19 Pentecost/Year C/Track 2 scriptures – October 19, 2025
Scriptures: Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
Rev Julie Platson
Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)
Eternal God, you remain constant with our ceaseless prayers. We seek your wisdom, yearn for your justice, and crave your blessing, for our own sake and for the sake of the world. By the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Christ, who prays with us. Amen.
Pray always…and do not lose heart…Those words were summed up in Jesus’ message in today’s parable shared with the disciples in ages past…and with us today as disciples of the present age who are seeking and striving to keep the faith, and not lose heart, in the midst of so much chaos, uncertainty, and heaviness of heart, and mind, and spirit that is prevalent all around us…
Jesus knows us all too well…our human desires and limitations frustrate us at times, when we can’t control what’s going on, when we can’t fix something, when we can’t hurry anything up to get to the end result that we want…especially when it comes to our desire to want to follow the way of love Christ has shown us, and as we strive to live out our baptismal promises to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and as we strive for justice and peace among all people, and choose to respect the dignity of every human being…
Jesus encourages us, reminds us: To pray always…and do not lose heart…Not as a means to escape the heartache and heaviness of what’s going on in our personal lives, or in our local communities, or in world-wide community neighbors…
But to pray always, and not lose heart…as a way to turn our hearts and our faces towards one another, to unite us to God and one another, in prayer, in building relationships with one another, encouraging one another, listening to one another, striving to understand one another, knowing that God is eternally present; believing Jesus is at the center of our hearts as the thread that binds us together, and holds us lovingly in the palm of God’s hands, hearing all of our cries for mercy and justice and peace…
And as we strive to pray always, and strive to not lose heart… it is the Holy Spirit that will nudge us, guide us, comfort us, remind us, that no matter what’s going on all around us, or in our own hearts, that seems to be out of our present control…or circumstances that cloud our vision and hope for anything to ever change or get better; for justice and peace and healing and reconciliation for all God’s people and creatures to ever come to fruition in our lifetime…or the generations yet to come…
Remember this:
God is here among us…God has always been here among us…God will always be with us…for ever…
I pray that those words remain with you and that Jesus’ words of encouragement today to pray always, and not lose heart remain with you… in the coming days...and months…as the people of St Peter’s, and Loyd and I, prepare to begin a new season of our lives…
Psalm 121 is my go-to scripture prayer…when I need to be reminded to pray always…and not lose heart…
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *from where is my help to come?
2 My help comes from the Lord, *the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved *and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *shall neither slumber nor sleep;
5 The Lord himself watches over you; *the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *it is he who shall keep you safe.
8 The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, *
from this time forth for evermore.
I invite you to turn to Psalm 121 in future days, too…when the spirit is nudging you, and calling you to pause, be still, and pray…and do not lose heart…
Being persistent in prayer, and not losing heart, also calls us to look back from time to time, and to see where God has been at work in our lives, listening to our cries, hearing our prayers, and bringing us through challenging experiences we never thought we would ever find any peace of mind or heart....and to give God thanks and praise…and to give thanks for the people in our lives who persisted in prayer for us and each other, and did not lose heart, did not lose their faith, but continued to trust and Hope in God, and in the life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ...who reminds us that in all of our endings, there is always the promise of new beginnings, a new creation just starting to come to life....
I am so thankful, Loyd and I are so thankful, for our time here at St Peter's and in Sitka...We've been through some beautiful and challenging times together...yet everyone who has served and worshipped in this place and on behalf of St Peter's in the community, has always shown me, beyond a doubt...the fruits of one's labor, in praying always, and not losing heart. These days and months ahead, you can be assured that you have worship leaders and vestry leaders who will continue to provide meaningful opportunities for you to be engaged in worship, programs and ministries in the church, and outreach in the community. The Bishop and his staff will be working closely with them, and all of you...to assist in helping you grow into the new creation God is calling you to in this next season of your lives together...
Pray always, and do not lose heart....
And in the words of WLP hymn 775…vs 1 & 4
Prayer/Hymn: (WLP) 775
1 Give thanks for life, the measure of our days,
mortal, we pass through beauty that decays,
yet sing to God our hope, our love, our praise, Alleluia, Alleluia!
4 Give thanks for hope, that like the wheat, the grain
lying in darkness does its life retain,
in resurrection to grow green again. Alleluia, Alleluia!