“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Lord grant me patience to deal with all the troubles and situations in my life which cause me stress and anger…oh, and Lord…please hurry with that!”
Does that sound like your prayers? Perhaps it does. Because by nature we are a very impatient people. Patience is not a virtue, and in fact our impatience almost always leads to problems. And I think as time goes on people are becoming more and more impatient.
As more and more technology affords us with the ability to get things at record speed, we sort of take that characteristic and try and apply it to everything.
Think of the most successful businesses today: McDonalds, Amazon.com, Google, Time Warner, Comcast. The faster, the better, right? The faster we can have our burger or get our order from the internet, the faster the download, the better. Houses are being built in literally weeks where it used to take months or maybe even a year or more.
You’re going to laugh at this, and maybe you already know, but there are churches who are trying to appeal to this “need it now”, “on the go” lifestyle by offering drive-through Communion. You literally pull up to the drive through window at the church, you make your order by choosing common cup or individual cup, wine or grape juice, regular bread or gluten free, and a few moments later a pastor or elder opens the window and hands you your customized, quick and supposedly consecrated communion, and then off you go about your day.
Here in the Christmas season…you’d think it bring out the best in people. But every year I hear more and more stories of shoppers fighting over, and I mean fist fighting over that last box on the shelf, that last holiday special. I remember when I used to work in retail. I would have to get to the store an hour to an hour and a half early to setup for the big sales, to make sure there’s enough money in the tills, and to make sure all of the stock was out. I don’t kid you, 2 hours before the store opened, there was already a line of people outside, in the dark, waiting to get in to get their hands on that wrench set or that screw driver before anyone else. The funny thing was that we could always order more product for customers and it’d be there in just a few days.
And impatience, what does it lead to? Grumbling, right? You know how when in the checkout line at Walmart there’s always that one person with way too many things in the cart, and they don’t seem to know where their wallet is, and when they find it what do they do? Instead of taking out the debit card, they take out a checkbook and they start to write. Or they have a debit card but they are clueless when it comes to how to use it. And you just want to grab that checkbook and write it out for them, or that debit card and swipe it and punch the machine for them and send them on their way…impatience leads to grumbling.
Impatience is sin. Impatience is sin – when we come to an intersection and that stoplight is yellow and just about red, it’s not a good (or safe) thing to speed up and even run it when it’s red. It’s not a good thing when we start to rev our engine while in the drive through at Chick-fil-a, and the person in front of us has their food but refuses to leave the window.
Impatience is sin. Patience ought to be our way of life! We are in God’s hands. It is not our ability to be at the head of the pack, first in line, quick and efficient, which makes the world a better place, but it is God and His promise to us that HAS made this world a better place, has made our lives better, and will safely and most assuredly get us to our final destination at the right time and in the right way.
James uses the example of a farmer. Now I don’t know if any of you have ever done farming or have driven through the plain states, but I am from an area where large, huge farms grow things like potatoes, peas, corn…lots of corn. And I tell you that farming has not really changed much in the past 2000 years. Sure we have bigger machinery and newer technology, but the basic premise is the same: you throw a seed in the ground, you water it, and in a few months you have a crop. Corn takes 4 to 5 months to grow, depending on the climate. Peas take a month or month and a half, potatoes take while, and if you become impatient and you start digging around at things, or over watering or over fertilizing, you end up destroying the crop. Farming requires lots and lots of patience. You can’t force a seed to sprout, but it grows when it grows and that’s that.
And the wonderful news about patience, about this virtue which when sought after will cause even the most cynical of unbelievers to stop and look at us and aspire, is that it is a fruit given to us by God’s Holy Spirit, given to us in our baptisms. And if you think about it, patience has a whole lot to do with faith, as do all the fruits of the spirit. God’s gift of faith, which says “I know the day is coming, the day when the Lord returns,” works patience in us, teaching us and calling us to wait on the Lord, to wait for the greater things to come.
James tells us to consider the prophets of old who waited patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. They were scorned and beaten and even killed, but they were patient. Did you know Moses spent 40 years tending sheep before receiving his call to be the leader of God’s people? 40 years.
When we read about the lives of people like Moses, like Job, like the prophets, it helps put perspective on our time, doesn’t it? When Job had to suffer, lose his family, lose his wealth, lose all but the breath which kept him alive, as he waited on the Lord to deliver him, I think we can find reason to be a bit more patient while in the checkout line; I think we can be a bit more patient and understanding when we have to stop at a red light or heed the “speed limit” sign.
And you see, this is what James means when he says “establish your hearts”. What he’s really saying is “train yourselves” or “discipline yourselves”, “imitate Moses, imitate Job, imitate the prophets of old” every day of your lives.
Now here’s the thing: it may sound like I’m saying “dig deep”, “reach inside and find that inner-strength”, but I’m not. In fact if you were to reach inside of you I don’t think it would be patience you’d find. To be sure, the very core of who we are as sinners is sin – the sinful nature; that’s not where you need to go for the strength to be patient or loving or peaceful or joyful or kind.
But instead do as Jesus teaches: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you as well.” In other words, look back at what God did for you in your baptism. Look at your confirmation, what did He do for you there? Look at all the times you’ve sat in church: maybe listening and maybe not, it doesn’t matter, what did God do for you? Consider all the times God has given you His body and His blood at this altar. Think of all the times His Word has spoken to your heart, all of your prayers which have gone up as incense to God. True patience, true love, true kindness…isn’t found within you, but it is found outside of you – they are fruits given to you from the source of all good things – Jesus Christ your Lord.
Don’t think about all that you have done for God – that’s not His kingdom – you won’t find it there…but think about all that God has done for you, and continues to do for you even now. There you’ll find His kingdom, there you’ll find His righteousness, and there you will learn patience, and you will come to know the one man who very patiently and very faithfully put you before himself, before His needs, before His wants, and going to the cross, He carried your weight of sin with Him so that you can know His compassion, so that you can know His mercy, so that you can know His love.
He died and rose again so that you could take your eyes off the long lines and the slow shoppers, take your thoughts off your driving destination and the speed at which you get there, and instead look to and gaze upon Jesus, gaze upon the cross, where His mercy and compassion are given for you.
Your Father in heaven is patient, very patient, and He waits patiently for you, He longs for you, and His desire for you is that you do nothing more than leave the wallowing of your impatience but instead enter into his loving and peaceful arms. Amen.
