Advent 3A
2019
Rev.
Adam T. Trambley
December
15, 2019, St. John’s Sharon
Be Patient, therefore, beloved, until the
coming of the Lord.
In our second reading, James urges patience
this morning.
Patience is hard.
This time of year is not one that strengthens
patience.
Too often
We
are hurtling forward.
Sometimes
we are the ones making the hurtling happen
We
are unable to sleep Christmas eve,
Listening
for the sound of reindeer
And
wanting to see what fills our stocking.
And
if Christmas is ten whole days away, oh no!
We
get stuck in airports or behind the wheel
For
the long journey home.
We
are cleaning the prep dishes
But
we can smell the tasty Christmas treats in the oven
And
they aren’t done yet,
And
the party isn’t today!
We want
today to be over so we can get to tomorrow or next week!
Other
times, though, the hurtling is happening to us.
Time
seems to fly forward and we are just not ready.
The
decorations aren’t up yet.
The
gifts aren’t wrapped, or even bought.
Three
things come up unexpectedly,
And
we are even more behind.
Instead
of joyfully savoring
The
beauty and joy and peace
We
are whipped into whatever is happening
By
a whirlwind of checklists,
Responsibilities,
and expectations.
Patience is the opposite,
And
the antidote,
To
all the accelerating and the anxiety.
Patience is the firm conviction that
We
are all OK today because God is with us
And
that tomorrow is in God’s hands as well.
Patience is a practice
That
we have to return to
again
and again
As
we gain it
and lose
it
and get a little back
And
wonder where our last shred of it went.
Patience is the deep acknowledgement
In
the core of our being
That
we are not in charge,
That
we not in control,
And
that we do not have the final word.
Patience is an attitude of deep humility
That
where we are,
Right
now,
Today,
Is
a gift,
And
it is a gift with no reservations or hesitations or equivocations.
We might know that things could be better,
And
wish they were,
Or
know that things could be worse,
And
even be grateful that they aren’t.
But patience is not looking at might have been’s
Or
should be’s
Or
thank God it isn’t’s.
Patience is present to the moment right here
before us,
And
to the people right here before us,
and
patience welcomes everything
with
joy and acceptance.
James knew how hard such patience is
And
the early Christians he wrote to
Had
reason to be really impatient.
They were waiting for the coming of the Lord.
Not
the feast of the Lord’s first coming at Christmas,
With
all the festivities the holiday entails.
They were waiting for the second coming,
When
the resurrected Lord Jesus would return
And
put all things to right.
They thought he might be coming any day.
They
were excited.
They
were anxious.
They
often didn’t know what to do with themselves.
Imagine knowing that Christmas was coming,
But
not knowing what day
You
might wake up and find the presents
under
the tree.
The early Christians knew how amazing Jesus’
coming would be.
At the same time, they were desperate for Jesus
to come back
Because
life was not going so well.
Some
were in danger from persecution,
And
some had probably suffered imprisonment
Or
worse.
Some
were poor
And
faced all the difficulties of economic insecurity.
Some
were also sick,
And
longed for healing.
All
lived at a time with political instability
Economic
difficult,
And
medical uncertainty.
James tells them to be patient.
Then he them gives one illustration and two
instructions.
The illustration is the patience of the farmer.
The
farmer has no control over when the crops appear.
He
has to wait for the early and the late rains.
He
has to wait for the seed in the ground to sprout
And
the sprout to shoot up
And
the shoot to bud
And
the bud to ripen
And
the grain to be ready.
The
farmer can’t really make things go faster
Or
skip any steps.
The
farmer has to wait for God to do God’s work,
And
at the right time he can harvest.
While
he is waiting, the farmer isn’t bored, right?
There
are plenty of things to be done on the farm
In
the meantime.
All
of those chores are important, and to be done well.
But
the farmer’s to-do list today
Doesn’t
really make the grain ripen faster.
James also provides two instructions.
The first instruction is not to grumble against
one another.
Whatever
we are experiencing
And
the time it is taking
Is
not really somebody else’s fault.
If
we want to judge them,
James
says we can expect to be judged.
Blaming
everyone else does not make time move faster.
Tearing
down the people around us
Does
not help us welcome the present moment
That
God has given us.
If
the person ahead of us is moving too slowly,
We
are meant to recognize that slowed-down moment
As a gift,
and be
grateful for it.
Not
get irate at the person in front of us.
Anytime we find ourselves grumbling,
Even
if that grumbling is only in our heads,
We
should probably stop
And
focus on being grateful
For
where we are and who we are
And
What is going on around us
That
we are able to experience this very moment.
Grumbling makes it much more difficult for us
to be patient
Because
we have decided that we are stuck where we are.
Instead,
we have to recognize that God is present where we are
And
God is preparing to do something with us
Even
if it will happen in God’s time.
In James’ day, there was plenty to grumble
about,
And
some of their predicaments were caused
By
bad people.
And James still says do not grumble.
The second instruction is take the prophets as
an example.
They
often suffered and were patient.
The key, however, was that they spoke in the
name of the Lord.
The reason speaking in the name of the Lord was
important,
Is
because they knew how God acted.
They
knew God’s character
And
how he intervened for his children
With
love and grace and mercy.
How
God healed and comforted and redeemed and saved.
The
prophets continually proclaimed the salvation of God
To
his people.
They
could not preach such good news
Without
hearing it themselves.
When we try to be like the prophets,
We
are going to focus on how God time and again
Comes
down to his people in their difficulty
And
gives them the strength to endure
Until
he brings victory.
We can hear that in the words of Mary’s
Magnificat this morning.
We
hear about how God comes to the poor and the lowly
And
keeps his promises forever.
When we remember how God shows up for us,
We
can be patient,
Knowing
that God is coming.
He
will show up for us.
And
it is much better to focus with hope and gratitude
on God’s
deliverance
Than
to grumble about others’ alleged mistakes
That
got into this mess in the first place.
James’ teaching here is important for us,
Because
the times we really need to be patient
Are
not easy
And
they usually go far beyond holiday excitement.
Real patience is needed
At
those times in our life
When
the present moment seems unbearable
And
we can’t see our way to the future
We
are desperate to get to.
When a marriage has fallen apart
And
we can’t imagine our life being put back together.
When a loved one has died
And
the void in our hearts seems unbearable.
When we or those we love are sick
And
the healing and recovery are uncertain
And
drag on endlessly.
When our financial situation is challenging
And
getting it stabilized
Seems
a long-term or even impossible project.
When we turn aside from any destructive
behavior
And
have to wake up each day
With
the pain that we used to numb away.
When our own aging means that the world is
shrinking
In
certain ways
And
things will not be what they were before.
Or maybe when we are waiting to meet the Lord
At
the time of our own approaching death.
We also need patience to continue to live a
grounded life
In the midst of a world that has serious
problems
And which can hit us hard.
The changes in a community that is depopulating
instead of growing.
Our children and grandchildren moving away.
A political life that seems to divide us
Instead
of challenging us to be our best selves.
Churches that aren’t as full as they used to
be.
The reality of injustice and racism and
economic inequality
And
environmental destruction
That
haunt our current collective life.
All are difficult situations that tempt us to
anger, despair, hopelessness,
And
the anxiety of the moment.
And in all of those situations, James urges us
to patience.
Patience that does not grumble against others,
But
patience which knows that God is at work
Right
here, right now.
Not a patience that advocates a passivity or
lazy acceptance
Of
things that might not be right.
But a patience recognizing that we,
Like
the farmer,
May
have some chores to do
But
the important part of those chores
Is that they are helping cooperate
With
the work that God is doing.
We
may have real, important, difficult work
And
we can patiently undertake that work
With
joy and acceptance.
Doing
serious work can still be done
With
gratitude and thanksgiving
And
without anxiety or fear.
James urges us to a patience that knows
That
the pain of today is bearable
With
the help of God.
And
that tomorrow will be better
Because
the God who is acting today
Will
also be acting tomorrow
And
the next day and the next day.
That
even if the situation does not improve
By
some measure we have dreamed up,
That
God is still working out his purposes
And
is present right beside us
James urges us to a patience
that
would focus on the power of our God
who
is able to deal with our toughest situations
rather
than grumble against people
who
cannot make our life worse in any way
that God
cannot transform into something even better.
James urges us to a patience that ultimately
Gives
us everything we need
To
live our lives
Until
the Lord comes.
Such
faithful, loving, Christian lives
Are,
in the end, the point.
Be patient, therefore, beloved.
In the midst of the preparations for the
Celebration
of Jesus’ first coming at Christmas.
In the midst of those difficult times of life
When
we most need to know
God’s
presence and power
And in all of our lives until Jesus returns or
calls us home.
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