I don’t usually give titles to my sermons but today’s is “Keeping the Faith.” Our Collect, our lessons — particularly the gospel and the epistle — are about being faithful, about being steadfast in our faith. In the gospel, “Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray always and to not lose heart.” Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unjust judge and the widow who was faithful and persistent, who did not give up in seeking justice, and finally her faith was rewarded. The letter to Timothy also tells us to be persistent and to keep the faith, to hold fast to its truths through thick and thin.

“Keep the faith.” It is a great saying. It looks good on T-shirts and bumper stickers. It is easy to say to ourselves and others: “Just keep the faith.” But it is much harder to d…