Remaining Faithful


What comes to mind when you read “remaining faithful?” Maybe thoughts of commitments made or promises broken.  In his second letter to Timothy, St. Paul implores him “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it…” (3:14).  “Because you know from whom you learned it.”  At the heart of remaining faithful is not really a thing, thought, or idea, but rather a person.  It is someone to whom we promise.  It is somebody to whom we remain faithful.

When we vow to uphold a promise it is not really the content to which we feel connected, but rather to the person with whom we made that pact. We do not remain faithful to a set of rules and regulations; rather we remain faithful to a person: Jesus Christ.  We follow those rules and regulations because we know who gave them to us.  We follow them because we know they are good for us and are conducive for our salvation, and we know this because of who told us these things.  The art of remaining faithful is an art that is lived out.  To remain faithful we must know and love.  If we do not know the person, we cannot really love them.  And, if we do not really love them, we would not be faithful to them, let alone being so unreservedly.  So, do we know to whom we are remaining faithful?  Is our knowing one of knowledge or one of encounter and relationship? The former can only get us so far for the former will give us the content and the initial push, but it is the latter that will encourage us to remain.  Only a relationship with the One who has given us everything can fuel us to want to remain faithful. 

In the Gospel, Jesus gives the disciples some tips on how to refine this art of remaining faithful. 
“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk.18:1).  The “how” to remaining faithful is prayer.  As we know already, prayer is our relationship with God.  In constantly praying and nourishing our relationship with the Father, we are strengthened and encouraged ever more to remain faithful and steadfast. The parable goes on to depict a persistent widow who persevered and never gave up approaching the judge, asking him to render a just judgement.  “While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me” (Lk. 18:4-5).  Likewise in the Old Testament, because of Moses’ faithfulness to what God has commanded and the support of Aaron and Hur, Joshua was able to defeat Amalek (Ex. 17:8-13). 

Jesus tells His disciples that God hears us and wants to answer us, so “Don’t give up!  Keep praying!” For it is through prayer that we are able to come to know Our God and so fall in love with Him.  In falling in love with God we will then want to lead others to do the same while we ourselves remain faithful and steadfast in this relationship of love. If our relationship with God is the center and focus of our lives, all other relationships will fall into place and will come from that very same relationship.  And so, in remaining steadfast in our relationship with God we can carry out what Our Lord has commanded us to do: to love God, to love others, and to love ourselves.  Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk. 18:8).  This faith perhaps is interiorly, our steadfastness in our relationship with God, and exteriorly how we treat our brothers and sisters.  

When the Son of Man comes, will He find us remaining faithful to the One from whom He comes and to His command to love?    

Father, instill within my heart a burning desire to know You and so to love You, who have loved me from all eternity. And in knowing you, strengthen my faith so that when the Son of Man comes, I may rejoice in His coming.    



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