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Perseverance
November
18, 2007
Fr.
George Smiga
Luke
21:5-19
Today's
gospel is filled with signs of the end of the world: wars,
and famines, and dreadful portents. Clearly the gospel writers
are pointing to that great day when Jesus will return, bring
this world to an end, and establish the Kingdom of God . But
it would be a mistake for us to limit the meaning of today's
gospel to that great event at the end of time. For the truth
is that in our lives we experience moments when our world
comes to an end. There are moments of passage, moments of
change, when one world ends and another begins. These moments
can be joyful or frightening. Oftentimes they are both.
When
you commit yourself to another person in marriage or when
you give birth to a new son or daughter, your world changes.
There are new opportunities and there are new responsibilities.
Very soon you cannot even remember the way things used to
be. When you are told that you no longer have a job, when
you file for divorce, when you receive a negative medical
diagnosis, when the person you love dies; one world ends and
a new one begins. As much as you would like, you cannot go
back again. When your youngest child leaves for college, when
you hold your grandchild for the first time in your arms,
when you enter retirement; your world changes and you must
change with it.
In
all of these rites of passage, in all of these changes—even
when they are joyful—there is always some fear. Will I be
able to be the parent that my child needs me to be? How will
it be living without my children under my roof? How will I
face the holidays without the person I love? How will I fair
with chemotherapy? When we face a new reality, when we enter
a new world, there is fear. How do we deal with it? How do
we cope when our world changes?
Today's
gospel points us in a direction. Jesus says, “By your perseverance
you will save your lives.” Jesus is saying that when we enter
a new world we must be willing to persevere. But what do we
mean by perseverance? You can define perseverance in a lot
of different ways, but the understanding I am suggesting to
you today is one which is most common and most practical.
This is the understanding that I hear over and over again
in ICU units and at wedding receptions, in funeral homes and
at baptism parties. It's the understanding of perseverance
that most easily and commonly comes to our lips: perseverance
is living one day at a time. Perseverance is refusing to be
overwhelmed by all the things that we do not understand and
cannot control in the new world in which we must live. Perseverance
is choosing to take one step, the next step—choosing to take
that step as best as we can and to keep taking the next step
until we end up where we ought to be.
Now
this understanding of perseverance can seem foolish to some
people. They can ask, “How can you take one step and be sure
that you're going anywhere?” “How do you know that that one
step will lead you to where you need to be?” “How can you
live one day at a time?” “Who is planning for the months and
years ahead?”
Now
these questions are not pointless. In fact they make a certain
amount of sense, if we presume that we are living our lives
alone. But Christians have a different perspective. We believe
that God is living our lives with us, that God is in fact
guiding us. We believe that when we take that one step, that
next step, God is guiding us in the right direction. We believe
that when we live one day at a time, the day that we live
is connected to future days which God is planning for our
benefit.
With
faith we have the freedom to take the next step, to live this
day, and to leave the rest to God. Now, this understanding
of perseverance as living one day at a time is beautifully
captured in a prayer by John Henry Newman. This prayer would
be appropriate to pray every time we leave one world behind
and enter a new one. Newman's prayer goes like this:
Lead
kindly light, amid the encircling gloom.
Lead
thou me on!
The
night is dark, and I am far from home.
Lead
thou me on!
Keep
Thou my feet, I do not ask to see
The
distant scene—one step enough for me.
Let
us then persevere in taking that next step. Let us believe
that God is with us and God will lead us on.
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