[Sermon] Faith That Refuses to Let Go

Rev. Salvador Cosio

October 19, 2025 + Lectionary 29

Living Generously, Loving Boldy Week 3: Love That Seeks Justice

Like the widow who would not give up, we are called to a faith that persists—to pray, to act, and to love boldly in a weary world. Pastor Salvador invites us to see that justice and generosity are not separate virtues but expressions of the same Spirit at work in us. Every act of compassion, every prayer for change, becomes part of God’s unfolding justice. Love that seeks justice is faith in motion—a living, breathing expression of hope. When we live this way, we discover that God never lets go of us either.

Sermon Transcript

From YouTube's automatic captions, lightly edited by AI for readability.

Grace and peace to you from our God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus today tells us a story about the need to pray and not be discouraged.

If we open our social media, if we go outside, if we go to a place that is crowded, it’s hard not to be discouraged, right? It is hard. It is hard. Yesterday, we saw a lot of people asking for justice everywhere across the country. We saw a lot of people asking for justice. Isn’t that beautiful? Doesn’t that bring us hope?

We are together, seeking justice.

Today, this parable begins with Jesus telling his disciples about the need to pray always—always, always, always—and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city”—that could be anywhere, anywhere—“there was a judge, a leader, a person with power, someone who made decisions that affected other people’s lives.” This judge had no respect for God or for people. And yet, he still carried authority over others.

In that same city, there was a widow—someone with no social or political power, someone easily ignored, someone who had already lost much: her spouse, maybe her security, but not her faith. The widow comes to the judge again and again and again, saying, “Grant me justice.” She keeps showing up. She keeps showing up. She refuses to give up. For a while, this judge refuses to grant her justice—he just doesn’t care.

But finally, because of her persistence, he gives in. Not because he has compassion, but because her persistence exposes the power of faith that refuses to be silent.

This widow reminds me of a widow that I knew for many years. Her name was Yolanda. You could see her every day; she was walking with sorrow, walking with sadness. She missed her spouse. She cared for her two sons, but she also cared for her community.

There were many things she could not do. But this widow—if you were in the hospital in Mexico, you could stay there, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would provide the medicine you needed. The system is not always good. Yolanda was there for you. If you were her friend, her neighbor, her relative, she would stay in the hospital room day and night. And if there was no medicine for you, she would go and knock on the door of the person in charge—again and again and again—until that medicine became available. She would make sure that the Jell-O brought to you was the flavor you loved.

She was attentive to all those details because she generously showed up. Her generosity was more than just giving—it was giving her whole self so that you could be safe, so that you could receive justice. Yolanda turned her sorrow into service. Yolanda trusted that through her service, God would bring justice to everyone.

One day, Yolanda became sick, and she refused to be “the sick person.” Yolanda generously showed up. Yolanda was moved by her faith. Yolanda was moved by the transformation she received through the Holy Spirit to be generous.

In the hospital system in Mexico, you can receive visits, and they give you a small card that you must show to have permission to be there. Then, one family member receives a different card that says that person can stay 24/7. I don’t know how, but Yolanda always had an extra card that said she could be there 24/7.

God made things happen through the generosity of Yolanda. Yolanda showed up every time.

Yolanda never gave up.

Yolanda reminds us that faith is not passive. Faith is active. Faith prays, moves, speaks, and acts.

Like this widow, Yolanda refuses to just let go. And that’s one of the things that Jesus is teaching us through this gospel. Her actions—the widow’s actions, Yolanda’s actions, and your actions—are a call to action for the rest of us. It’s a call for us to embody love: love for God, love for our neighbor, love for justice, and the compassion that Jesus shared with everyone.

Her persistence is an act of generosity. She gives her time, her energy, her hope, and her voice to seek justice—not only for herself, but for the good of her community.

In some way, in this parable, this widow represents us, because we too are called to seek justice, to act, and to live with generosity. We are reminded that God’s justice and human generosity are deeply connected. Justice is not about fairness—it’s about wholeness, about creating a community where everyone has enough, where dignity is shared, where the love of Jesus is lived out.

And generosity—like I said, like Yolanda’s generosity—is not just about giving things away. It’s about sharing ourselves: our time, our compassion, our persistence. Generosity is how we partner with God’s justice in this world. It’s how we embody the actions of Jesus. It is the incarnation of Jesus in this world. When we seek justice, when we love our neighbor, that is the incarnation showing the kingdom of God in this world.

Every time—every time—that we love our neighbor, that we seek justice, we are saying, “Thy kingdom come.” We are calling God’s kingdom into this earth, but we’re also embodying the love of Jesus.

In our Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnals, hymn 725—are you going to sing it? No? Okay. But hymn 725, the title is When the Poor Ones. In Spanish it is Cuando el pobre nada tiene y aún reparte.

And this is the opening line:

“When the poor ones have nothing and still share with strangers…”

The refrain says, “Then we know that God still goes that road with us.”When the poor ones who have nothing share with strangers, then we know that God still goes that road with us.

When we live generously, we know that God goes on that road with us.

But it’s also a reminder that God is already there, where we are heading. God is already preparing everything. The Spirit of God is already working where we are heading. But at the same time, God is on that same road with us. And the literal translation of the Spanish line would be: God is in our same steps.

What a beautiful way to remind us of the incarnation. God is not only here with us when we seek justice. God is not only here with us when we live generously. Jesus is in our same steps—suffering, seeking justice, caring for others. When we live generously, we are sharing God’s love. We are telling everyone that Jesus is still walking on this earth to care for everyone.

Then we know that God still goes that road with us.

I see that in this parable, God is on the road with those who persist. God is on the road with those who live generously—those who pray without ceasing, those who act with compassion and generosity even when the world seems unjust. Justice will come, because when we generously show up, when we keep praying, when we keep loving, God is on that road with us.

Jesus calls us to be persistent in prayer—not because God needs to be convinced, but because we need to be transformed. Persistent prayer reshapes our hearts. It brings Scripture alive in us, moving it from the page into our hands and into our feet. When we pray, God opens our eyes to see others and to respond with generosity and love.

And so, generosity is not about being motivated or in a good mood. It’s not about giving when it’s convenient. Generosity is a result of our transformation. It flows from God’s grace working within us. It is the fruit of a heart that has been shaped by persistent prayer and the Spirit of Christ.

Jesus ends this parable with a question: “When the Human One comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Just being here together, my answer is yes.

Faith will be found in the persistence of prayer, in the courage of justice, and in the generosity of the people who walk with God on the road of compassion. Faith is found when we share what we have, when we accompany those who are hurting, when we refuse to lose heart—because we trust that God is with us.

So today, Jesus reminds us: keep praying. Don’t lose heart. Be generous with your love, your compassion, your time, your hope. Because when we persist in prayer and generosity, we are not walking alone. God still goes that road with us.

And God’s people say: Amen.