Perseverance, Patience, Endurance

This is the sermon for Advent 4, preached on December 21, 2025 by the Rev. Marissa Galván Valle, based on Hebrews 12: 1-2.

MILDRED LISSETTE NORMAN

Mildred Lisette Norman grew up on a poultry farm in Egg Harbor City, NJ. She was a normal young woman who might have been considered rebellious: she bobbed her hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted her disdain for prevailing codes of decent behavior. It is said that, following an unhappy marriage, she embarked on a personal transformation that culminated in hiking the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail—the first woman to do so in a single season. On that journey, she had a vision. She was worried about the lack of peace in the world.

So, relinquishing her name and possessions, she stepped out in front of the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, CA, on January 1, 1953, wearing a blue tunic imprinted with her new identity: PEACE PILGRIM. For the next 28 years, she crisscrossed North America, touching thousands of hearts, minds, and lives as she walked joyfully on her pilgrimage for peace.

What I love about the children’s book about her story is that it focuses on something the online biographies often leave out: she prepared for this journey. It wasn’t just a moment of revelation followed by, “I will do this,” and she began walking. The book says, “She took years to get ready. To master the skills she would need to survive, she spent many hours in the forest, practicing how to find food and find her way.”

There is a recognition here that endurance and perseverance do not happen in a vacuum. There are things to do—practices and disciplines—to prepare for the long journey. And there is also the recognition that the journey does not end with us.

I love a quote from the adult reflection guide we’ve been using in our Do Not Fear study that connects to this theme of endurance and perseverance. It is by Reinhold Niebuhr:

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.”

HEBREWS AND ENDURANCE

Speaking about the book of Hebrews, Amy L. B. Peeler says that “endurance consistently features throughout” because the author wants the audience to hold fast, endure, and remain strong until the end. In other words: they need to trust and persevere.

And the author does this by reminding them of all those who came before—those who prepared the way—even if, as Peeler states, “they could not fully imagine what God’s promises would entail,” or even if they would be fulfilled in their lifetimes!

So, before the two verses we just read, the author of Hebrews gives us a prelude—a reminder of what faith is and what it looks like. He says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” And as a good teacher—knowing this may not be easy to understand—he offers examples:

He speaks of Abel and his gift, Enoch and his pleasing of God, Noah and the ark, Abraham and his obedience, and Moses, who gave up riches to liberate Israel. He speaks of those who crossed the Red Sea, of Rahab who welcomed the Israelite spies in peace, and of “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight.”

He honors those who suffered greatly—mocked, imprisoned, tortured, and killed. They lived in poverty and exile. And yet, the world was not worthy of them. Though they endured unimaginable trials, they are celebrated not for earthly victories, but for their unshakable faith.

And then the author makes a point: all these people did this without receiving the fullness of God’s promise. But those he’s writing to have received it. We have received it: Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith is the fulfillment of the promise. He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. We celebrate him each Christmas. And we are called to persevere in the race that lies before us.

We are also challenged to remember those in our cloud of witnesses: parents, teachers, siblings, church family, etc.—and to seek out how we might live “by faith” (por la fe) in our own time.

PERSEVERANCE, ENDURANCE AND PATIENCE

Lee Hull Moses, the author of the adult reflection guide, reminds us that the Greek word for “perseverance” is also translated as “patience.” The King James Version says, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” But there is another word used as well. The Common English Bible says, “So then, with endurance, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us.”

Hull Moses writes that “patience without perseverance can be timid and meek, but perseverance without patience can quickly burn out or revert to fear when things don’t change quickly enough.” Endurance, then, can become the holy tension between the two: strong enough to wait, and brave enough to press on—knowing what the end goal is, even when we won’t live to see its full completion.

We move by faith. And “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Peace Pilgrim walked and shared her message every day. There were dangers and fears. But she continued her journey, knowing that with each conversation and presentation, someone would know how important peace was to her. Wars continue, even now. Warmongers still try to convince us to be warriors instead of peace pilgrims. We now have a Department of War, when the United States named it the Department of Defense as a signal that two World Wars were enough.

But Peace Pilgrim’s message still resonates and should continue to be shared all over the world: here in the United States. In the Ukraine. In Sudan. In Gaza. In Venezuela:

“This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.”

These are values that are really consistent with faith and with God’s kin-dom. With perseverance, patience, and endurance, we continue the lifelong covenant journey that began with our baptism.

We will remember our baptism today because it requires a lifelong preparation—a daily practice of reclaiming these truths:

• That God’s Spirit sustains us when we are weary.

• That the great cloud of witnesses surrounds us, even when we feel alone.

• That the promises spoken over us still hold, no matter how far we have wandered.

So today, we return to the water. And we return, not because we are strong, but because we are loved. Not because we never falter, but because the One who calls us is faithful.

We reaffirm our baptism so we can calm our fears, take a breath, remember that love surrounds us, and—having rested in the everlasting arms—continue ahead, one foot after the other, while changing our sneakers, knowing that—as one song says—“our ancestors are all the proof we need that progress is possible, not guaranteed.”

Therefore, let us keep walking—with perseverance, patience, and endurance. We are being saved by hope. We are being saved by faith. We are being saved by love. And God’s love is with us, every step of the way.