A Little Patience
Oh Lord... Grant me the patience to preach on patience. I think we should begin our sermons with the following line if my assumptions about the human condition are halfway on track: "I'm either the most qualified or the least qualified person to preach on patience, depending upon your point of view."
Patience. Where should we go with this one?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that "love is patient." What does that mean?
If we take a "patience as salvation" approach, what about Romans 8:22-25 and the hope by which we wait patiently for God's groaning creation to reach completion?
What about patience as a characteristic of God that sets an example for our lives in Psalm 103:8--"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."
What other passages?
And then to the big question: How do we set this up to help our people cultivate patience?
posted by Jeff Christian @ 9:01 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I'm wrestling with James 5:7-11. It seems to be a call to patience in the face of suffering with a promise of reward.
I've made reference, either explicitly or implicitly, in all my Life on the Vine sermons to Matt. 13:44, saying that it is costly to be a fruit bearing Christian in America, but that it is worth the cost (bigger treasure, joy). In other words the resulting fruitfulness is worth the pruning (Jn. 15:2).
So, in keeping with this idea I see the long-suffering of the prophets and of Job fitting in to the long term goal (telos) of the Lord even when they seem un-American (pointless?, unproductive?) in the short term (Jas. 5:7, 10-11).
I also like the James text because of the "therefore" in 5:7 which points back to another very unAmerican text.
Chris,
Funny that you should mention James. I too am in that book, but in a different place. (Although your comment may broaden my sermon to think about chapter 5 as well.) My leanings were to play with James 1:19-20 and practice patience in the face of everyday suffering in the ways we speak to one another. But I really like this approach of chapter 5, and will think more about it.
I think this will be one of the more enjoyable virtues to preach on. Drawing on your confession, Jeff, it will be easy to talk about how impatient I am: stop lights which won't turn green, grocery lines which move too slow, microwaves which aren't fast enough--oh yeah, and a Church that won't move at my pace.
I think Kenneson really nails the obstacles here: the way we view time, exalting productivity, and going faster. His paragraphs on the relationship between patience and worship (pp. 119, 130-31) are insightful and pointed. I may quote from these paragraphs (that way I can put the blame on him!).
And James 5:7-8 certainly applies: We can't expect the fruit of the Spirit to grow overnight--cultivation takes time and patience.
Patience extends to our reading of Scripture: contrast Lectio Divina with hurrying through three chapters as if I'm scanning the newspaper.
Moroever, I love the practical sugggestions. Write a letter to someone instead of email. Intentionally take the longer line, the slower path. Look for God to open opportunites around us that we wouldn't see if we were moving at Mach 3.
Let's stand and sing.
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