Persistence in Prayer and Hope Beyond Earthly Kingdoms

Persistent Prayer and the Three Spiritual Gifts

1. We have heard our Lord, the Heavenly Master and most faithful Counselor, who both encourages us to ask and gives when we ask. We have heard Him in the Gospel urging us to ask persistently and to knock with an almost intrusive persistence. He has given us an example: "If any of you had a friend, and were to go to him at midnight to ask for three loaves, when a friend traveling has come to you, and you have nothing to set before him; and he were to answer that he is now resting, with his servants, and should not be disturbed—but if you were to persist in knocking, unafraid that your modest requests would be rejected, but compelled by necessity to continue—he would rise, if not for friendship's sake, at least because of your persistence, and give you as many loaves as you need" (Luke 11:5-8).

How many did the man want? He asked for only three. To this parable, the Lord added an exhortation. He urged us earnestly to ask, seek, and knock until we receive what we ask, seek, and knock for. He used an example from a different situation—that of "a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man," yet when a certain widow petitioned him day after day, he was overcome by her persistence and granted what he was unwilling to give out of kindness (Luke 18:2-5).

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is among us as a Petitioner, with God as the Giver, would surely not urge us so strongly to ask if He weren't willing to give. He is more willing to give than we are to receive. He is more willing to show mercy than we are to be delivered from misery. Indeed, if we aren't delivered, we will remain in misery. He exhorts us only for our own benefit.

2. Let us awaken, believe Him who encourages us, obey Him who promises, and rejoice in Him who gives to us. Perhaps, at some time or other, a friend traveling has come to us too, and we've found nothing to set before him. Through this experience of need, we've received both for ourselves and for him.

Surely it has happened to some of us that a friend has asked something we couldn't answer. Then we discovered our limitations when pressed to provide an answer. A friend has come to you "from the road"—that is, from this worldly life where all people pass as strangers and no one remains as a permanent resident. To each person it is said, "You have been refreshed; now move on, continue your journey, make way for the next traveler."

Or perhaps from an evil "road"—that is, from an evil life—some friend of yours comes, weary and unable to find truth that would make him happy. Exhausted amid all the desire and poverty of the world, he comes to you as to a Christian and says, "Explain this to me; make me a Christian." He asks about something you didn't know due to the simplicity of your faith. You have nothing to satisfy his hunger, and in this reminder, you discover your own poverty. When you wish to teach, you are forced to learn. When you feel embarrassed before the one who asked—not finding in yourself what he's looking for—you must seek, so you may be worthy to find.

3. Where should you seek? Where but in the books of the Lord? Perhaps what he has asked is contained in Scripture, but it's unclear. The Apostle may have declared it in an Epistle in a way you can read but not understand. You can't move on. The questioner persists; Paul himself, or Peter, or any of the Prophets—you're not allowed to consult them directly. For this family now rests with their Lord, and deep is the ignorance of this life—that is, it's midnight, and your hungry friend is urgent.

A simple faith might have been enough for you, but it's not enough for him. Should he be abandoned? Should he be turned away from your house? No! Knock in prayer to the Lord Himself, with whom the family is at rest. Ask, be persistent. Unlike the friend in the parable, the Lord won't give to you reluctantly because of your persistence. He wants to give. What you have not yet received through your knocking, keep seeking. He wants to give, but He delays what He wishes to give so you may desire it more intensely when it's delayed. If given too quickly, it might be lightly valued.

4. When you have received the three loaves—that is, food to understand the Trinity—you have what sustains you and what you can share with others. You need not fear the stranger who comes to you from his journey. By welcoming him, you can make him part of the household. You need not fear running out of this Bread. It will not come to an end; rather, it will end your need.

The Bread is God the Father, and it is Bread, God the Son, and it is Bread, God the Holy Spirit. The Father is Eternal, the Son is Co-eternal with Him, and the Holy Spirit is Co-eternal. The Father is Unchangeable, the Son is Unchangeable, the Holy Spirit is Unchangeable. The Father is Creator, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the Shepherd and Giver of life, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the Food and eternal Bread, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Learn, and teach; be nourished yourself, and feed others. God, who gives to you, gives nothing better than Himself. O greedy one, what else were you seeking? If you seek anything else, what will satisfy you if God Himself doesn't satisfy you?

5. But it's essential that you have charity, that you have faith, that you have hope. These too—faith, hope, charity—are three gifts. And these also are gifts from God. We have received faith from Him, as it is written, "As God has distributed to each one the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3). We have received hope from Him, to whom it is said, "In You have You made me hope" (Psalm 119:49). And we have received charity from Him, of whom it is said, "The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5).

These three are in some measure different from each other, but all are gifts of God. For "there remain these three: faith, hope, and charity; but the greatest of these is charity" (1 Corinthians 13:13). With those three loaves, it's not said that any one loaf was greater than the others. Simply that three loaves were asked for and given.

6. Consider these other three things Jesus mentions: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:11-13).

Let us consider these three things, and whether they might correspond to faith, hope, and charity— "the greatest of these is charity" (1 Corinthians 13:13). If we analyze these three things—a loaf, a fish, an egg—the greatest is the loaf. Therefore, in these three, we do well to understand charity represented by "the loaf." This is why Jesus contrasted a stone with the loaf, because hardness is contrary to charity.

By "a fish" we understand faith. As a holy man has said (and we are glad to repeat it): "The 'good fish' is a godly faith." Fish live amid the waves and aren't broken or dissolved by them. Amid the temptations and storms of this world, godly faith lives on. The world rages, yet faith remains unharmed.

Notice that the serpent is contrary to faith. For my faith is betrothed to the one to whom it is said in the Song of Songs, "Come from Lebanon, My bride, coming and passing over to Me from the beginning of faith" (Song of Songs 4:8). Faith is the beginning of betrothal, for the bridegroom promises something, and by this pledged faith he is bound. To this betrothed one, the Apostle says, "I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2). And, "I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3)—that is, from the faith that is in Christ. For he says, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:17). Therefore, let not the devil corrupt our faith; let him not devour the fish.

7. There remains hope, which, I believe, is represented by the egg. For hope has not yet arrived at fulfillment; an egg is something, but not yet a chicken. Four-legged animals give birth to their young already formed, but birds give birth to the hope of offspring. Hope therefore encourages us to despise present things and wait for things to come. "Forgetting those things which are behind," let us, with the Apostle, "reach forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

Nothing is so hostile to hope as looking back—placing hope in things that slip away and pass. We should place our hope in those things not yet given but which will someday be given and will never pass away. But when the world is flooded with trials—like the sulfurous rain of Sodom—we must remember the example of Lot's wife. She "looked back," and at the spot where she looked back, there she remained. She was turned into salt to season the wise with her example (Genesis 19:26).

The Apostle Paul speaks of this hope: "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance" (Romans 8:24-25). It's like an egg, not yet a chicken. It's covered with a shell; you can't see what's inside because it's covered. You must wait patiently for it to be warmed so life can develop. Press on, "reach forward to those things which are ahead, forget what lies behind." For "the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Extend your hope to those things that are not seen; wait and endure. Don't look back. Fear the "scorpion" that threatens your "egg." See how it wounds with its tail, which it keeps behind. Don't let the "scorpion" crush your "egg." Don't let this world crush your hope with its poison directed against you from behind.

How loudly the world speaks to you, what an uproar it makes behind your back to make you look back! It wants you to place your hope in present things (which aren't even truly present since they have no stability) and turn your mind away from what Christ has promised but not yet given. Though He hasn't given it yet, He is faithful and will give it. Don't be content to seek rest in a perishing world.

8. For this reason, God mixes bitterness with earthly pleasures, so that we might seek another happiness whose sweetness doesn't deceive. Yet even through these bitter experiences, the world tries to turn you away from your forward pursuit and make you look back. Despite these troubles, you complain, saying, "Look, everything is falling apart in Christian times."

What kind of complaint is this? God hasn't promised me that these things won't perish. Christ hasn't promised this. The Eternal has promised eternal things. If I believe, I—a mortal—will become immortal. What is this noise, O impure world! What are you murmuring about? Why are you trying to turn me back? Although you're perishing, you wish to keep me with you. What would you do if you were permanent? Whom wouldn't you deceive with your sweetness if, even with all your bitterness, you still impose your false nourishment on us?

As for me, if I have hope, if I hold firmly to my hope, my "egg" hasn't been damaged by the "scorpion." "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1). Whether the world prospers or whether it's turned upside down, "I will bless the LORD" who made the world. Yes, indeed, I will bless Him. Whether things go well for me physically or poorly, "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."

If I bless Him when things go well, but blaspheme when they go poorly, I've received the "scorpion's" sting. Being stung, I've "looked back"—may that be far from us! "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

Hope Beyond the Kingdoms of This World

9. The city that gave us birth according to the flesh still stands, thanks be to God. May it receive a spiritual birth and pass over with us into eternity! If the city that gave us physical birth doesn't endure, the one that gave us spiritual birth endures forever. "The LORD builds up Jerusalem" (Psalm 147:2). Has He allowed His building to be ruined by sleeping, or by failing to protect it from enemies? "Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1). And what city? "He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4).

Who is Israel but the offspring of Abraham? What is the offspring of Abraham but Christ? "To your seed," He says, "who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). And what does He say to us? "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). "In your seed," He says, "all the nations shall be blessed" (Genesis 22:18).

The holy city, the faithful city, the city that sojourns on earth, has its foundation in heaven. O faithful one, don't corrupt your hope, don't lose your charity, "gird up your loins," and hold out your lamps; "wait for the Lord when He will return from the wedding" (Luke 12:35-36).

Why are you alarmed because the kingdoms of earth are perishing? A heavenly kingdom has been promised to you so that you won't perish with the earthly kingdoms. It was clearly foretold that these earthly kingdoms would perish. We can't deny that it was predicted. Your Lord, for whom you're waiting, has said, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Matthew 24:7). Earthly kingdoms undergo changes; the One of whom it is said, "and of His kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33) will come.

10. Those who promised eternity to earthly kingdoms were not guided by truth but have lied through flattery. A poet of theirs introduced Jupiter speaking, saying of the Romans:

"To them no bounds of empire I assign, Nor term of years to their immortal line."

Certainly, truth makes no such claim. This empire that you've given "without term of years"—is it on earth or in heaven? If on earth, even if it were in heaven, "heaven and earth will pass away" (Matthew 24:35). The things God Himself has made will pass away—how much more quickly will what Romulus founded pass away!

Perhaps if we pressed Virgil on this point and mockingly asked him why he said it, he would take us aside privately and say: "I know this as well as you, but what could I do? I was selling words to the Romans. If I hadn't promised something false through this kind of flattery, they wouldn't have been pleased. Yet even in this instance, I was cautious. When I said, 'I assigned to them an empire without term of years,' I introduced their Jupiter to say it. I didn't utter this falsehood in my own person but attributed the untruthfulness to Jupiter. As the god was false, so the poet was false. Would you like to know that I understood the truth? In another place, when I didn't introduce this stone called Jupiter but spoke in my own person, I said:

'The impending ruin of the Roman state.'

See how I spoke of the impending ruin of the state. I spoke of its approaching destruction. I didn't hide it. When speaking the truth, I wasn't silent about its ruin; when flattering, I promised it would last forever."

11. Let us not lose heart, my brothers and sisters. All earthly kingdoms will end. If that end is now, God knows. Perhaps it's not yet, and we, through some weakness, or mercy, or misery, wish it not to be yet. Nevertheless, won't it eventually come? Fix your hope in God, desire eternal things, wait for eternal things.

You are Christians, brothers and sisters—we are all Christians. Christ didn't come in the flesh that we might live comfortably. Let us endure rather than love present things. The harm of adversity is obvious, but the soft allurement of prosperity is deceptive. Fear the sea even when it's calm. Let us not hear in vain, "Lift up your hearts." Why do we place our hearts on earth when we see the earth being turned upside down?

We can't help but urge you to have something to say in defense of your hope against those who mock and blaspheme the Christian name. Let no one through their complaining turn you away from waiting for future things. All who blaspheme our Christ because of these adversities are the "scorpion's" tail. Let us put our "egg" under the wings of that mother hen in the Gospel, who cries out to that false and abandoned city, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37).

Let it not be said to us, "How often I wanted to, and you were not willing!" For that hen is Divine Wisdom, but she took on flesh to accommodate herself to her chicks. Notice the hen with feathers standing on end, with drooping wings, with broken and tremulous voice, weak and languishing, adapting herself to her little ones. Let our "egg"—that is, our hope—be placed beneath the wings of this Hen.

12. You may have noticed how a hen will tear a scorpion to pieces. O may the Hen of the Gospel tear apart and devour these blasphemers who creep out of their holes inflicting harmful stings! May she transform them into her Body and turn them into an egg. Let them not be angry; we seem excited, but we don't return curses for curses. "We are reviled, and we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat" (1 Corinthians 4:12-13).

But some say, "He won't speak of Rome—I wish he would keep quiet about Rome!" As though I were insulting it, rather than praying to the Lord for it and encouraging all of you, unworthy as I am. Far be it from me to insult it! May the Lord keep this from my heart and from the grief of my conscience. Haven't we had many brothers there? Don't we still have them? Doesn't a large portion of the pilgrim city of Jerusalem live there? Hasn't it endured temporal afflictions? But it hasn't lost eternal things.

What can I say, then, when I speak of Rome, except that it's false what they say about our Christ—that He is Rome's destroyer, and that their gods of wood and stone were its defenders? Add what is more costly: "gods of brass." Add what is costlier still: "of silver and gold." "The idols of the nations are silver and gold" (Psalm 115:4). He didn't say "stone," he didn't say "wood," he didn't say "clay," but what they value highly: "silver and gold." Yet these silver and golden idols "have eyes, but they do not see" (Psalm 115:5). The gods of gold and wood may differ in cost, but regarding "having eyes and not seeing," they are equal.

See what kind of guardians educated people have entrusted Rome to—those "who have eyes and do not see." If they were able to preserve Rome, why did they themselves perish first? They say, "Rome perished at the same time." Nevertheless, they perished. "No," they say, "they didn't perish themselves, just their statues." Well, how could they protect your houses if they couldn't even protect their own statues?

Alexandria once lost such gods. Constantinople, ever since it became a great city (made so by a Christian Emperor), lost its false gods, yet it has grown and continues to grow and endure. It will remain as long as God pleases. We don't promise eternal duration to this city either when we say this. Carthage remains now in the possession of Christ's name, yet once its goddess Caelestis was overthrown—for celestial she was not, but terrestrial.

13. What they say isn't true—that immediately after losing her gods, Rome was taken and ruined. It's completely false. Their images were overthrown before, and even afterward the Goths under Radagaisus were defeated. Remember, my brothers, remember; it wasn't long ago, just a few years—recall it. After all the images in Rome had been overthrown, Radagaisus, king of the Goths, came with a large army, much larger than Alaric's. Radagaisus was a pagan; he sacrificed to Jupiter every day. Everywhere it was announced that Radagaisus never stopped sacrificing.

Then everyone said, "Look, we don't sacrifice, but he does. We who aren't allowed to sacrifice will be conquered by him who does sacrifice." But God, proving that not even temporal deliverance nor the preservation of earthly kingdoms depends on these sacrifices, allowed Radagaisus, with the Lord's help, to be marvelously defeated.

Afterward came other Goths who didn't sacrifice. They came, and though they weren't Catholics in the Christian faith, they were hostile to idols. They took Rome; they conquered those who trusted in idols, who were still seeking after the idols they had lost and wishing to sacrifice to lost gods.

Among them were some of our brothers who also suffered. But they had learned to say, "I will bless the LORD at all times" (Psalm 34:1). They experienced the afflictions of their earthly kingdom, but they didn't lose the kingdom of heaven. In fact, they were made better through their trials. If they didn't blaspheme in their tribulations, they emerged as sound vessels from the furnace, filled with the Lord's blessing.

But those blasphemers who seek and long for earthly things, who place their hope in earthly things—when they lose these things, whether willingly or not, what will they keep? Where will they abide? They have nothing outside, nothing inside—an empty coffer, an emptier conscience.

Where is their rest? Where is their salvation? Where is their hope? Let them come, let them stop blaspheming, let them learn to worship. Let the scorpions with their stings be devoured by the Hen; let them be transformed into her body. Let them be disciplined on earth and crowned in heaven.