Persistence, Patience, and God’s Timing
Readings and Virtual Homily for October 19, 2025, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time; San Gabriel Hits a Milestone
Readings for Mass this Sunday:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:2
Luke 18:1-8
Dear Friends and Family,
Persistence pays. Those two words might be used to sum up a central theme in today's readings.
The reading from Exodus details an early skirmish in the desert; a battle between the Israelites and the tribe called Amalek. The Israelites were not always alone in the desert. They encountered both friends and enemies there and today's reading, as mentioned, details an early battle, a battle which happened even before they had received the Ten Commandments.
Moses stood on a hillside overlooking the battle. While his arms were raised, Israel was doing well against Amalek; when Moses got tired and lowered his arms, the battle went against Israel. So "Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady until sunset" (vs. 12). And Israel won the battle.
A clear takeaway from this example of persistence is that there may be times when, in order to persist, we will need the assistance and support of others.
The psalm likewise counsels a persistence based on trust; trust in God's saving help. The opening verses encourage such trust. "I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From whence shall come my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth," (vss. 1-2). Observing that the Lord, "the guardian of Israel, never slumbers nor sleeps" (vs. 4), the psalm goes on to assure us that the Lord will "guard you from all evil...the Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever" (vss. 7-8). Trust in that reality -- our faith that God has "got this," can be a huge factor in our ability to persevere.
This Sunday is another of those relatively rare ones where the second reading actually dovetails with the theme of the other readings. In terms of preaching the Gospel, Paul urges Timothy, "be persistent, whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching" (4:2). Paul references the virtue of patience which is integral to the virtue of perseverance. It is impossible to persist, to persevere, without patience. Patience, again, requires trust. In my own experience, at least, it is much easier to be patient in difficult circumstances, if one does indeed trust that Lord has "got this."
So to Luke and the parable of the persistent widow. Note that the judge in this parable is described as a bad man. He is corrupt. He does what he is bribed to do. This widow is not bribing him, but her persistence persuades him that she could eventually threaten his physical well-being (vss. 4-5) and so he finally rules in her favor.
Jesus uses the example of the evil judge precisely to drive home his point that if even a bad judge will yield to persistence, and render a just decision, how much more so will it be with God (vss. 6-8). Our tradition is littered with examples of saintly persistence which in God's perfect timing yielded huge blessings.
This gets back to the business, which we have recently considered, of God's plan and God's timing. My experience with both persistence and God's timing is as long as it is deep. It in fact goes back to the summer of 1979, when I graduated from Cal and realized that if I really meant business about a career as a writer, it was now or never.
And at times, over the past forty-six years, it has indeed felt like never. But my conviction that writing was a talent God expected me to develop has never wavered. To underscore the homily's theme, I have persisted. And, to make a neat segue into the "personal update" part of the homily, that persistence would at last appear to be producing fruit, at San Gabriel Media.
This past week one of our You Tube videos hit the million marks, in terms of views. This is a first for us; a milestone. I am joyful, to be able to report it. We have a number of episodes, from our various programs, that have racked up hundreds of thousands of views. But this week, for the first time, one of them hit one million. We are grateful.
And...we are confident that this is just the first of many videos that will cross the million views mark; we in fact expect entire series of episodes to eventually attract far more than one million views. There is, so far as I am able to judge, nothing arrogant in our expectations (and I do stress the plural, the "our" expectations; everyone at San Gabriel expects great things, eventually and down the line). As I have said before, this is the Gospel. This is the Good News. We present it, at San Gabriel, in a new and unique way. Our audience is beginning to find us; and because they are OUR audience, they appreciate us.
And we appreciate them. We've got a lot of great things in store, for our subscribers.
On a tangential and rather comic note, a dear friend in Brentwood texted me this week to let me know that she had just watched a recently posted video at San Gabriel and...
"Jim! I just saw your most recent post. Oh my gosh. You look like death warmed over. Please. Take care of yourself. You are burning the candle at both ends. You are -- allegedly -- on sabbatical. But are you getting even one good night's sleep a week?! The puffiness under your eyes and the pallor of your complexion suggest to me the answer to that question and it is not an answer I can abide without protest. I care about you. You know I care about you. PLEASE. Take care of yourself. Take time off. Time to relax. Time to reflect. This. Is. A. Sabbatical. Do you know what the word means?! Sorry if I have spoken out of turn. I love you and you know it. That is the reason for this text."
So, okay. Not a direct and exact quote, but close enough, as we used to say at my office at Cal, close enough for government work. You get the gist of my dear friend's concerns.
So...yeah...It. Is. A. Sabbatical.
And I ain't takin' no time off. That is why I cancelled Europe this month. I would be in Paris this weekend, had I stayed with the original travel plan. Much as I love Paris, I am really glad to be in Hayward, this weekend, instead.
And though I apologize for looking like death warmed over in a recent video -- and we can do things to arrest that problem -- I just have to say this. This sabbatical feels hugely satisfying -- to the point of self-indulgence -- precisely because of how it has freed me to...work. Work fulltime at writing, at editing, at video production and post-production, at marketing and at the promotion of a brand new media ministry that seeks -- I mean it -- to engage the world. Many of our subscribers are from India. We have subscribers as well in Kenya, in Cape Town, in Buenos Aires, in Manila, in Melbourne. We have subscribers right here at home.
San Gabriel is bustin' out all over, to borrow from what I think is the playbook for OKLAHOMA. (We even have subscribers in Oklahoma.)
Just sayin'. I mean, I think most of you know me and get me. I was born to write. And my writing -- in terms of scripts for You Tube productions -- is finally finding its audience.
All the same, I appreciate very much the "slap up the side of the head" from mi amiga in Brentwood. I AM getting some real downtime this fall. But honestly, no, it is probably not enough. I can aim at getting more. I did not argue with my friend, in answering her texts. There would have been no point. She is right. But...persistence could be my middle name. And here I am, after 46 years of persistence as a writer...encountering my audience. In India!
So, okay...Balance. Downtime. Rest and relaxation. NOT looking like death warmed over in You Tube videos. Not gonna argue with any of these points. Just need to figure out how to...totally go for it (which I have been waiting 46 years to be able to do) and at the same time not quite go for broke.
Easier said than done, because going for broke is something I have never been afraid to do. Even after winding up broke, time and again.
I'll be back. Next week.
Take good care and God bless.
Love,
El Padre, the cheerful workaholic