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_{Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 21, 2007} 

          Persevere, Persevere, Persevere!!!  That is the message in all three of our Scripture readings.  In the First Reading, Moses persevered in keeping his arms raised so the Israelites could win the battle.  In the Second Reading, Paul exhorted Timothy to persevere in proclaiming the Word of God.  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus taught his disciples about the necessity of persevering in prayer.

          We, too, are called to persevere.  Let me tell you a true story about great human perseverance.

          Winning the Tour de France in the sport of cycling is like winning the World Series in baseball or the Super Bowl in football.  It's like winning the Academy Award in acting.  You are the best in the world at what you do!  The Tour de France is a bicycle race in France that lasts about a month.  It is a grueling 2,000-mile long race that twists and turns over mountainous roads through France.  Only the world’s best cyclists compete.  In 1986, Greg LeMond became the first American to ever win the Tour de France.  His victory was amazing.  He became an American hero and was on top of the sports world.

          Barely eight months after his victory tragedy struck.  Greg LeMond was critically wounded in a hunting accident.  Thirty shotgun pellets broke two ribs; put holes in his back, legs, arms, and hands; and pierced his liver, lungs, and heart lining.  Miraculously, Greg survived.  A painful stint in the hospital followed.  After persevering through it, he returned home.  Now another painful stint began.  Greg persevered through long hours of therapy and recuperation.

          What happened next caught the sports world by surprise.  Greg began workouts on the bicycle.  No one could believe that he was serious about racing again on the world-class level.  But LeMond was serious.  Dead serious!  The grind of training was long and hard, but once again Greg persevered through it.

          Almost a year to the day after the hunting accident, he entered a world-class race in Ireland.  His battle to keep up with the other riders was so pathetic that it was almost embarrassing to watch him.  But Greg wouldn't give up racing.  He persevered in following his dream.  And with each succeeding race, he grew stronger and stronger.

          Then came the 1989 Tour de France, less than three years after his near fatal accident.  Greg entered the race.  His goal was to finish somewhere in the top 30 racers.  But few people gave him much of a chance to realize his goal.  As the race got underway, people were amazed to see Greg up among the leaders.  They figured he would fade, but Greg hung tough throughout the entire grueling race.

          Then came the unforgettable last day of the race.  The cyclists had entered the city of Paris for the final leg of the race.  Tens of thousands of fans lined the streets to watch the finish.  LeMond was in second place, nearly a full minute behind the leader.  One sportswriter said, "LeMond rode like an arrow winging its way to the target."  He narrowed the gap second by second.  As the riders approached the finish line, Greg caught the leader, passed him, and won the Tour de France in the closest finish in the race's history!

          I cannot think of a better story to illustrate the point being made in today's Scripture readings.  The kind of perseverance Greg LeMond showed is the kind of perseverance Moses, Timothy, and the disciples were being exhorted to have as they worked and prayed for the spread of God’s kingdom on earth.  It is the kind of perseverance we are being exhorted to have today!

          There is an old adage that says, "There is no power so mighty in the world as perseverance."  And if Greg LeMond could harness this power to win an earthly prize, how much more should we strive to harness it for a heavenly prize.

          This brings us to a very practical point.  How do we go about harnessing the mighty power contained in perseverance?  More specifically, how do we go about persevering in our following of Jesus?

          The answer is contained in Jesus' own words.  He said, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."  That statement contains the answer to how we should go about persevering in our following of Jesus.

          First of all, we must forget about ourselves.  Sometimes jokingly and sometimes seriously we say, "It's all about me!"  We must take the focus off ourselves and put it on our goal, eternal life with God in heaven.

          Second, we must take up our cross every day.  In other words, we must learn to do what recovering alcoholics and drug addicts learn to do.  We must learn to take every day as it comes: one day at a time.

          Finally, besides forgetting about ourselves and taking up our cross daily, we must follow Jesus.  This means we must walk in the footsteps of Jesus.  Walking in the footsteps of Jesus consists not so much in never falling, but in rising again each time we fall.  Jesus is human and divine.  We are only human.  We will fall many times.  What is important is getting up and trying again!  Persevering!!!

          And so the key to persevering in prayer, in following Jesus, is to do what Jesus himself said we should do: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must first deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."  This is what Greg LeMond did to achieve an earthly award.  This is what we must do to achieve our heavenly reward!