Advent 3
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord....
-- James 5:7
Perhaps, in this third Sunday of Advent, it is particularly important to hear James' admonition to the church to be patient with one another. The hectic pace of Advent is but a microcosm of the challenge of church life in general. It is so easy to lose patience with the failure of the church to meet our expectations or the failure of the members to meet some mythical standard of faithfulness. "Do not grumble against one another so that you may not be judged," counseled James. He depicted the slow process of salvation in the church to be like farmers who waited for the crop. He had planted the seeds and cultivated the ground, but the true growth of faith among the members of the church was only partially dependent on what he did or the programs that were offered. It is hard to measure the impact of our being patient and not grumbling, but we all know of those who have left the church because someone acted impatiently or judgmentally toward them. James even went so far as to suggest the value of the suffering we endure. The clergy and lead members of a church are well aware of the extra burden they bear because many members do not actively participate. What we sometimes forget is that our very act of patience with them may be our strongest witness to our faith.
-- James 5:7
Perhaps, in this third Sunday of Advent, it is particularly important to hear James' admonition to the church to be patient with one another. The hectic pace of Advent is but a microcosm of the challenge of church life in general. It is so easy to lose patience with the failure of the church to meet our expectations or the failure of the members to meet some mythical standard of faithfulness. "Do not grumble against one another so that you may not be judged," counseled James. He depicted the slow process of salvation in the church to be like farmers who waited for the crop. He had planted the seeds and cultivated the ground, but the true growth of faith among the members of the church was only partially dependent on what he did or the programs that were offered. It is hard to measure the impact of our being patient and not grumbling, but we all know of those who have left the church because someone acted impatiently or judgmentally toward them. James even went so far as to suggest the value of the suffering we endure. The clergy and lead members of a church are well aware of the extra burden they bear because many members do not actively participate. What we sometimes forget is that our very act of patience with them may be our strongest witness to our faith.
