One day during my New Testament course in undergrad, the professor began class by writing the word “ύπομονή” on the chalkboard. I remember him telling the class that this was the most important word in the New Testament. I knew so little Greek at the time that my guess was the most important word must be love, or faith, or cross. However, that word he wrote on the chalkboard translates to ‘endurance’ or ‘perseverence’.
The word occurs often in the New Testament. Considering all the times it shows up as a noun and a verb, there are about fifty occurrences. Each of the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Luke, and Mark) all convey that “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes about the “God of endurance” and that by our endurance we may have hope. One of my favorite lines is from James, “we count as blessed those who have persevered.”
As a [former] distance runner, I have often considered the importance of endurance, but rarely in spiritual terms. What running taught me, is that endurance is built over a long stretch of time, but is tested within a very short window. It can seem puzzling to train for hours each day for months and years on end, just for a few minute race. Likewise, sometimes it may feel like we pray and offer good works for years on end, and yet our faith can be tested in an unexpected flash.
In a letter to Dorothy Day from 1960, Thomas Merton wrote, “Perseverance– yes, more and more one sees that it is the great thing. But there is a thing that must not be overlooked. Perseverance is not hanging on to some course which we have set our minds to, and refusing to let go. It is not even a matter of getting a bulldog grip on the faith and not letting the devil pry us loose from it – though many of the saints made it look that way. Really, there is something lacking in such a hope as that. Hope is a greater scandal than we think. I am coming to think that God loves and helps best those who are so beat and have so much nothing when they come to die that it is almost as if they had persevered in nothing but had gradually lost everything, piece by piece, until there was nothing left but God. Hence, perseverance is not hanging on but letting go.”
What I particularly enjoy about that quote is the honesty of admitting that perseverance is honored “more and more.” Rarely does one understand its importance at first. I had my doubts when the professor wrote the word on the chalkboard many moons ago. It is true that Jesus’ own words in the scripture helps to convince us “more and more” the importance of perseverance, yet ultimately I believe it is our own lives that continues to teach us this lesson as well.
Scripture verses for further reflection:
- Matthew 10:22
- Matthew 24:13
- Mark 13:13
- Luke 21:19
- Romans 15:5
- James 5:11
Source: Merton, Thomas. The Hidden Ground of Love, 1985.
Kevin's Corner 