So this parable that we just heard is often called the parable of the unjust judge. We see those little titles in the Bible, right? The headings that supposedly tell us what the next section is about. But those titles aren't really part of the text. They're put in there by editors, and they're not even the same in every Bible. And I'm not sure they're always accurate. They can lead us down a path of interpretation that might not be the only one. Now, if I were to title this passage, I would call it the parable of the persistent widow. The parable is really about a widow who is seeking justice, continually rebuffed by a judge who, in his own words, does not fear God or respect people. And yet the widow returns again and again to demand justice. Finally, the judge relents, not because he is moved by her plea or because of his own sense of justice, but simply to get her to stop bothering him. Her perseverance is what the story is really about. But what I find most interesting about this passage is what Jesus says before and after he tells this parable. The first verse reads, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart,” about their need to pray always and not lose heart. And then the last verse, after Jesus ends the story by reminding the disciples that God does treat us so much better than the unjust judge, reads, “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” So this short passage has moved us very quickly from prayer, through perseverance, and right to faith. But Jesus tells this little story about perseverance to the disciples when he's talking to them about prayer. Because prayer isn't necessarily easy. Most of the power of prayer is in the way that prayer changes us. It's in the way that God works in and with us through prayer, deepening our connection to God and to each other and to this world. And sometimes that change is hard. Sometimes when we pray, it's a struggle—a struggle to know how to pray, or how to know what God's response is, or if God even is responding. Sometimes prayer can feel a little like wrestling with God, or maybe a lot like wrestling with God. The reading from the Hebrew scripture today is the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Now, the background to this story is that Jacob was on a journey to reconcile with his brother, Esau, whom he had wronged a couple of decades earlier. And Jacob had received word that Esau was on his way to this meeting with 400 men, and Jacob was afraid that Esau was coming with an army to take his revenge. Jacob divided his company into two different areas so that at least part of them would have a chance at survival. He sent his family away, and he was left to spend the night preparing to meet his brother. He was alone, and he was afraid. And the scripture says, “A man wrestled with him until daybreak.” That is a long struggle. And there was no winner in that wrestling match. The man—who Jacob realized by the end was not an ordinary human—had injured him and asked to be let go. But Jacob had not persevered this long, all night, for nothing and demanded a blessing before letting the man go. And so Jacob is given a blessing and a new name. It is important to note that this was not a redemptive moment for Jacob. Jacob was a trickster getting what he wanted through deception. And that actually didn't change for Jacob. Everything was not suddenly magically wonderful in Jacob's life or in his character. And yet he was blessed in that moment. He saw God's face, and then he went on to continue to wrestle with God in different ways for the rest of his life. And his story of persevering through struggle is important. The biblical scholar John Anderson puts it this way: Jacob's refusal to let go of God is what raw, honest faith looks like. Faith is not just passively submitting to God. It is grappling, contending, tenacious, and persistent. It is wrestling—grabbing hold of God and refusing to let go despite the struggle, the time, the risks, the injury—because the blessing is worth it. “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And this is the story of Jacob, of God's people Israel, who will grow from his twelve sons. And it is our story, too, because sometimes faith feels like wrestling. And we can choose to let go, but at what cost? The blessing that is on offer to us from this story is that even in the midst of real struggle, in the darkest of nights, if we refuse to let go, then yes, we may come away injured, marked, or limping, as did Jacob. But if we just hold on, we might also come away with a blessing—and having caught a glimpse of the very face of God. So this theme of perseverance and persistence shows up in the epistle reading today, too. Timothy is urged in this letter to be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable, in proclaiming and teaching the good news of Christ. Paul writes to him, “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” We are in one of those times right now. A time has come when truth is suspect. Our social media feeds and even the news are filled with confirmation bias. We hear and see what we want to hear and see. To do the work of an evangelist, as Paul exhorts, is today more important than ever: to tell of Jesus’ love for us, and to show what it means to love your neighbor; to stand with the marginalized and the oppressed; to welcome the stranger; to show the world what true Christian love looks like; to persevere in, as Paul says, living out our shared ministry fully. And even the psalm today emphasizes perseverance—although it's the other way around. It's God's perseverance that is celebrated there, God's persistent care for us, heard in the repeated refrain: “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The Lord watches over you.” God's persistent longing for us answered by our persistent longing for God. So, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? Yes. If we heed Jesus’ teaching to pray always and not lose heart. Yes. Through prayer and perseverance, we will have faith. Faith in God and God's love. Faith that our actions make a difference in this world. Faith that justice will eventually prevail. Faith that change for the better is possible through our actions, through our prayer, through proclaiming the truth of the gospel. Yes—he will find people persevering in the face of those who reject truth. People with the persistence to wrestle all through the night, not knowing what will happen in the morning, but believing in the blessing of hope. Don't lose heart. Persevere in prayer for this world. For justice, truth, and love will eventually prevail.