Sermon: Third Sunday in Advent (December 11, 2016)
James 5:7-11 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land
to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm,
because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.
The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the
prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You
have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion
and mercy.
Patiently Wait on the Lord
Can there be any more cruel words, than those four little words that sentence an excited child to waiting... waiting
until a certain day comes. Words that cause him sleepless nights and a constant preoccupation with that present under
the tree. I’m talking about the words, “Don’t open until Christmas!” The present is right there... it probably gets
rattled and shaken and examined for any clues as to what it might be. It is turned from one end to the other, to see
how the weight shifts inside, shaken to see if any sound reveals something about its contents. The child will probably
break it before he ever guesses what it is. But you know... that’s what the note says... don’t open until Christmas.
If it’s that hard to wait for something that we know is going to be good... a Christmas present or some special outing
we’re looking forward to... how much harder is it to wait through difficult times? How much harder to wait for the
deliverance that God promises? It’s a lot harder I would say. Today we consider what it’s like to patiently wait on the
Lord. And we see that James tells us to 1) be patient with each other, 2) be patient in the face of suffering, and 3) be
patient in view of God’s mercy.
Now perhaps this is a very timely reminder... to be patient with each other. Because the lines can be long in the stores
this time of year, the parking lots are full, the children are telling you five times a day what they want for Christmas.
It can all require some patience. James gives us a strong reminder to be patient. .. patient with each other. He says,
“don’t grumble against each other.” That word that’s translated grumble literally means to groan or to sigh... and if
you have teenagers, you know that sound. That’s the word... it means you’ve had enough. But James says don’t let
that show. Be patient. In fact, the word for patience means long-suffering. It means you’re enduring something... for
a long time... patiently. And James gives an example of what that patience might look like, using the picture of a
farmer waiting for the rain. I’ve often noted that it takes an awful lot of faith to be a farmer. You are trusting that
God will send the rain, and not too much and not with hailstones. You’re trusting that you will be able to bring the
crops in at the right time, and that there will be a good price at market. That all takes some serious patience. It sort of
comes down to waiting and trusting that it will all work out, because a lot of it is out of your control.
Now apply that to being patient with people. Sometimes it means the same thing, waiting and trusting that it will all
work out. Just like the farmer has no control over the rain, so sometimes we do well to recognize what we have
control over and what we don’t. I don’t mean that we should patiently wait to see if the kids clean their rooms like
we asked... some situations might call for action on our part. Other things we can tolerate... our friend who has an
irritating habit of doing whatever it is they do, if it isn’t wrong or sinful, be patient... keep loving them, and being
their friend. But let’s also recognize when we are expecting someone to conform to our expectations of them, even
when those expectations might not be realistic or even fair. Especially in our most important relationships. If your
husband or wife has forgotten to take out the garbage or burned dinner in the past, it just might happen again. And
that shouldn’t change that you love them. It just means you might have to be patient if the garbage can is full. That’s
called loving someone no matter what. It is also loving to maybe find out the things your spouse wants from you, and
not make them practice such patience. But the more important kind of patience in a marriage might be when we’re
loving our spouse well, and we’re patiently waiting to see that feeling reciprocated or returned. That’s when that
farmer kind of patience comes into play... when you are doing all you can, and you are just waiting on the rain. Then
we may also be patiently waiting on the Lord to change their heart, and we have to trust that he can and will.
But James also gives us a pretty compelling reason why to be patient. He says the Lord’s coming is near. In fact, he
says, the judge is standing at the door. Being patient and loving towards others is simply what God calls on us to do.
It is one half of the great command to love the Lord and love our neighbor. And so let us be about the business of
loving God and loving our neighbor, as we’re waiting for Jesus to come again; just as we have seen all Advent long,
and we saw in the season of End Time before that... waiting like a child for Christmas morning to open his present.
Patiently deal with others, as our judge is coming soon.
And patience is necessary in other areas as well. We see we are also supposed to be patient in the face of suffering.
Perhaps James meant suffering as a Christian, maybe he was referring to the persecution that early Christians
experienced. We may not experience that ourselves, but there are plenty of challenges to our faith in the world today.
Enough that we need the encouragement to be patient and endure. But maybe the suffering we need to be patient
about is simply something from our daily life. James pointed to the example of Job, who suffered greatly and yet
patiently held on to his faith. He lost his children, his great herds of animals, his home, his own health... and yet he
patiently endured it all. He was long-suffering. So we too may have to deal with some difficult circumstances in life.
Maybe that’s related to health, as we or a loved one are stricken with some illness. Maybe it’s financial hardships
that never seem to end. Maybe it’s strife in the family, maybe caused by someone’s sin. Maybe it’s just how we feel,
as maybe we are dealing with depression. Maybe we are plagued with worry about someone or something. These can
all be instances of long-suffering... they require patience. James says to have the patience of the prophets who spoke
in the name of the Lord. That is where we too have to find our solace and strength. It is in God’s word, in his
promises. He says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” He doesn’t
promise to deliver us immediately, or even when we think we’ve had enough, he just promises to deliver us. And so
we wait patiently on the Lord, trusting in his promises.
But so far this has all been just good advice about keepin’ on, hangin’ on. Being patient in the face of difficult times.
Chin-up... buck up little camper... those words of encouragement have their place, and we should probably share
them more often... but real hope comes from something deeper than that. It’s time for us to be reminded of why we
can have such hope. Finally, we should be patient in view of God’s compassion and mercy. There’s no clearer
picture of God’s mercy than the gift of his Son as our Savior. He is the one who lived and died in our place. He is the
one whose innocent death paid for our sins... all our sins of a lack of patience, a lack of love for someone else... a
lack of trust in him. Jesus loved and trusted perfectly in our place, and then gave himself to pay for our shortcomings.
In him we have forgiveness, and hope, and salvation.
And the one who loved us enough to do that will see us through whatever hardships we are facing. He will fill us
with the love and care and concern we need to deal with those in our lives, and deal with the events and situations we
do. We don’t know what form that deliverance will take, but we wait patiently for it. A couple of weeks ago Suzy
and I were watching one of those heart-warming little news stories that they run as an interest piece. And it was
about an elderly man, who was mourning the death of his wife. He had sunk into a deep depression for months. But
his whole life was changed by a little girl, maybe 3 years old, in the grocery store who offered him a hug. And he
said how that little girl and her smile and her warm hug were the end of that months’ long darkness. The two have
become best of friends, even though she has grandparents of her own and he has family of his own, it was the
kindness of a little girl even though a stranger that delivered him.
My point isn’t to inspire us all to go out and be kind to strangers, although that would be wonderful too. My point is
be patient and hold on. God is working out your deliverance in his way and in his time. We know that he is lovingly
doing so because we know of the much greater love and mercy he showed in the gift of his Son as our Savior. When
we have him, when we have Jesus, we have all we need. We don’t need whatever is in the box that says ‘don’t open
‘til Christmas,’ and so we can wait patiently... waiting for his coming again, as we patiently love one another and
face whatever challenges he allows into our lives. We can do so, because we know his love and mercy.
AMEN