Sep 15th: The Power of Persistent Faith, with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski.
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Rev. Dr. Steven Koski
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The Power of Persistent Faith with Rev. Dr. Steven Koski. Series: Standalone Services A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: Luke 18:1-8.
Join us this Sunday to hear an inspiring message on the power of persistence, based on the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Whether online or in-person, you’ll be encouraged to keep going, even when life feels unsettled.
Transcript:
Steven: Life is lived in the transitions. Have you noticed that that life is not linear? Life is not a straight line. We’re always facing disruptions, leaving us in an unsettled state. Most of the time, someone said, I thought my life would begin when there was less chaos, less confusion, less conflict, less change, less struggle, until I woke up one morning and realized that was my life. Anyone relate? Yeah, life. Life is lived in the transitions. Psychologist Suzanne cabasa has studied resiliency and resilient people. I mean resiliency is that capacity to bend but not break, and her research discovered the one characteristic resilient people have in common is persistence, even though the circumstances of life may may not leave you feeling very optimistic, you can still choose to be determined, even though life at times, life at times, is terrible, there is beauty to be found if you persist. I love the words of the writer and poet Arundhati Roy where she writes, another world is not only possible, she is on her way on a quiet day. If I listen carefully, I can hear her breathing when we’re in the midst of life’s many transitions. Do we actually trust another world is not only possible, but on the way? Notice the word possible, not inevitable. There is a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible on the way, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be potholes, roadblocks, barriers, detours, disappointments, disruptions. That’s why persistence is so important. Which brings me to one of my absolute favorite stories that Jesus told one of the parables that Jesus told from the from the Gospel of Luke, referred to as the parable of the persistent widow. Now it’s important to understand the context in the first century culture, the context in the time of Jesus, where widows, widows had no power. They had. They had no status. They were, they were seen as helpless. That’s why scripture often said we are to care for the widows and the orphans. But that’s who Jesus chooses. Jesus tells a story about a widow who went again and again and again and again to the judge, demanding to be seen, demanding to be heard, demanding justice, refusing to give up, refusing to quit, finally, to prevail, because her persistence wore out his resistance. You know, I’m not sure there’s a better story to reflect on in the face of all of the global chaos and disruption and the National polarization, just in the midst of all of the transitions that we face in life, then this story from The Gospel of Luke of a persistent widow. It’s from chapter 18, verses one to eight. Here it is. Jesus told them a parable about how important it was to pray and and to not lose heart. Jesus said in a certain city, there was a judge who who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. And in that city, there was a widow who kept after him, saying, My rights are being violated. Protect me. Now the judge never gave her the time of day. But after this woman persisted, and this went on and on, he said to himself, I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice, so that she will not wear me out with her persistence. Then Jesus said, Do you hear what the corrupt judge is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work for justice, for God’s children, who who persist, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t God stick up for them? I assure you, God. God will not drag God’s feet. But how much of that? How much of that kind of persistent faith will God find among you? Now, the widow’s persistence wore out the judge’s resistance, and Jesus asked, will I will I find that kind of persistent faith among you? Whenever I read the story, I remember Gloria from a previous church where I was a pastor. I mean, fresh out of seminary, naive and green, young, and Gloria was distressed by by the impact of sexist and hierarchical male language she was hearing in church, and she was worried about the impact that would that was having on her, but most importantly, the impact she feared it was having on her daughter. Now, Gloria was not only a passionate she was a passionate advocate for gender equity, a passionate advocate for inclusivity and inclusive language. Gloria herself was abused by her father for for many years, so when God was almost exclusively referred to in male oriented language as as Father God or loving father, it was actually deeply painful for her worship in the sanctuary was not, was not a safe space. GLORIA being Gloria, she didn’t quit. She didn’t go away. She persisted. GLORIA began keeping track of the gender oriented words every week, in the sermons, in the liturgy, in the music. The first Sunday, the first Sunday, she found 100 gender oriented words. 97 were male oriented, and the three female terms were mother, daughter, wife. How do I know that? Because Gloria kept a tally. And who got the tally? The young, naive pastor a fresh shot of seminary every single week she would send me these tallies. So I decided, I needed to meet with her, and I met with Gloria several times just to listen to her experience, to understand for her the importance of inclusive language and how some of the imagery that I was using for God, that that came from my experience, actually caused deep pain because of her experience. So I worked hard. I worked hard to be more aware, aware, and worked hard to be more more sensitive, changing the language and worship, trying the best I could to be more inclusive of her and everyone. And I remember asking Gloria. I remember asking her one week, after several months of this, I asked her if she was satisfied, and Gloria looked at me and said, Pastor, I’m not seeking satisfaction. I’m seeking justice and healing and a worship that will include all people. I’m trying to make sure that all are included and welcomed. Wow. Gloria saw another world was possible, a world of gender equity, a world where worship would not, would not use male dominated language, deepening her pain and other people’s pain, but be instead a place of inclusion, healing, restoration. For all her persistence wore down my resistance that came from my own limited worldview, her persistence really helped bring the more beautiful world that is possible just a little closer to arriving, although there’s still miles and miles and miles to go. You know, I’m really grateful for for a number of women in my own congregation. You know who you are, who call me out, who call me out when my language or or the language in our worship is not inclusive of everyone’s experience. You know, it would have been easy for Gloria to quit. It would have been easy for her to give up on church, give up, give up on me and. To lose heart, but she didn’t. She persisted. The first verse in Luke 18 says Jesus told the story of the persistent widow so that his followers would not lose heart. In the midst of life’s many disruptions, life’s many transitions, it’s so easy to become discouraged. It’s so easy to lose our way, to lose heart. It’s easy to allow the turmoil around us to become the trouble within us. How do we persist? How do we persist? Trusting another world is not only possible, but she is on her way. You know, a while back, I was driving a rental car in Seattle on my way to a conference in the middle of the worst thunderstorm. I mean, it was raining. I was lost. I was exhausted after a long day, and disoriented. You know, exhausted and disoriented actually probably describes many of us trying to find our way of midlife transitions these days. So my passenger for this journey was the most patient GPS on the planet. She never panicked, she never raised her voice, even though I was cussing at her, she never cussed at me back. She never freaked out when I was totally freaking out because, I mean, it was raining so hard I couldn’t see 10 feet in front of me. I couldn’t read the street signs. She never said. How many times do I have to tell you? She never said, you know, I can’t believe you missed that turn. And she certainly never said, no, no. The other laughed instead, no matter how clueless or how off course I got, and believe me, I continued to get off course. I heard her patient, persistent voice, saying one word. Do you know what it is? Yep. Recalculating. Recalculating, calmly, recalculating, how every day it seems life happens, right? Every day it seems life, life happens, and we’re forced to recalculate. Recalculating really seems to be the name of the game these days. Well, I think it would be fair to say that it actually took me a little while to trust the GPS. I mean, does she really know where she’s going? Does she know there’s a detour ahead? I truly didn’t trust her. I mean, Jesus would not have found a persistent faith in my car. But I can tell you the exact moment, the exact moment I began to trust this patient companion. So I’m traveling along the water trying to find the Conference Center. I’m late. I’m stressed. It’s pouring rain. I can’t see in front of me. The raindrops seem like the size of golf balls, and the GPS is telling me I’m approaching my destination on the right. Well, I all I can see on the right is, is a large body of water so that can’t be right? Is, is this GPS gonna gonna take me right into the middle of Puget? Sound? Am I gonna drown? I mean, I’m really tense. I can’t see in front of me. And then all of a sudden, my wise patient, persistent GPS says, in 500 feet, board the ferry. What? Wait a minute. Who knew there was a ferry to get to the conference center. Well, I guess the GPS did, and I never doubted her again the rest of the trip. You know, every day we’re recalculating, every single day, many of the familiar roads we’ve traveled on are now closed the ground, the solid ground we built our lives on, is shifting, moment by moment. Life is constantly changing, constantly changing and challenging us to recalculate. You know, I think the capacity. To persist in the midst of all of the recalculation and midst all of the transitions, the capacity to persist involves understanding that we may be lost, but we are never lost to love. We’re recalculating every day. Persisting is trusting that, that even though we can’t see around the corner in 500 feet, there just might be a fairy waiting for us to board. Persistence is trusting, trusting another world is not only possible, she’s on her way. So I want to finish by by offering a blessing I wrote for us in this season of transitions and disruptions where it seems like we’re constantly recalculating a blessing, especially for those of us who might be feeling just a little disoriented and maybe even dispirited, may you understand that to persist doesn’t mean to simply run faster, especially if you’re tired, depleted and lost, recalculating is remembering to rest, breathe deeply, connect to those things that heal your heart. Recalculating is being still and listening for that divine whisper in your soul, reminding you that you may feel lost, but you are never lost to love. Recalculating is remembering that no matter what roads you’ve traveled in the past, love always offers second chances, new beginnings May your own inner GPS be gentle and forgiving if you’ve taken some wrong turns, because no one really knows the way right now. And may you remember that what keeps our spiritual GPS connected to that divine satellite is community. I mean, we need each other. We need to be reminded again and again and again that we are God’s beloved, and to be encouraged to live into that truth. We need the support of one another to not lose heart for the sacred work of love that is ours to do. So may we be the gentle voice we each need to hear encouraging us to persist, because another world is not only possible, she is on her way. May it be so i.
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