(part of the “Waiting on the World to Change” Advent Series)

James 5:7-10 (Advent 3A)

⁷Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Don’t you hate it when someone tells you to be patient?  I am, admittedly, not the most patient person in the world.  I mean, there’s so much stuff we have to do!  Am I right?  We’re told that we are supposed to be a part of this Kingdom of God.  We are told that we are to be instruments of bringing it into being.  And then we’re told we have to learn to wait.  And now we’re told that we’re supposed to do that patiently.  It’s enough to try one’s patience.

There is a story that I love (and have many times used it, so you’ve heard it before) about an American traveler on safari in Kenya.  He was loaded down with maps, and timetables, and travel agendas.  Porters from a local tribe were carrying his cumbersome supplies, luggage, and “essential stuff.”  On the first morning, everyone awoke early and traveled fast and went far into the bush.  On the second morning, they all woke very early and traveled very fast and went very far into the bush.  On the third morning, they all woke very early and traveled very fast and went even farther into the bush.  The American seemed pleased.  But on the fourth morning, the porters refused to move.  They simply sat by a tree.  Their behavior incensed the American.  “This is a waste of valuable time.  Can someone tell me what is going on here?”  The translator answered, “They are waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.” 

It’s about rest.  But it’s also about patience.  It’s about refraining from that continual push to “make” things change, to “make” things happen.  Change will come when it will come.  Yes, we’re called to work toward it.  But we’re not called to make something happen when the time is not right.  (Note to self!)

This passage is pretty familiar.  But we usually take it out of context.  Go back and read James 4:1 through this passage.  The whole thing changes.  This exhortation to be patient is not directed at our patience toward what is happening around us.  Rather, it is an exhortation to be patient with EACH OTHER.  (Ugh oh…that changes everything!)  The patience here is not merely a personal virtue.  It’s not talking about the way we wait for God’s coming; it’s talking about the way we act in relationship with each other.  It is a patience that is deeply grounded in faith, deeply grounded in who we are as the people of God. 

This patience, this strengthening of our hearts comes as the community lives and witnesses together.  It is a patience that enacts as we live as members who watch over and care for one another.  It means taking on a deep compassion and love toward the other.  The writer of James is telling us to be attentive to one another, to be compassionate, to not let things come about that are not conducive to our relationships, no matter how much we think they further God’s Kingdom.  God will grant all in God’s time.  What we’re called to do is love each other and I think that means that we work toward those ways that help each other.

And we thought waiting on the world to change was hard!  Now we’re told that we have to be patient with one another. (So, yes, you have to be patient with all those people that you think are wrong!) You know what?  We also have to be patient with ourselves.  See, we don’t live in a world that’s perfect.  God knows that.  We live in a world that is what God created it to be—for now.  And God calls us to love one another and together (yes, TOGETHER) to work toward that vision that God holds for all of us—together.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

I discovered that in the spiritual life, the long way round is the saving way.  It isn’t the quick and easy religion we’re accustomed to.  It’s deep and difficult–a way that leads into the vortex of the soul where we touch God’s transformative powers.  But we have to be patient.  We have to let go and tap our creative stillness.  Most of all, we have to trust that our scarred hearts really do have wings. (Sue Monk Kidd)

Lyrics

Has this world forgotten how to love?
Are we blinded by the hate we let inside?
No one’s givin’ in or givin’ up
The lines are drawn and there’s no compromise

This isn’t who we are
It’s time for us to start

Looking for a window in the wall
Maybe we can see the other side
And find we’re not so different after all
Looking for a window in the wall

Sometimes hearts can grow as cold as stone
Then become the borders we can’t cross
The fertile fields of trust where love had grown
Slowly start to die when hope is lost

That’s where we are right now
But we can turn it all around by

Looking for a window in the wall
Maybe we can see the other side
And find we’re not so different after all
Looking for a window in the wall

We’re waging war, we’ve died enough
Fighting for everything but love
It’s time to heal (it’s time to heal)
To turn the page (to turn the page)
Too much to lose, so much to save
We have to change

Looking for a window in the wall
Maybe we can see the other side
And find we’re not so different after all
Looking for a window in the wall
Looking for a window in the wall

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Eddie Kilgallon / Tatiana Cameron / Thomas Paden

Window in the Wall lyrics © Pleezin’ The Breeze Music, Paden Place Music., Tajko Music Publishing

Grace and Peace,

Shelli