Have Patience
(James 5: 7-10)
Even now when I am in my eighth decade, I can still remember the building excitement we had as kids as Christmas Day slowly, painstakingly slowly, approached. My siblings and I had already poured over the Sears catalogue circling all the toys that we wanted Santa to bring us and were now pestering our parents in an attempt to confirm that Santa had gotten our wish list and that they had it on good authority that the jolly fat man would come through. And, you know what, I got to give the big guy credit as he rarely, if ever, disappointed us. Once we outgrew the Christmas morning anticipation, we were blessed with our own children who rekindled the excitement of the approach of Christmas, and now, many of us are blessed with grandchildren who are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newest Whizbang 5000. Sadly the excitement of Christmas morning has cooled in our family as our grandkids are now teenagers who don’t get that exited and are easily satisfied with a gift card so they can buy whatever it is they want in the right color and size. You don’t want to leave it to chance that your grandparents will get it right or just give up and buy you a colorful sweater.
The test of our patience for many of us now in our more mature years comes in waves with long lulls in between leaving us to wonder what we should be doing in the meantime. Do we take up a hobby? Find a retirement gig? Do we work on our bucket list? Kick back and take it easy? Or do we do something productive and meaningful while we wait for the day we are called home to spend eternity in glory with Jesus Christ? Believe it or not, I think those are some of the questions James, Jesus’s brother and a leader in the Jerusalem Church, was contemplating in our scripture reading for this morning.
James’ letter is an often-overlooked letter in the Bible especially when compared with the exhaustive writings of the Apostle Paul and others, but it is really one of my favorites because James put so much into such a short letter. Martin Luther dismissed the Letter of James as “an epistle of straw” but for John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist denomination, this small letter was central for Christian faith and life, and wrote in one of his sermons where he referenced the theme of James’ letter where he wrote: “that grand pest of Christianity, a faith without works, was spread far and wide; filling the Church with a wisdom from beneath, which was earthly, sensual, devilish, and which gave rise, not only to rash judging and evil speaking, but to envy, strife, confusion, and every evil work.”
In our reading for today, James starts out by saying: Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the coming of the Lord. Now, when I see a “therefore” it makes me wonder what was just said or written so I go back a few paragraphs to see what lead up to what is about to be said. In the fourth chapter of his letter James says to his readers: You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. He kind of puts it into perspective that we are a mere, but not insignificant, speck of dust in the grander scheme of things. I guess he doesn’t want us to get a case of the “big head” thinking that we are more than we are. He then says: Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” He tells them, and us, not to idly sit around and to listen to the urgings of the Holy Spirit and then, just in case his intent is unclear he says: It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it. Ouch! I think that’s why James’ letter resonated with John Wesley. His experience in the Church of England in 18th century Great Britain led him to despair that so few who took the name Christian actually sought to live as God’s sanctified people in the world.
So, back to our scripture for today. James uses a farming analogy which would have been easily understood in the present agriculturally based society when he tells them to consider the farmer who waits patiently for the coming of rain in the fall and spring, looking forward to the precious fruit of the earth. He says: You also must wait patiently, strengthening your resolve, because the coming of the Lord is near. What he’s saying is the coming of the kingdom, which has actually already begun, doesn’t happen overnight no matter what we wish for and there is no date certain for us to count down to when it arrives. His agricultural analogy reminds us that there is a lot of work that goes into producing a crop that will sustain those who patiently await it. The soil has to be prepared and tilled with rocks being removed. The seeds are planted and tended to as they sprout and grow with the constant weeding of plants that choke out the crop and rob it of nutrients. Care must be taken to keep varmints out of the fields like rabbits and deer who feast on the tender shoots, and when the trees, bushes, and vines begin producing fruit the farmer must guard against the flocks of birds that will show up to pick the crops clean. While you have to be patient waiting for the harvest there is much work to do in the meantime.
It’s important to note here that James was writing to the 12 tribes of Israel who had been scattered outside the land of Israel. God’s people were now residing in a foreign land among an alien people where they would struggle to remain faithful to the way of life expected of those in a covenant relationship with a holy God. I think that’s something we can identify with. Sometimes it seems as if we are residing in a foreign land among an alien people when we see some of the unchristian things that are being done to the defenseless and marginalized by not only our own government but by people who loudly claim that they are Christians. I honestly believe that they think that when Christ returns, he will establish his kingdom in Waco Texas, or Little Rock Arkansas, or Shreveport Louisiana or some other bastion of White Christian Nationalism. I can say for sure that my money is on it being Jerusalem. It doesn’t matter, which is why James says: Don’t complain about each other, brothers and sisters, so that you won’t be judged. Look! The judge is standing at the door! James is counseling us against taking on the role of the Lord as judge, against turning against others in the church, and against all forms of violence. Yeah, I know that’s hard especially when you see how maliciously they are twisting the Truth of Jesus Christ. I kid you not, I read where some conspiracy theorists are claiming that God never meant for Jesus to be that “woke”. That’s one way to cancel the teachings of love, mercy, justice, forgiveness, acceptance, and inclusiveness. As my mom used to say: “Wait until your father gets home!” Yeah, wait.
Instead, Christians are to put their faith into action, practicing hospitality and care for one another. James commends the virtue of patience that is long-suffering endurance of trials until the coming of the Lord knowing that such patience is required for all who are on the path to Christian perfection. Wesley believed that Christian faith must account for the whole work of God, “from the first dawning of grace in the soul, till it is consummated in glory”. So, unlike the early Israelites who failed in their desert trials we must strengthen our resolve to remain disciplined peacekeepers, knowing that the only one capable of judging our warring world is coming very soon.
In the meantime, there is much work to do to ensure a good harvest. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ’s return. We cannot make him come back any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance God’s kingdom even in the face of opposition, especially in the face of opposition. Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. So, while we labor for Christ we do it with patience, love, joy, and compassion.
Let us pray.
Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Yes, gracious and loving God, how we pray for the return of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ who will reign supreme here on earth bringing relief to those who have long suffered. We know that our faith sustains us but that He will not return until we have done all within our power to prepare the way and make his paths straight. We know the tasks will be difficult and arduous and we pray for your guidance and strength as we persevere in our ministries designed to restore your creation. Give us the patience to see your work and your will through. This we pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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12/14/25
Have Patience
While you have to be patient waiting for the harvest there is much work to do in the meantime.