3rd Sunday in Advent

I've been rather negligent in posting about our Pastor's sermons lately.

Yesterday's sermon was quite interesting. It was about patience and based on the epistle reading from James 5:7-11. Isn't it interesting how many people can hear the same thing and think, "Was he a fly on our wall this week?" It just points out that the depravity of men's hearts is everywhere. Sin is pervasive. But so is God's love and forgiveness, if we cling to it in faith.

As we concluded singing "When John Sat in Prison" and settled in for the sermon we waited for Pastor to begin speaking. He stood up and looked like he might begin. He looked throughout the assembled congregation but spoke nary a word. This continued for some time. I was amazed at how quiet it got. Not even coughing or rumpling of bulletins could be heard. Since we sit near the back I noticed some squirming in seats -- mostly by the adults (we have so few children in our parish anyway).

Finally Pastor began to speak and he started by saying that it's hard to be patient. Then he asked how long we thought he had paused there. There were guesses of one minute and two minutes. He said it was two minutes. Then he asked if it felt longer. Our youngest blurted out, "It felt like five minutes!" After that he said he thought of doing it for four minutes but he didn't think we could take it. :-)

Pastor shared different scenarios of how we can be impatient because of circumstances, as well as everyday things. He likened patience to a substance we carry in a tank on our backs and expell as we dole out patience so much so that at certain times it seems the tank is empty and we have no more patience to expend. Then we blow it and remove all doubt that our patience is gone.

Then Pastor shared about how our prayers can become like a gift list we hand to Santa expecting it to be fulfilled on our timetable and in our own way. But our ways are not God's ways and His timing is perfect.

Pastor reminded us of Jeremiah and Isaiah, as James makes mention of (not directly, but as prophets) in the epistle reading, who were patient (not perfectly) despite incoveniences and that in faith they clung to God through it all. Were they happy about circumstances? No. But they clung to the Lord anyway.

Pastor asked, "Why should we be patient?" He answered, because the Lord is patient with us. He doesn't loose his patience with our sinfulness, as we continue to commit the same old, sorry sins over and over and over again. God is patient because Jesus bore our sins on the tree. Claimed as His in baptism, we remember what He has done for us.