INTRODUCTION
Pray always. Do not lose heart. This is Christ’s encouragement in the gospel today. Wrestle with the word. Remember your baptism again and again. Come regularly to Christ’s table. Persistence in our every encounter with the divine will be blessed.
Click on either the picture above or the following link to access the October 16, 2022 Live-Stream Worship Service:
The Lessons: (Link to the Readings)
First Reading: Genesis 32:22-31
Returning to the home he had fled many years before after stealing his brother’s birthright and his father’s blessing, Jacob wrestles all night long with a divine adversary who ultimately blesses him and changes his name to “Israel,” a name that means “he wrestles with God.”
Psalm: Psalm 121
My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:2)
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5
The writer of this letter continues his instruction of Timothy, his younger colleague in ministry, by emphasizing the importance of faithful teaching despite opposition.
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
Jesus tells a parable of an unjust judge who is worn down by a widow’s pleas. Jesus is calling God’s people to cry out for justice and deliverance. For if an unethical judge will ultimately grant the plea of a persistent widow, how much more will God respond to those who call.
O Lord God, tireless guardian of your people, you are always ready to hear our cries. Teach us to rely day and night on your care. Inspire us to seek your enduring justice for all this suffering world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen