Patience (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Sermon Reflections

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Many of you are probably familiar with a short, but common prayer uttered by many Christians.  I like it a lot myself.  It goes like this:

“Lord, give me patience and give it to me RIGHT NOW!”

Tonight, for our first evening of VBS, we’ll be looking at a biblical story that focuses on using your gifts.  And while there are lots of gifts I think God has given me, patience usually isn’t one of them.  And yet, it’s often crucial.  In fact, in today’s second reading, Paul concludes with the words, “if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”  And Jesus tells a parable about the need to be patient with the “weeds” that so often feel like they’re choking us out.

But I often have a hard time with the concept of patience.  I know I’m not alone in this.  And indeed, there seems to be a lot impatience in our society right now, so much so that there are extremes on both ends of the political spectrum that, in one way or another, want to blow the whole system up because they’re impatient with the “weeds” that infect our society.

I understand why patience is hard.  And sometimes, the problem I have with people telling me to be “patient” is that the term is misused.  Often in my experience, when we’re told to have “patience” it means we should:

  • Do nothing – whether from a sense of hopelessness or denial, sometimes “just be patient” means “ignore the problem and hope it goes away”; but that is NOT what biblical patience is about;
  • Accept inappropriate behavior – both in family systems and also in politics, the phrase, “well, you should just be patient with so and so” can often mean “accept abuse and don’t talk about it with others”, and that is also NOT what biblical “patience” is about;
  • Put off until later what really needs to be dealt with now – this is maybe the most difficult of all, because we all need to manage our time and work.  But sometimes, “we need to be patient” can be an excuse to kick the can down the road, and avoid dealing with something we really need to address sooner rather than later.  But this also, is NOT what biblical patience is about.

Instead, when we hear calls to “patience” in the Bible, it’s really about living in hope and expectation for a future that doesn’t depend upon us, but yet we’re confident God will bring about.  And that doesn’t mean sitting back and ignoring things, nor is it about accepting bad things as though they were good.  But it is a perspective that helps us to live boldly and faithfully in the midst of the things we can’t change or fix.

Those are the “weeds” – the things we can’t change or fix.  And sometimes, those “weeds” are:

  • Physical – they’re the objective limitations we face in our daily lives.  Sometimes, those are the difficulties of age or illness.  But sometimes they’re as simple as the fact that we only have so many hours and so much strength and energy in a day.  There’s a limit to what each of us can do and those limits just can’t be “weeded out” of our daily lives…
  • Emotional – they’re the things that cause us to lose heart and lose hope. Sometimes, the “weeds” are the things that sap the energy I could be using for something more productive. This why Jesus cautions us against worry (it’s an unproductive “weed” we often add to our lives…)
  • The things that replay in our heads and clog our thinking – they’re the things that so confuse or frustrate us that we can’t even think straight and see any new or better possibilities that God might be putting in front of us.  Indeed, sometimes the “weeds” are those things that make us so angry that we’re unable to think straight or move forward.

Patience – in this context – is really about not giving in to the “weeds” or letting the “weeds” be the dominant thing in our lives.  And so in reality, biblical patience is really about:

  • Remembering that we’re not alone in dealing with the weeds – in the parable, the sower of the good seed (God) knows the weeds are there.  And God promises to deal with the weeds.  The people helping tend the field of the world are not alone in what they’re doing, and they don’t have to rely on themselves to fix the problems.  And knowing that we’re not alone – and that fixing all the problems of the world doesn’t depend upon us – is what can give us hope and confidence to face the weeds…
  • Focusing on the good stuff instead of the weeds – the sower doesn’t want the weeds pulled up because doing so would damage the wheat – the good stuff.  And the good stuff is the point!  The sower wants the people tending the field also to focus on growing the good stuff, and to put their time and energy into that effort…
  • God’s patience and not ours.  One of the key things about patience is that God is patient, even when we aren’t.  In the parable, the sower is patient even when the workers aren’t!  And in many place in the Bible, God’s patience is about giving people time to grow and to change and to have yet another opportunity to really experience God’s call and God’s love.  Often, the “workers” are really, really sure they know who’s a weed and who’s the wheat.  But sometimes, they’re wrong!  And often, patience is about giving space for God to do what God knows is best, instead of advising God on how we think things ought to be done…

So, if you’re like me, patience is hard.  But remember that biblical patience is really about not losing hope and perspective in the midst of the weeds of life.  And we can grow in patience by reminding ourselves everyday that God is well aware of the weeds, and that in the end God can and will deal with the weeds we can’t.  We can grow in patience by focusing on the growing and bearing the kind of fruit in our lives that God wants us to produce, instead of spending all our energy complaining constantly about the weeds.  And maybe most of all, we can grow in patience by giving thanks that God is always patient, even we aren’t, and that God’s patience is ultimately for our own good and for the good of the whole world.

Amen.