20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C (2025)

Think back on a time of discouragement about something important. How did you handle it or get through it? There may have been times in your life when you gave up. There may have been times when someone convinced you to stay the course, even when it meant more hardship or uncertainty.

Our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, is a text written to a whole body of people who were undergoing discouragement, wondering whether the decision to become a follower of Jesus was the right move, especially being in the midst of a hostile culture, and for some, struggling to change from their old ways.

The author of this writing, whose identity is unknown to us, is telling them: Don’t lose confidence…stay the course! I love the words we hear today: Let us…persevere in running the race that lies before us. It reminds us that the pilgrimage of faith is not a sprint but a distance race that will include some long, uphill climbs and stretches of rough terrain.^[1]

As a confessor, but also as a penitent, I know how difficult it can be to grow in holiness and leave behind old attractions and attachments, and to wonder whether there’s any hope. I’ve experienced my own frustrations, but I also hear it in the words of penitents, who become discouraged when they can’t break free from a sinful tendency. Am I ever going to become the person Jesus has called me to be? Is there any hope? Should I just give up, especially given that the culture around us says, Why bother?

As a confessor, to the extent I can, particularly if I have time, I find myself trying to help them think through the cause or root of their sin, as well as practical solutions. Just as today’s reading urges us to rid ourselves of every burden, and especially what leads us to sin, I urge the penitent to move away from the voice of discouragement, but also distance yourself from whatever is trapping you in sin.

• If your problem is that whenever you take your phone into your bedroom, you are tempted to explore content that is spiritually harmful, ask yourself if you need to take your phone into your bedroom.

  
  

• If your problem is that whenever you hang around certain people, you fall into the habit of gossip, what can you do to resist that tendency?

  
  

• If your problem is that whenever you engage a difficult person in your life, it awakens and sustains anxieties, what can you do to manage those encounters with that person?

But in whatever way it can be difficult to change and to grow, I also implore such penitents to not lose heart—Be patient with yourself. The real tragedy would be if you didn’t care at all. Yes, be patient, but also be persistent in fighting.

But then the author of Hebrews says, let us do so while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus…the leader and perfecter of our faith. The words for leader and perfecter come from two Greek words, which are rooted in the words arche and telos respectively, meaning beginning and end. It tells us that Jesus paved a way for us, but he also is our goal. By looking at Jesus, we can have some glimpse of the outcome of our own contest, still underway.

The reading further encourages us, tell us that, “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” Like a stadium of fans, cheering us on, we have the great communion of saints, cheering us on from their place in heaven. There are some saints who are calling out to you personally, who want your friendship and who want to support you. Call upon them for prayer. Their presence, their prayers, their encouragement, are an echo of Jesus himself, who is to be the center of our focus. To have the saints in our sights ultimately leads us to Jesus himself.

Like Jesus, let us rise above whatever might seek to discourage us in our call. Let us persevere in running the race. He was victorious because, even as he moved toward the cross, he could see beyond it, seeing the crown of glory prepared for him. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

^[1] Healy, Mary. Hebrews (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (p. 405). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.