The Third Sunday in Advent
December 11, 2016
James 5:7-11
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Picture this: I am traveling along a two lane road when I come to an intersection where the light has turned red. There is one car in front of me and a number of cars coming in the opposite direction. As soon as the light turns green the one car in front of me turns on their left turn signal. I grip the steering wheel a little tighter, groan and then start checking my mirrors to see if there is any way I can get around that one car before the light turns red again. Why do I react that way? I am at the store. I have two items to purchase. The regular checkout lines are at least two miles long so I go to the express lane— the one for 12 items or less. All the people in front of me have shopping carts. I have to consciously tell myself: Do not count how many items they have in those carts! Why do I need to do that?
Out of all the idiosyncrasies I have, one of the things I know I need to work very hard to keep in check is my impatience. I battle with my impatience on an all too regular basis!
Perhaps my impatience played a part in this, but as I studied our sermon text for today there was one overriding imperative that just jumped out at me! Therefore the Advent Imperative that we will study on the basis of this portion of Scripture is: Be Patient! As you and I strive to be patient James tells us that three other imperatives will also come into play. #1— Strengthen your heart! #2— Don’t grumble! #3— Take hold of the example of others!
Our text for today was written by James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Matthew 13:55; John 7:2-5; Acts 15:13; Galatians 1:19) While Paul’s letter to the Romans emphasizes the subject of justification, that is, how we become “Declared Not Guilty!” in God’s eyes, James’ letter emphasizes the subject of sanctification, that is, how we live the faith which God has graciously created in our hearts. James impressed on his readers over and over again that living as a saved child of God was not simply an “intellectual exercise.” In other words, the Christian faith is not just knowing the Truth but also living the Truth— even in the face of hardship and persecution. We get the impression from this letter that the persecution which the people of God were enduring at this time was tempting them to give in to things such as depression, bitterness and impatience. James’ readers were in very real danger of losing the gift of faith that they had been given!
Because of the very difficult circumstances that James’ readers were experiencing, here at the end of this letter James says to them, “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.”
Whenever I read these words I can see and hear James encouraging his readers to be like the farmer— the farmer who is both patient and focused! Once the farmer plants his crops he patiently waits for the “autumn and spring rains” to cause his crops to grow. Then he stays focused on the joy he will experience when the time finally comes for him to harvest his crops. So also with us, my friends. The good Lord has “planted” the precious gift of saving faith in our hearts. As that faith grows and matures, as that faith becomes more and more evident in our lives we can expect all kinds of difficulties and hardships to come our way from the unbelieving world around us. People may laugh at us for actually believing what the Bible says. People may label us as being “intolerant” because we are not willing to constantly conform our beliefs to whatever the prevailing winds of society say is acceptable and right. Let them laugh at us! Let them label us! As surely as the farmer waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains, as surely as the farmer stays focused on the joy he will experience when the time comes to harvest his crops, so also we wait patiently— knowing that our Lord is returning to this earth as the Judge of the living and the dead! We stay focused on the fact that when our Lord returns to this earth everyone will be held personally accountable to Him for everything they did, everything they said, everything they believed in their heart. But until He returns we will be patient— patient like the farmer “waiting for the land to yield its valuable crop.”
The patience that James calls for here in our text, however, is not simply sitting around like patients in a doctor’s office. The patience of a child of God is active— just as much as the faith of a child of God is active. James highlights three of those activities for us this morning. The first “activity” of our patience is found in verse 8 of our text. James writes, “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” A very literal translation of this verse would go something like this, “And you— be patient! Strengthen your hearts because the arrival of the Lord is near!” Speaking to people who were indeed going through difficult times, speaking to people who were indeed facing trials and temptations, speaking to people who needed to hear the imperative: Be patient! James now goes on to say: “Strengthen your hearts!”
Now what might James have in mind here? How does a child of God “strengthen their heart”? At the risk of appearing quite predictable I am going to say that the only way for you and I to “strengthen our hearts,” my friends, is through regular use of the Means of Grace, the Gospel as it comes to us in both Word and Sacrament. When we are regularly feeding our faith with the spiritual food God Himself has given to us then our hearts will be strengthened, then we will be able to be patient. So whenever you are feeling weak, whenever you are feeling impatient take a deep breath, take the time to gather around God’s Word and Sacrament and take the time to do what James encourages you to do here in our text: “Strengthen your heart!”
The second “activity” that James calls for here in our text is found in verse 9. As we strive to be patient we will also keep in mind this imperative: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” Now what could possibly cause a Christian to “grumble” or “complain” about another Christian? If we look back at the opening portion of James chapter 5 we get a clue as to why James’ readers were “grumbling against each other.” Included among James’ readers were people to whom the Lord had granted great wealth. Tragically, these people used that God-given gift in ways that were not God-pleasing! Instead of using that money to help out the poor and the needy they actually cheated other people simply so that they would have even more money for themselves! Instead of giving generous offerings to the Lord to show their love and their thankfulness for all that the good Lord has done for them they “hoarded their wealth” so that they could live their life in “luxury and self-indulgence.” (See James 5:4-5) The oppression of the poor by the rich may indeed have been a major cause of why James’ readers were “grumbling against each other.”
Does anything even remotely similar ever happen among us, my friends? Do we ever “grumble against each other”? Let’s think this through. If we complain about someone instead of talking to that person then, yes, we are “grumbling.” If in our hearts we are wondering why this person at church or why that person at church is not doing what we think they should be doing then, yes, we are “grumbling.” If we look around in our church and “sigh” about what is or is not happening, but we are not willing to step up to the plate and help then, yes, we are “grumbling.” If— and I emphasize the word if— we are indeed “grumbling” and “complaining” then James, the brother of our Lord, says to us today: Stop it! Stop it right now! If all we are going to do is to sit on the sidelines and “grumble” then James has one very powerful message for us to remember. That message is”…you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door.” It is far better for a child of God to stop “grumbling” and start helping than to be judged by the Judge of the living and the dead!
The final “activity” that James calls for here in our text is found in verses 10-11. The imperative that James proclaims here is: “Take hold of the example of others!” Whether it was God’s people in the days of James or us, God’s people today, we need to remember that faithfulness to the Lord always has always and always will bring suffering and hardship into our lives. James gives us two examples today.
The first example that James gives to us centers on “the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” Think about it, my friends. Noah undoubtedly suffered a little bit of ridicule as he built a really big boat on some really dry ground. Queen Jezebel swore that she would have Elijah murdered because he proved that her god, Baal, was completely useless and following him was pure foolishness. (See I Kings 18:16-46) Jeremiah was threatened with death for proclaiming to the people of Judah and Jerusalem that their sin of unfaithfulness to the Lord would result in the total and complete destruction of their nation by the Babylonians. (See Jeremiah 26:1-15; 38:1-13) John the Baptist was beheaded for denouncing the adulterous relationship between King Herod and his brother’s wife, Herodias. (See Matthew 14:1-12) Over and over again the prophets who “spoke in the name of the Lord” suffered for standing up for God’s Truth. And yet, they patiently remained faithful to their Lord. We need to “take hold of” their example, my friends. No matter what the consequences might be we must remain faithful to God’s Truth while we patiently wait for the Lord to fulfill His promise to us, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
And, of course, James can not encourage us to “take hold of” the example of patience without directing us to Job. To this very day Job is held up as the “epitome of patience.” Even though Job did not understand why the Lord had allowed all those calamities to come into his life, even though Job’s grief-stricken wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9), even though Job’s three closest friends maintained that Job must have done something really bad in order to make God really mad at him, Job persevered. Job patiently waited for the mercy and the compassion of the Lord his God— and he did receive it!
So, whether it is the patience of the prophets or the perseverance of Job you and I, my friends, would do well to “take hold of the example” they give to us. Then we will indeed be better equipped to follow James’ imperative: Be patient!
While I have made great strides when it comes to being a more patient person I still have a ways to go. Thankfully, every time I look up at this cross I am assured of the perfect patience of our God. My prayer then on this Third Sunday in Advent is that as you and I continue to prepare ourselves to once again celebrate our Savior’s birth that we will indeed heed the Advent Imperative James, the brother of our Lord, gives to us today: Be patient! Be patient until the arrival of the Lord Himself and strengthen your heart with His holy Word and Sacrament! Be patient until the arrival of the Lord Himself and don’t grumble against each other! Be patient until the arrival of the Lord Himself and take hold of the examples of others! Be patient!
To God be the glory!
Amen
