Do not be weary in well-doing.
2 Thessalonians

My "early American summer" consisted of a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, and the reading of Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer and 1776 by David McCullough.

Though I've visited Colonial Williamsburg more than a dozen times, studied early American history in high school and college, attended Christmas re-enactments of the crossing at Trenton, and pondered the painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, I was reminded anew how vital perseverance was to the outcome of the revolution. "Without Washington's ... unrelenting perseverance," McCullough writes, "the revolution almost certainly would have failed." When, by all reasonable signs the war was over and the Americans had lost, the pivotal victories of Trenton and Princeton happened, they happened because, above all, Washington and his ragtag army manifested the ability to persist.

This crucial factor of perseverance in early American history highlights the importance of the same in the accomplishment of Christian mission. When the Apostle Paul heard about members of the church in Thessalonica slipping into passive idleness, he admonished the congregation, saying: "Do not be weary in well-doing" (2 Thessalonians 3:13). That's good counsel, for stick-to-it-iveness is essential to the fulfillment of mission. "Hang in there!" is more than a commonplace expression of encouragement, it is sound advice for anyone intent on serving the Christ and bringing in the kingdom.

Lord, as workers with you in the kingdom,
    teach us to never give up.
In the pursuit of mission,
    grant us courage to grow not weary - the ability to persist.
Even when we experience hardship and difficulty,
    enable us to stick to the task,
    to fall not into idleness, to carry on.
We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ... Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Richard
Published Sunday September 4, 2005
Week 41 of Liturgical Year A