"That got me thinking…"

Each of readings today somehow speaks to this idea of being persistent, as we think about following God – going on a journey –  both in our own lives and particularly as Crossroads Church community. I want to think with you this afternoon about the manner in which we follow God – and that is, with persistence. There are other times and places that we can ask “What does following God look like practically in my life? Or at Crossroads Church?” Just like Dorothy may have asked, “Should I go left or right? What happens if the road ends?” I do think those are important questions to ask and to acknowledge much of our spiritual growth happens in the asking and answering of those questions. But for our purposes today, I want to examine the manner of following God, of walking along the yellow brick road- namely persistently.

Let’s do a little collective review about Jacob, because he’s the character in our first reading.

Kristen+ talked to us last week about Abraham, so who was Abraham’s son?

Who did Isaac marry?

What were the name(s) of Isaac and Rebekah’s children?

What do we know about these two?

• twins, Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated; enmity in the womb
• Esau came out first, all hairy and was his father’s favorite, Jacob came out smooth and was mother’s favorite
• Jacob tricked Esau to get his brithright

Jacob tricked Esau to get his blessing from his father (at his mother’s urging), then had to flee. went to his relative Laban’s, was tricked and worked 14 years to marry Rachel, was tricked and stuck with Leah, then worked for 7 more to marry Rachel. competition between the two for children and he’s living with a scheming father-in-law.

And so we arrive at the scene of the reading today. Jacob and his family are trying to go back to his homeland (he’s trying to get back on the yellow brick road, and follow what God told him to do), but turns out Esau and 400 of his hairy compadres are blocking the way. Jacob’s rightly terrified, sends most of his family away (thinking if he is killed, the might at least escape), and he sends three rounds of gifts to his brother to soften him up a bit. Then he wrestles with an angel.

I don’t know about you, but this part of the story puzzles me a bit. I have lots of questions that I don’t know the answer to but a key for our purpose here is that Jacob was persistent. He wanted a blessing from the angel, and he wouldn’t give up til he got it. He was so persistent that the angel had to give him a wound near the hip, or at the point where the thigh bone connects to the joint – which incidentally is the strongest part of a person’s body. He was that persistent. He got back on the yellow brick road. He was persistent and that is what we need to be, both in our lives and as a church community. When we get distracted, get back on that road. When we meet people who are friendly, invite them on the journey with us. When we awake in a poppy field, shake off the dust and get back on that road.

Listen to these words from the reading in 2 Timothy: continue, rebuke and encourage with all patience, be persistent, endure suffering, carry out your ministry, and this from the Message Keep your eye on what you are doing! In other words, get on the road and stay on the road. Don’t be distracted, don’t leave the road, but when you do – get back on. When we as a church start drifting to one side or the other, we need to be reminded: stay on that road. When we as a church are tempted to look at the beautiful fields nearby and take a break – we need to be reminded: stay on the yellow brick road.

Notice what the gospel story is about: the persistent widow. This poor woman comes to an unjust judge day after day after day, begging for justice. He finally grants it to her so that she will leave him alone! Jesus says to us – be like her! Be persistent as you follow God. Stay on the yellow brick road.

It would actually be lovely to end here. We have our command; stay on they yellow brick road. Work hard! Keep trying. Don’t stop. We need to remind ourselves of this and we need to do it. But the lynchpin in this whole series of readings today lies in the Psalm. In the monastic way of life – of prayers and the daily office, the lynch pin is the Psalms. Reading through those together, day after day gives us the fullness and the range of human emotion. And I think its worth noticing that the Psalm today is not at all “Be persistent,” like the readings are. The readings give us a clear message about our manner and behavior. Keep walking. Get on the road. Stay on the road. We need to hear that. But the Psalm is about God, who is like the Great Wizard, except God  can actually solve our problems.. God is our help, God is the one who watches over our feet, God doesn’t sleep, God preserves us, God watches and protects us. So while it is we who walk on the yellow brick road, it is in God’s presence that we walk. God is the one who is at work around us and through us as we walk. Our job: get on that yellow brick road. Stay on that yellow brick road. God’s job: everything else.