Saturday, August 9, 2014

Perseverance in Faith

The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
   your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
   in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,
   the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
   disaster came upon them,

says the Lord.

 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
   that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
   who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
   in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
   in a land that no one passes through,
   where no one lives?’
I brought you into a plentiful land
   to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
   and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
   Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
   the prophets prophesied by Baal,
   and went after things that do not profit.


Therefore once more I accuse you,

says the Lord,
   and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
   send to Kedar and examine with care;
   see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
   even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
   for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
   be shocked, be utterly desolate,

says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
   they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
   and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
   that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2: 1-13)






            Perseverance is not usually one of our strong suites. We allow youthful enthusiasm to evolve into mature cynicism. Life beats us down and eventually we abandon our first love. After beginning well, we gradually we get off track. It is hard to keep swimming upstream. Stroke by stroke we grow weary of being 'the odd man out'. Having been worn down, we stop fighting the tug of the current and abandon ourselves to the flow. Once we stop striving against the draw of secular thought and begin to immerse ourselves in the tide of acceptable social mores, we shall stop journeying for the 'other shore'. When we get tired, let us not take the easy way out, of giving in to the movement of the stream. Rather, let us hold fast to the anchor of our profession. It is essential that we cling to Christ Who alone can bring us safely home. 




            Gospel hope is our anchor in the storms of this world. It is sure and steadfast, or it could not keep us so. The free grace of God, the merits and mediation of Christ, and the powerful influences of his Spirit, are the grounds of this hope, and so it is a steadfast hope. Christ is the object and ground of the believer's hope. Let us set our affections on things above, and wait patiently for his appearance, when we shall certainly appear with him in glory. Those who love souls must be willing to bear the consequences of their faithfulness.Maintaining a strong faith in God requires steadfast courage and unwavering hope in the face of our complex world situation. We have to admit, it was much easier to believe when we were young. The ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ have caused us to doubt God’s love, to question other people’s sincerity and to deny our personal worth. It seems we have lost the sure and trustworthy anchor of our souls (Cf. Heb. 6: 19). 




            Popular opinion does not change or alter eternal truth. Contrary to our democratic way of looking at things, God does not need our permission to exist. God does not depend on our approval ratings to be Master of the Universe. As the Master of the Universe, He exercises dominion over all that He has created. Because God is unchanged and unchangeable, He is the ground and foundation that holds us firm in the face of all life’s challenges. He remains faithful to His Word, even though we are unfaithful. He always acknowledges the work of His hands. As the Psalmist wrote: “He made us, we belong to Him” (Ps. 100:3). There is comfort in knowing that it is He who made us and has a plan for us. This plan cannot be undone by our unfaithfulness. Unlike secular society, God never tires of forgiving us when we wander from the fold. In Him we live and move and have our being. In Him we saved from our sins and recreated in light and grace. Because of the victory of the Cross, we belong to Him and are not our own. May we make it our business to give Him glory and praise to the latest day and hour of our lives. 

--Fr. Jerome Machar, OSCO

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