Judge not the preacher, for he is thy Judge;
If thou mislike him, thou conceiv'st him not;
God calleth preaching folly: do not grudge
To pick out treasures from an earthen pot:
The worst speaks something good; if all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.

My task this morning is to preach about patience, a theme that comes to us from the letter of James. 'Be patient, my friends, until the Lord comes', he writes. Being patient is all about waiting, but waiting is experienced in a variety of modes. I wonder how many of you can still recall your feelings as a child in the run-up to Christmas - the sense of excitement, hope and anticipation for a day that we knew would come and the waiting that was almost unbearable until it did. This is a far cry from the patient lying in a hospital bed waiting for the body to recover. Here, unaccustomed inactivity requires a different sort of patience; a patience that is borne with quiet resignation at first, but eventually gives way to frustration as the body begins to heal, but not quickly enough. Different again is the waiting of the person under attack and praying for someone to come and help them. Here the waiting is filled with fear, made worse by knowing that to act could precipitate even greater hurt.

The opposite of patience is impatience and I suspect we have all felt that growing impatience as we waited in a queue. Sometimes the desire to purchase is sufficiently strong to keep us in place. At other times you give up and walk away in frustration. St James in his letter reflects a similar concern - that people have waited so long for the Lord's return that they will simply give up and walk away; the more so as his readers have been experiencing harassment and persecution. Thus he encourages them to look to the prophets as an example of patience under ill-treatment.

It was the prophets, you will remember, who believed that things had got so bad in Israel that the only thing left for God to do was to raise up a new leader; one who would stand in the line of David and display all the gifts and qualities of that charismatic ruler. Giving up on the kings of their generation they began to look forward in hope to a new age when God would make a fresh start. And when it did not come immediately they continued to wait through many centuries, confident that one day God would justify their faith. James was well aware that the people he was writing for had been waiting rather a long time and that as they tried to live our Lord's teaching of non-retaliation, it required considerable patience and forbearance. No doubt he was also aware that many had fallen away already, unable or unwilling to wait.

Over recent years the churches have watched many lose faith and give up. So much so that we now have whole generations who know little or nothing about the Christian faith let alone our Lord's promise that he will come again. Not for them the frustration of waiting for an event that never happens, they don't even know it is supposed to happen. And what about ourselves? One of the problems with waiting so long for the coming of Christ is that while on the surface we continue to wait, inwardly the spirit dies. And it goes unnoticed until suddenly we find ourselves wondering just what it is we were waiting for and cover the emptiness in a hectic round of Christmas festivities.

But while some may lose heart the waiting leaves others even more desperate for our Lord to return and transform the earth. They see the suffering of the world, its violence, its foolishness, its lack of peace and it becomes almost unbearable and we find ourselves voicing the words of our opening hymn, "When comes the promised time, when war shall be no more; When shall all hatred cease as in the realm above". For the truth is that if the kingdom really has come it does seem very elusive at times. For if we are celebrating the coming of the one who is the light of the world, then events in the Middle East, the slavery of so many people in our modern world and the harsh inequalities of our planet, which we seem unable to address suggest there is not much light around and as the hymn says, "O'er lands both near and far thick darkness broodeth yet".

And yet all this is nothing new. The lack of justice and peace, the violence and the brutality, the exploitation and oppression of many people were all present in our Lord's day and people were asking the same question. When comes the promised time? These people knew their bible. They knew of Isaiah's great passage and the promise that one day the wilderness and the dry places would be flooded with life-giving water. They knew that one day their arid land was to blossom and burst into flower. But when was it to be? And why now? They had heard it before and little had changed. So why should they now believe John? In what way was his message different from all the other prophets?

And so Jesus starts to talk to them about John. What drew you into the wilderness? To admire the reed-beds - or to look for a king dressed in silk and fine satins? Of course not. You were drawn into the wilderness because you had heard that after years and years of silence a new prophet had emerged. And instinctively you wanted to believe that. You wanted to believe that God was beginning to do something new. And I am telling you to believe it. I am telling you that John is indeed a prophet. But he is far more than that. He is the herald whose coming was predicted by the prophet Malachi and his coming amongst you is the sign that things are about to change, the Kingdom of Heaven is coming upon you. But don't expect to see it happen all at once for already it is subject to violence and violent men are trying to destroy it.

Jesus warns us that delivering the Kingdom is not an easy and smooth operation. It cannot happen just like that because there are so many people around who prefer violence rather than peace, and oppression rather than justice. If the Kingdom is going to come on earth then it is going to have to be fought for. But the good news is that the outcome is assured. How often do we long to know things in advance? And how much easier life would be if we did. Well here is Jesus is telling us we can confidently engage in the battle against sin and evil because we already know the outcome.

At which point our question becomes, but how do we know? It is the same question that the people put to Jesus. You say all this, but how are we to know that things are different? Why should we believe you? Even John the Baptist asked him - are you really the one who is to come or should we be looking for someone else? And the answer Jesus gives is quite simple, - look around you. What do you see? Is it not the case that beneath the outward exterior of everyday life, individual lives are being changed and changed for the good? The Kingdom of Heaven is not about a sudden transformation; nor is it about grand gestures with elaborate scenic effects. The Kingdom of Heaven is about individual people and its power to change and transform human lives. This may not seem to amount to very much, but small changes can begin to add up; and when many lives are touched it can change a family, a community, a society. If you want to see the Kingdom you must go looking beneath the surface and if you do you will see it.

Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom has come, but because of the opposition to it, it will take time to deliver. There is a battle to be fought, a battle to persuade people to see things differently; a battle to persuade the oppressors to listen and hear the cry of those who are oppressed by their actions; a battle to persuade people not to sit silently on the sidelines while others suffer, but to feel their pain and feel it to the point where they are moved to do something about it; a battle to overcome evil with good. It will take time, but it is happening. Look for the light in the darkness and you will see the Kingdom

All this requires patience and perseverance. In this frenetic world where everyone wants it now and is not prepared to wait, patience is fast becoming an unpopular word. But you and I are made in the image of God and must be like him; the God of whom the psalmist says: He is a righteous judge, strong and patient. So be patient. Look for the signs of the Kingdom. God is working his purpose out and so you can continue to wait for Him in confidence and hope.

More sermons, modern and historical, available in Norwich Cathedral Library

Back to Sermons homepage