WEBVTT 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:11.919 I read something fascinating about Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during the Second World War. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:16.719 It said that Churchill took three years to pass the eighth grade. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.440 Imagine that, three years. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:24.239 He simply couldn't pass English of all things. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:37.520 The irony, of course, is that decades later he would become one of the greatest masters of the English language, whose words would rally a frightened world. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:48.719 When Churchill was invited to give the commencement address at Oxford University, people expected an eloquent, soaring oration. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:01:00.159 Instead, he walked up to the podium, looked out at the graduates, and delivered what was probably one of the most powerful commencement speech ever given. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:02.640 I'll give you more in a moment. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.760 But I want to begin with the first reading. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:11.760 Takes us back to another battlefield. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:16.159 The one between the Israelites and the forces of Amalek. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:23.519 At first glance, it seems like one of those Old Testament war stories. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.200 Two armies clashing under the desert sun. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:39.599 But if we listen carefully, there's a deeper drama unfolding, not just in history, but a mirror of the spiritual life itself. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:50.400 Amalek, the tribal leader who rose up against God's people, becomes a symbol of everything that resists God. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:02:02.959 Everything that tries to pull you away from God, everything that tries to distract you, that pulls you from being faithful to a path of life. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:11.919 Every generation of believers, every person who seeks holiness, will at some point in their life have to face an amalek. 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:16.159 The Israelites were always at war. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:22.800 Open the pages of Scripture, and you'll see it again and again and again. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:33.919 They were always surrounded by enemies, enslaved by empires, carried off into exile, tempted to forget who they were. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.960 We could probably say the same thing today. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.919 The battle may look different, but it hasn't disappeared. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.719 Amalek is alive and well in our own time. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:51.759 Sometimes he comes disguised as cynicism. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:58.960 Sometimes he comes disguised as apathy, resentment, or even despair. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:08.879 Sometimes Amalek wears the face of a culture that laughs at our faith or calls good evil and evil good. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:15.360 Sometimes Amalek will whisper in your ear, telling you that prayer doesn't really matter. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.280 What good does it do? 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.000 That holiness is impossible. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:26.960 And sometimes, if we're honest, Amalek is the voice inside of you that says, why bother? 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.560 Amalek can be the person who undercuts your integrity at work. 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:43.439 Amalek could be that friend who mocks your faith, or the system that tells you to keep your beliefs private because that makes people uncomfortable. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.159 Don't talk to me about Jesus. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:56.319 Amalek can even be the version of ourselves that would rather stay comfortable than to seek God and to seek a true conversion. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.120 The greatest battlefield is not out there somewhere. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:08.479 The greatest battlefield, the greatest battle that you will engage in is in your heart. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:13.439 That's why this passage from Exodus is so striking. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:22.720 As to the Israelites' fight, Moses stands on the hill above them with his arms raised in prayer. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:28.560 As long as his hands are lifted to heaven, Israel prevails. 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:35.439 But when he grows weary and his hands begin to go down, Amalek starts to win. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:40.879 It's such a vivid image that you can almost see it with your mind's eye. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:50.319 The old prophet trembling under the weight of his own fatigue, the sun beating down, the battle raging down below them. 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:56.160 Then two men, Aaron and her, step up beside him. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:58.879 They don't let his arms fall. 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:06.240 They hold them up, one on either side, so that the people of God will not lose heart. 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:12.639 It's probably one of the most beautiful metaphors for all of the church. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:24.879 Moses represents the church at prayer, interceding, persevering, battling in ways the world cannot see behind closed doors. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:50.160 He raised his arms mere his raised arms mirror that of every priest at the altar, every contemplative nun in a monastery, every mother who prays over their children, every family that gathers together to pray, every elderly person who can no longer leave the house but still whispers a rosary every morning. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:06:02.879 Somewhere right now, someone you don't even know is praying for you, keeping your arms lifted up under an unseen battle. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:05.680 Look around. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:09.360 Same drama plays out every day. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:16.079 In monasteries across the world, cloistered nuns lift up the church with their quiet faithfulness. 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:27.279 Here in our own parish hall, every Monday afternoon, parishioners gather to pray for the intentions of all of our parishioners. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.600 In living rooms, families kneel together at night. 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:40.240 In hospitals and nursing homes, people who can no longer serve with their hands now serve the church by lifting up prayers. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:53.600 All across the globe, from sunrise to sunset, at every single hour of the day, a holy mass is being offered on every part of this con every part of this planet. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:01.120 The arms of Christ raised once more through the hands of his priest, holding back the darkness. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:07.120 When Moses' arms grew tired, Aaron and her stepped in. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.720 That's the picture of a Christian community. 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:13.839 A Christian community at its best. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:14.720 Why? 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:17.199 Because none of us can do it alone. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.680 Every priest needs people to keep his arms lifted. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:29.759 Every parish needs to be faithful, to hold the line of prayer, even when you don't feel like it. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:38.879 I can tell you from my from the heart, I can tell you from my own heart as your pastor, there are days when my arms feel heavy. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:45.680 When the weight of responsibility or the noise of the world threatens to pull down my arms. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:53.680 But it's your faith, your prayers, your perseverance that keeps my arms raised. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:08:02.720 You may not see it, but every prayer that you whisper strengthens this parish in ways that matter eternally. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.399 And that brings us back to Winston Churchill. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:14.399 When he stood there before those Oxford graduates, he looked out over a sea of expectant faces. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:19.279 He paused, and then he said three simple words. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.519 Never give up. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:28.160 He paused again, leaned forward right into the microphone, and repeated it louder. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.680 Never, never, never give up. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:38.159 The entire speech lasted less than a minute, but electrified the room. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.399 Because those words carried the weight of truth through fire. 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:47.120 So I want to borrow those words and add one of my own. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.080 Never give up praying. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:09:01.360 Never give up lifting your heart to God no matter how tired, no matter how discouraged, no matter how long the battle seems. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:06.480 When you stop praying, Amalek starts to win. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:14.639 But when you pray, when you stay faithful, even with trembling hands, heaven fights for you. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.679 The saints knew this. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:32.960 Every victory of grace, every conversion, every act of kindness and forgiveness, every miracle of mercy begins not with human strength, but with hearts that are lifted up in prayers. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:37.279 Because in the end, it is God who wins the battle. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.360 Our job is simply to keep our arms raised. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:57.200 So, my brothers and sisters, if you find yourself today standing on the hilltop, weary, uncertain, surrounded by amaleks all around, amaleks of doubt or of fear, remember this. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.120 You are not alone. 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.759 You are part of a people who never stop praying. 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:09.919 There are Aaron and Hers all around you who are holding your arms up. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:15.919 There is a church community that believes in you and a God who fights for you. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:18.000 So never give up. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.000 Never give up praying. 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:30.879 And one day, when the battle is over and the dust has settled, you will discover that while your arms were lifted, God was already winning. 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:31.840 Amen.