1. Please
pray with me. May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock,
and our Redeemer. Amen. The contrast between the first and second
readings on this Third Sunday of Advent couldn’t be stronger. Isaiah chapter 35
paints a picture of the parched land exulting, the desert blooming, and the
whole earth rejoicing. In contrast, James encourages the early Christians to
stand firm, not to judge one another, but to bear each other’s faults and
failings with patience. Isaiah has a theology of exuberance, James a theology
of patient endurance. The message today
is entitled, “Practice Prophetic
Patience!” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
As
Christians, we’re invited to live fully in both these realities. We’re invited
into the paradoxical place of joy and sorrow, of a grace-filled vocation and
the daily grind of duty; of the earth bursting with abundance and the
dry-as-dust times when the farmer can barely eke out a living. This Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, a command to “rejoice.” The pink candle on our Advent wreath points
us to this. Even in this penitential season of preparation and expectation,
we’re commanded to rejoice. Don’t get too serious about your fasting and your
prayers, because the birth of Christ is just around the corner.
3.
James
5.7-11 says, “7Be patient, therefore,
brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the
early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the
coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers,
so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As
an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord. 11Behold, 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.”
4.
Many
of us grew up with the phrase “Patience is a virtue.” It comes to mind as we
read the opening words of the text from James: “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.”
James compares the patience he encourages to the patience of the farmer who
waits for “the early and the late rains.”
Then, as the passage ends at verse 10, James connects patience with suffering:
“As an example of suffering and patience,
beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” What do
patience, suffering, and farming have to do with one another and with the
season of Advent? How is James calling us to practice prophetic patience?
5.
In
what circumstances is it appropriate to urge people to be patient? When is
patience a virtue? Certain kinds of work require patience. The woodworker
refinishing a piece of furniture, the jewelry repairer fixing a broken clasp,
the quilter carefully stitching fabric, the accountant running trial balances
to make sure all records are accurate: all of these must work patiently,
because precision and accuracy are demanded by the work they do. Learning
various things often requires patience: years of finger exercises precede
playing Bach or Mozart; time on the driving range is needed to master a good
golf swing; memorization and repetition are required to learn any new language.
All of us understand this kind of patience—the “practice makes-perfect” kind.
6.
Patience
can also be a virtue in situations where waiting is required and where one is
powerless to change the circumstances: sitting in the car on the freeway during
rush hour, standing in the security line at the airport, waiting in the
checkout line at the grocery store at 5:00 p.m. with a checker who is learning
how to run the cash register. In these situations, there’s an unavoidable
delay. Try as we may, we can exert no control over some important factors in
our lives. You can either get angry and fret and feel your blood pressure rise,
or you can be patient. This aggravating wait will be familiar to everyone as
well.
7.
Some people
may even tell us about how nostalgia and warmth in this joyous holiday season
bring out the best in humanity. But don’t we also notice how the stress of
these hectic days brings out the worst in human nature? People embarrass
themselves and the rest of us by drinking to excess at holiday parties. They
push and shove through the stores. And when you get behind these people in the
checkout line, they take forever, don’t they? Fumbling with their wallets,
talking with the cashier about things unrelated to the business at hand,
completely unconcerned about the rest of us who are held up behind them.
8.
So James
urges us to practice prophetic patience while many people grow impatient of waiting (v 7a). So many get distracted by the busyness of their lives and the pleasures
of the world. Jesus loses his appeal.
Jesus seems so far away that it’s easy to lose him as we live our hectic lives.
In the parable of the sower Jesus warned us that this would happen: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for
those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries,
riches and pleasures” (Lk 8:14). Just before our sermon text, James utters
this stern warning to the rich: “You have
lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence” (5:5). The things of this world, of immediate
gratification, not eternal things, things worth waiting for, are consuming
them. And even within James’s congregation, there are growing signs of
impatience: members grumbling against one another (v 9a), impatient with each
others’ faults, placing blame, groaning as if their fellow believers were
simply intolerable to be around. Though we live by the Spirit, we’re still
sinners and get on each other’s nerves.
9.
Some even abandon the faith altogether. “Oh, well, I can always repent later” is the attitude of many. “I’ve got plenty of time,” they think,
having long ago lost any awareness that they’re waiting for a returning Lord.
Many leave Jesus behind in their pursuit of immoral pleasures. Those who do
face God’s judgment: an eternity of punishment in hell.
10.
But, James calls us to practice prophetic patience. As the farmer must be patient waiting
for the harvest, so we must be patient. The farmer knows that God will bring a
harvest in due time. “For as the rain and
the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the
eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to
me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in
the thing for which I sent it” (Is 55:10–11 ESV). And the rains do come—the
autumn rains, the spring rains. They do come.
11.
At least for the farmer they usually come. As we
wait for Jesus, we have watering and feeding that are even more certain. We
have God’s grace, given in the means of grace. By God’s grace, strengthened by
his Word and Sacraments, we patiently continue on with our faith. We believe
and trust in Jesus as the one and only Savior from sin and eternal death. Jesus
is the only one who can save us and give us eternal life. He suffered and died
on his cross so that we could have forgiveness of our sins and be restored with
God. No one else can do for us what he has. No one else can save! We cling to
his cross, for he alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will
come to the Father except by him. Like a seed, Jesus was planted
in the ground by burial after his atoning death on the cross. Then, like a dead
seed that is watered, he sprang to life in his resurrection on the third day.
He’s the firstfruits of those who die in the faith and await the final harvest:
resurrection of the dead.
12.
James tells us to practice
prophetic patience because he points us to the second coming of Christ
(ESV): “Be patient . . . until the coming
of the Lord” (v 7). “The coming of the Lord is at hand” (v 8). “The Judge is
standing at the door” (v 9). When
Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead, he’ll gather us into his
eternal Kingdom like a good farmer harvesting his wheat. In the new heaven and
the new earth, there will no more sin or crying or pain. In view of this great
day that is soon to come, the Lord strengthens us by his Word. That means living together as brothers and
sisters who await the very same glorious day. Not living selfishly, immorally,
for earthly riches and pleasures. Not grumbling against one another. Christ
lives in you by faith, and he works powerfully in you, influencing your
thoughts and actions. He moves you to see others in a good light and not
complain about them. In this way we love God so that we love our neighbor, “defend him, speak well of him, and explain
everything in the kindest way” (Explanation of the Eighth Commandment). In
this way, we use the blessings we’ve received to bless others, sharing,
sacrificing, as we await eternal riches.
13.
And as we practice prophetic
patience, we sow the seeds of those eternal riches as well. James calls us
to take as an example of patience the Old Testament prophets. They “spoke in the name of the Lord” (v 10
ESV), even as they were enduring suffering. Truth be told, there’s only one
thing we’re really waiting for. That is, for all those Jesus will call to
eternal life to have heard that call. There’s only one task truly upon us as we
wait: to speak, live, witness the name of the Lord. To prepare others for the
harvest that’s coming, that’s near.
14.
Jesus has made a promise to all of us: “I shall return.” He will keep
that promise. He will return. We don’t know exactly when, but our text assures
us that his coming is near. Until our
Lord Jesus returns, you and I practice
prophetic patience. We will keep building ourselves up in the faith through
God’s Word and Sacraments. By God’s grace, we will endeavor to stop grumbling about
others. And, by God’s grace, we will continue to proclaim the Gospel so that
many more people will be found in the faith on the day when Jesus returns. We
practice prophetic patience waiting for our Lord Jesus’ return. Amen.
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