ALIVE WITH HOPE: “Be Patient” 2 Peter 3: 8-15a Sermon Preached by the Reverend Dr. Howard W. Boswell, Jr. Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2014 Kenmore Presbyterian Church Kenmore, New York Most of his life, my father worked as a garage foreman and an automobile mechanic, who specialized in electrical systems. One summer, I worked at a shop owned by the guy who owned the garage where Dad worked, so I got to see what he did and hear him at work. Now, most of what Dad said wouldn’t be fit for worship, but I remember one thing he said often, “Some folks want it done yesterday.” Usually Dad said it after something like this happened: every bay in the garage would be full and cars would be waiting in the lot. Someone would come in and want immediate attention. Dad would estimate when one of the guys might get to the person’s car. Now and then, the person would try to impress upon Dad how she needed it, so that she could get to work, or how he needed it, so that his family could go away for the weekend. Yet, Dad would point out the other cars before him or her. Usually, the person would appreciate it, but, now and then, someone couldn’t comprehend how she or he could wait. After the person left, Dad would say, “Some folks want it done yesterday.” Now, I reckon (another word Dad would use), I reckon some of you know exactly what Dad meant. If you’ve ever worked in a store, been a receptionist, waited tables, answered phones, dealt with the public in any way, you know how impatient people can be and they seem to get worse, as year succeeds to year. Whether you were a mechanic or maintenance person, a plumber or an electrician, a nurse or a therapist, a social worker or a secretary, you know my Dad was right, “Some folks want it done yesterday.” Now, of course, to speak about patience in this festive season poses a real problem. No matter where we go, we encounter a line. No matter what we do, it takes longer than we allowed for it. From Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, we run around from shop to shop, from party to party, and no one seems to have any time. What’s even worse are the expectations we place on ourselves and others. We expect to be patient, polite, and prepared. We expect others to be quick, courteous, and accommodating. As I wrote these last sentences, I heard Dr. Phil, “So, how’s that working for you?” You see, I suspect we assume something when we have to wait. We assume the person or organization or company who makes us wait doesn’t understand our situation, even doesn’t care for us. Now, I’ve known some persons, organizations, and companies for whom that’s the case, but most people, organizations, and companies understand and even care about our inconvenience. As a parent, I’ve had to tell our children be patient more than a few times, only to hear how I don’t understand. As a pastor, I’ve had to tell someone, even everyone how healing, renewal, real change takes time, only to hear how I don’t grasp what’s at stake. As a person, I have to work hard to remind myself how things don’t often happen on my schedule, but it doesn’t mean the other isn’t making every effort for me. Throughout the centuries, the church has waited for “the day of the Lord,” as the author of 2 Peter puts it. In every generation, believers have stood up, as we will, and affirmed with the Nicene Creed, “[Christ] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” At this Table, with the communion of saints from all ages, we proclaim the mystery of faith, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” With broken bread and poured cup, “we proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes again.” Yet, as year succeeds to year, we wonder, “How long, O Lord, how long?” The author of 2 Peter deals with this delay. He answers some who scoff at the notion Christ will come again and even question whether God cares for us at all. He reminds these critics and those upset by them, “God’s time is not our time.” He remembers what those who went before him said, how Christ will return when we least expect him, like a thief in the night. Yet, in the end, “heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign,” as a carol says. Then, new heavens and a new earth will come, where righteousness will reside. Until that day, the day of God, they should live as if they belonged to God, as if they were whole, as if they were beautiful, as if they were washed clean, as if God set them apart, as if they were holy. Until that day, the day of God, they should wait for it and work to speed its arrival. Until that day, the day of God, they should live at peace with themselves, with others, and with God. We need to live with such hope, having such patience, seeing God’s delay as a good thing, a gracious thing. In 2 Peter, chapter three, verse nine and, again, in verse fifteen, the author writes about God’s patience with us. God is patient with us, so we may not perish, but repent. The Lord’s patience reveals his hope that we might be saved. These two verses reminds me of a line in a Sabbath Prayer of Thanksgiving by John Knox. He thanks God for “your comfort in our sorrows, and for sparing us in life, and giving us so large a time to repent.” Hope takes patience, yes, but it also takes imagination to know God’s grace as we wait. Janet Morley wrote a prayer, which appears to ask for the Spirit’s assistance as we wait. Let us pray. Spirit of truth whom the world can never grasp, touch our hearts with the shock of your coming; fill us with desire for your disturbing peace; and fire us with longing to speak your uncontainable word through Jesus Christ. Amen. ©2014 Kenmore Presbyterian Church
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 15:14:08 +0000
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