December 10, 2023, Advent 2
James 5:7-11
Introduction
Kids are not good at waiting. And if we are honest, neither are adults. But let’s stick with the kids for now. Kids are rambunctious balls of energy needing to run free and we adults are always trying to corral them. And every time we have to, it becomes a painful ordeal for the kids, and the grownups trying to corral them. And there is no more difficult time with this than “the most wonderful time of the year.” Christmastime always brings out a “next level” of rambunctious energy in kids, but always they are forced to wait for Christmas, and wait for all the parts of Christmas. Wait in line for Santa; wait for cookies to cool before frosting them; wait for Christmas break; wait to arrive at Grandma’s house; wait for suitable snow accumulation. All culminating with the most difficult wait of all—waiting for Christmas Day.
So, how do we help children wait? How do we teach them patience—especially when we ourselves are never very patient? Experts say modeling patience is best, but if we can’t, use timers when appropriate, or give kids opportunities to talk about patience.
One specific idea that seems to have merit is having kids do activities that require more time, and thus more patience—things like crafts, reading, even gardening. EarthEasy.com promotes gardening with children saying, “Working in a garden, a child can experience the satisfaction that comes from caring for something over time, while observing the cycle of life firsthand.” Bottom Line: Teaching children patience requires patience because we are born impatient.
We’re talking about this because James knew about waiting and he can teach us how to do it better.
Move 1
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, then after his death and resurrection, he told his followers he would return, and they would one day live with him in the glorious Kingdom of God. From all of this, Jesus’ first followers thought his return was imminent. But with every passing day that didn’t bring Jesus’ glorious return, they wondered what was happening, and more so, why it wasn’t happening. And as they wondered and questioned, the people were growing impatient.
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James is a letter written to a church struggling to wait. Repeatedly, Jesus advises them to be patient, using a form of the word “patience” four times in this brief text. Be patient… until the coming of the Lord, he writes, reminding the people for what they are waiting, which is no minor event. The second coming, the peace it will bring, is their hope, and is worth the wait.
Then, using the illustration of a farmer who patiently waits through the winter to plant crops, and then waits for the early and late rains, James reminds the church even casual gardeners know there are seasons when it appears as though nothing is happening with their plants. And like the family experts who encourage adults to teach patience to children by growing plants, James wants Christians to use the patience they have learned from farming as they wait for Jesus’ return.
James never sugarcoats how difficult the waiting can be, acknowledging waiting can be painful, using the prophets as an example. He knows waiting can tempt us to take matters into our hands in order to rush the results we want, but still he reminds the church to be patient, encouraging the church not to give up or give in, but to wait patiently together.
Move 2
You and I don’t have the same expectations for the imminent return of Jesus as the early church did. We’ve had 2,000 years of experience of people saying, “The end is near!” without the end actually coming. Over the past several decades alone, we have heard predictions by televangelists, the ancient Mayans, politicians, books and movies—all preaching and trying to prove Jesus’ return is immanent, and all of those dates, predictions, and false prophesies have come and gone. But though we may not feel the urgency the early church felt about the return of Jesus, we do know about times when we have prayed for Jesus to show up in our lives and he seemed to be nowhere in sight.
In the hospital room… At the nursing home… When another “past due” notice arrives… When we wake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, because we are wrestling with “that problem”…When we’re alone…When we’re hungry…When we’re scared. On and on we have prayed for Jesus to come, to show up, and bring healing for our family, strength to our friends, or peace to our lives.
We have cried out from the depths of our hearts, “Please, Jesus, just get here!” But he doesn’t always get here…in the ways we want. Put into such a perspective, I think we can begin to understand how the early church felt when their hope for the coming again of the Prince of Peace didn’t happen. Still, through it all, James calls us to be patient and wait together. Because when we wait together, even in the waiting, we find what we are waiting for.
Move 3
Having worked with a Zoomer now for over two years, I’ve come to learn a few things today’s whippersnappers are quite adept at. And among them is finding answers to questions, and/or tips and advice on how to fix something. And the way you do this is by asking “Mother Goggle.” Mother Goggle can give you all the answers and fixes you need. I’ll ask Christian how to fix computer malfunctions I’ve created and if he doesn’t know (he usually does though), he’ll say, “Let’s ask Mother Goggle.”
So I thought I would ask Mother Google for some help with this sermon and asked for answers and advice to help little ones in their long wait for Christmas—getting more answers than I could ever mathematically sift through.
Some answers suggested using distractions to occupy kids with something other than Christmas. Pretty soon though I discovered that Mother Google was basically recommending what James was already teaching. Instead of trying to forget, enter into the waiting more fully. Meaning, instead of trying to forget Christmas, it’s better to enter into Christmas more fully by helping with Christmas preparations like: wrapping gifts, decorating, baking, and sending Christmas cards.
These activities not only pass the time, but they involve children in the preparation, inviting children to enter into the season. It is not Christmas yet, but we remember Christmas is coming by doing acts of Christmas today.
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This is the type of patience and waiting James is teaching the early church. He doesn’t tell them to distract themselves to pass the time until Jesus’ return. He calls the church to enter into the coming of the Kingdom of God by living Kingdom lives. Enter into this coming kingdom by not grumbling about one another. Enter into this coming kingdom by not complaining about your brothers and sisters. Enter into this coming kingdom by being patient, by loving and caring for one another. Do these acts; wait this kind of waiting; and the waiting you are doing will be easier, it will be productive, it will lead you to find an often elusive peace, and it will bring peace to others.
James is saying, we can get devoured by the angst of our waiting, or we can choose a faithful path within the waiting, knowing we might be in a difficult season, but Jesus is coming, and we are getting ready for him.
Move 4
We are in a tough season, but I’m not talking about Advent or Christmas… I’m talking about life today. The war in Israel rages on, and unconscionable antisemitism and Xenophobia stems from it. Another mass shooting this week. Disunity and incivility grows each day. Homelessness is rising. Hunger is rising. Depression is rising. Injustice is rising. Peace-less-ness is rising. Masses of people are crying out, “Please Jesus, just get here!”
This will be hard to hear, but it needs said… We become blind to injustices right in front of us. We learn to shut ourselves off from the homeless person at the intersection holding a cardboard sign; we shut ourselves off from their cry of “Please Jesus, just get here!” And we can shut ourselves off because we are waiting for the peace of Christ ourselves. But James is saying Jesus would want us to enter into the wait, together; not grumbling, not judging others; because in waiting together we find community and strength together, and in community and strength we can find peace.
Conclusion
Christmas is a special season that represents all we want all the time—Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Advent is when we prepare for, and when we practice and model and teach the peaceful waiting we must do together before Christ comes again. And waiting together, in the manor James instructs, means we anticipate and celebrate the glorious gift of Jesus that is surely coming. It means we wait with all who cry out, “Please Jesus, just get here!” It means though we are called to wait we shouldn’t wait passively—rather we should enter into the wait together, seeking to be present, within the strength of community, with those who are waiting, just like us. For when we wait together, we certainly model patience, but even more so we model a way of life that accurately, and faithfully, displays the Kingdom of God we are all waiting for.
Christmas is coming. And yes, we have to wait. But there is great peace to be found, and shared, when we wait together. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, December 10, 2023, Advent 2
Creator God, you breathed your breath into this world, giving form to the formless, creating order out of chaos, bringing forth life, and it was all good and peace filled.
You gave all this good, peacefulness to us your children, to tend to and care for, and still you saw it as good.
And then we fell. We fell away from you; apart from you because we thought it would still be good, even better, on our own.
And yet, despite our inclination to move away from you, you still saw us as good, you still loved us in spite of misguided ways—so much so, you sought to restore peace through grace and mercy, through the prophets, and then through your Son, the Prince of Peace.
God of peace, send us your Son, again, and let him be, again, our Prince of Peace.
We are aware of our fall, of our waywardness, for this need is easy to see in our endless labor.
We are anxious about so much, which only has a repetitive downward cycle.
We are burdened by heavy hearts that have been broken by grief, loss, and fear.
We are in need of your quiet solitude.
We are in need of your still small voice of peace—peace that passes all understanding.
We are in need of your kingdom to come, and make this all good again.
We want the goodness to return, and we are willing to have a part in making it a reality again.
And so we pray you again send the light of your peace to enfold us, filling us with the good peace that comes from your hand, blessing us to become, and be, a blessing of good peace.
We pray that we become instruments of your peace, through you crafting us into peacemakers who are fully present to all who wait for your Son’s glorious return.
We ask that you would listen now to the prayers that come from within our hearts, as we offer them in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our…”