with humility, and we try not to be too demanding. We can sometimes feel that if we ask too often or too loudly, we are bothering God. But what if our faith is meant to be more robust, more tenacious, and even a little messy?
For many of us, prayer is difficult. It requires faith that someone is truly listening, and I know I too often do not give it the time it needs. I find myself wondering, "What's the point? I may never see the results I want, so why bother?" But as I have grown older and, I hope, closer to God, I've come to realize that seeing my own desired results isn't the point at all. For me, the power is in the consistent ritual of praying, of wrestling, of slowly realizing that there are bigger things at stake than my own immediate wants. It is about getting my own schedule out of the way to allow God to do His work in His time.
This Sunday, our scriptures affirm this very struggle. We meet a man who physically wrestles with God all night, refusing to let go until he receives a blessing. We hear a parable about a widow who nags and badgers an unjust judge until she gets the justice she deserves. These are not quiet, polite, or timid figures. They are tenacious, persistent, and utterly convinced that the one they are engaging with holds the key to their future.
This message of holy persistence is especially poignant as we prepare to welcome a new member into the body of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. As we witness this new beginning, we are reminded that we are all called to a faith that endures, that holds fast through the night, and that trusts in the God who is always awake and listening.
Engaging the Word
Our journey begins with one of the most primal and mysterious stories in scripture: Jacob wrestling at the Jabbok from Genesis (32:22-31). Alone and facing an uncertain future, Jacob grapples all night with a divine figure. He is wounded in the struggle, given a permanent limp, but he refuses to let go. "I will not let you go, unless you bless me," he gasps. For his persistence, he is given a new name, Israel—"one who strives with God"—and receives his blessing. He limps away, forever changed: wounded, but blessed.
In the Gospel from Luke (18:1-8), Jesus gives a voice to Jacob's physical struggle in the parable of the persistent widow. This powerless woman continually demands justice from a corrupt judge who "neither feared God nor had respect for people." She has no leverage except her own tenacity. Eventually, the judge gives in simply because she wears him down. Jesus’s point is electric: if a corrupt human judge will respond to persistence, how much more will a righteous and loving God grant justice to his beloved children "who cry to him day and night?" It is a powerful command to pray and not lose heart.
The glorious Psalm 121 provides the foundational promise that makes such tenacity possible. It is the anthem for those who struggle and persist. "I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." Why can Jacob wrestle through the night? Why can the widow cry out day after day? Because the God they petition "will neither slumber nor sleep." Our God is the ever-watchful keeper who preserves our going out and our coming in.
Finally, Paul's charge to Timothy from 2 Timothy (3:14-4:5) is the application of this theme for the Church. Paul urges Timothy to "continue in what you have learned" and to be persistent in his ministry, "whether the time is favorable or unfavorable." He is to preach, teach, and encourage with "the utmost patience." Paul passes on the charge to live a tenacious faith, to hold fast to the truth, and to endure through all things, trusting in the God who is our constant help.
A Journey in Song: Our Musical Guides
Our music today is a rich tapestry that weaves together themes of trust, struggle, intimate prayer, and triumphant hope, perfectly mirroring the journey of our lessons.
Our service begins with the Opening Voluntary, "Sweet Hour of Prayer" from the Gospel Preludes by American composer William Bolcom (b. 1938). By starting our liturgy with a meditation on the "sweet hour of prayer," we are immediately centered on the very act of persistence that our lessons will explore. It frames prayer not as a formal duty, but as a deep, personal refuge and the source of strength we need to engage in the kind of faithful struggle that Jacob and the widow model for us.
The Entrance Hymn, "Come, thou fount of every blessing" (#686), immediately grounds our worship in the central, human struggle of the day's lessons. Its third stanza is a raw and honest confession that gives voice to our own experience: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." This is the very reason we must wrestle like Jacob and persist in prayer like the widow—because our hearts are prone to stray. The hymn's plea for God's goodness to "bind my wandering heart to thee" is a beautiful poetic parallel to Jacob physically holding on, refusing to let go.
The Sequence Hymn, "O Master, let me walk with thee" (#660), is a humble prayer of discipleship. Its plea for "lowly patience" and to learn the "blessed secret" of Jesus’ own endurance connects our desire for a tenacious faith with the ultimate example of Christ himself.
Sung after the sermon, "What a friend we have in Jesus" (LEVAS II #109) beautifully reframes the struggle. After hearing about wrestling with God and demanding justice, this hymn reminds us why we can be so bold: because we are approaching a true and faithful friend to whom we can bring all our "sins and griefs to bear."
The Baptismal Hymn, "I want to walk as a child of the light" (#490), marks a moment of profound hope. As we welcome a new Christian, the entire congregation reaffirms its own commitment to the journey of faith—a walk that requires the very persistence and trust we are exploring today.
The Anthem, "I will lift up mine eyes" by Leo Sowerby, is the musical heart of the liturgy, a glorious setting of our psalm for the day, Psalm 121. The choir lifts up this ancient song of assurance, musically embodying the hope and confidence that our help comes from a God who never slumbers and whose protection is eternal.
The Communion Hymn, "All who love and serve your city" (#571), connects our worship directly to the world outside our doors. It is a prayer for justice, peace, and righteousness in our community, echoing the persistent widow's cry for justice in the public square.
The Post-Communion Hymn, "Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy" (#482), is a gentle and beautiful prayer for God's presence in every moment of our lives, from morning to night. It echoes the assurance that God was with Jacob through his night of wrestling and will be with us in ours.
We are sent forth with a triumphant Closing Voluntary, the "Fanfare" by Lemmens. After a liturgy that has acknowledged struggle and the need for patience, this bold and joyful music commissions us to go out not in fear, but in the confident victory of our persistent faith.
A Closing Note on Our Journey
This week, we are given permission to be messy in our faith. We are reminded that our relationship with God is not always neat and polite; sometimes it is a wrestling match in the dark. But the good news is that this struggle is not a sign of God's absence, but of his deep engagement with us. To be wounded by God is to be blessed by God. To cry out for justice is to be heard by God. Let us not be afraid to wrestle this week. Let us persist in our prayers. Let us hold on and not let go, confident that our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
A Prayer for the Week Ahead
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.
For the Church, that it may be persistent in proclaiming the message with utmost patience, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For all who cry out day and night for justice, like the persistent widow, that they may not lose heart and may find you to be their swift vindicator,
Lord, in a mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who wrestle with you in darkness, doubt, or pain, that they may have the tenacity to hold on for the blessing and emerge with a new name and a renewed spirit,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For the newly baptized, and for all who are on the journey of faith, that they may be preserved from all evil and kept in your loving care from this time forth and for evermore,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That in times of trial, we may lift up our eyes to the hills, remembering that our help comes from you, O Lord, who will neither slumber nor sleep,
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: We ask you to bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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