By Joelle Friesen, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry major from Normal, Illinois
Scripture: James 5:7-10 (NRSV)
In today’s Scripture, James entreats his listeners to be patient — a seemingly difficult directive amid the busyness of daily life.
Patience is the ability to accept delay, trouble or suffering. Contrary to common assumption, patience does not necessarily imply stillness. In fact, patience can be understood as an inherent facet of loving action. Rather than seeing acting and waiting as two opposing forces, what if we viewed them as partners?
For example, I find joy in quilting, creating a beautiful whole out of many smaller pieces. While this is time-consuming work, planning and cutting and stitching, it also requires patience and perseverance to join the pieces together. There must be action in order to reach the end product that I am waiting to see.
This waiting coupled with action manifests itself in many areas of life; the example of a farmer awaiting harvest is given by James. In any situation, particularly in areas of injustice, we cannot simply sit by and wait for a solution to appear. We must work to lovingly create the solution we long for. As Pastor Amy Yoder McGloughlin once wrote, “Sometimes love is patient and kind. And that in and of itself is an act of justice, when patience and kindness are in short supply. But patience and kindness are not love when they tolerate hate speech, or perpetuate blindness towards the needs of others.” Patience is an attitude that should permeate all of our action, adding consistency and dedication to our efforts to create peace, healing and wholeness.
In this Advent season of waiting, I encourage you to consider how you can be actively patient in your own life and the world around you.
Prayer (adapted from Sing the Journey #153):
As we patiently long for our world to bend towards justice,
may we be the ones
who dance
in the corridors of death,
who sing
in the hallways of terror,
who laugh
in the prisons of fear,
who shout
across the silencing walls,
who love
beyond the borders of hatred,
who live
to bring healing and hope to the world.
Amen.
Scripture: James 5:7-10 (NRSV)
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.