Advent 3

Be patient. Stand firm. Because the Lord's coming is near.

There's a type of plant called the Chinese bamboo. It grows in a really, really unusual way.

! You plant seed and you water it, you fertilize it for about a year and nothing really seems

to happen. You give it a second year of more water and fertilizing, waiting and again no

sign of anything going on. Year three, more water, more fertilizer. Year four, more water,

more fertilizer. Year five, more water, more fertilizer. And then it grows from zero up

to 90 feet in five weeks. The big question is this. How long does it really take to grow?

Five weeks or five years? You see, as we go through our lives and we wait for the coming

of Jesus as James urges us here. To be patient, stand firm, because the Lord is near. As we

wait, we can have that sense that, well, what are we waiting for? We need to be reminded that

all that time, all that time of praying, all the time of investing our energy, investing

our time, our money, our giving, our lives, everything. There's stuff going on. We might

not see it. It's below surface. As that old saying goes, nothing never happens.

So we need to hold close to these words of James. And we're tempted to think, well, come

on. We're going at this for such a long time now. Where's the sign of God's kingdom in the

world? Where's the sign of things happening in my life? What about this situation that I'm

praying for, that I'm praying about, that I'm reaching out to God for? What's going on?

Remember these words. Be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

Being patient is difficult. I'm not a naturally instinctive, patient person.

I'm not. And there's a reason why James urges us to be patient. And there's a reason why

in scripture there is this continual urge to be patient, why it's named as a fruit of the

spirit. It's not something that comes natural to us. So don't be surprised when it is a struggle

to be patient. Because most of the time, most of us aren't. And there's nothing new about this.

What is new is the culture within which we live, which makes it especially difficult to be patient

because we live in a culture that actually thinks that having to be patient is a bad thing.

We live in a culture. We live in a culture that's a bad thing. And we live in a culture that's a bad thing.

Next day delivery. We've got to wait until the next day for it to come.

You send a message, you expect an immediate response.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, that can be a really good thing.

When things happen fast, that's great.

But it's a danger when it shapes our understanding such that everything happening instantaneously

becomes normalised. Because then when we have to wait at all, we get this instinct, this inner sense

that, well, something must be wrong then. Because it hasn't happened immediately.

Apparently, a woman called United, phoned United Airlines a while back.

And when she got through to the call handler, she said,

could you tell me how long does it take to get from Dallas, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany?

Well, the person taking the call had to look it up.

So she said, just a minute. She said, thank you and hang up.

LAUGHTER

Great things.

Things that really matter take time.

They always have.

And this side of eternity always will.

Think about that.

It takes time to invest in something that's really worthwhile.

The violinist Fritz Kreisler lived from 1875 to 1962.

He was reckoned to be one of the greatest players of the instrument ever.

A fan approached him one day after a concert and said to him,

I would give my life to play as beautifully as you.

He said, I did.

Things can't be rushed.

We shouldn't expect them to be rushed.

And so when we hear these words, be patient,

we need to hear them for what they are.

Be patient, urges James.

Be patient.

And he says, stand firm.

In other words, he doesn't say just be patient,

just kind of breed this virtue of your own accord.

He actually gives a very good reason for,

or rather good way of how we are to be patient.

Because it doesn't just come naturally.

Stand firm.

He says, now this is one of those classic things

that really is lost in translation.

The English, this particular English translation,

would say stand firm.

Greek New Testament would say establish your hearts,

or fix your hearts.

Now it kind of means the same thing.

But the Greek word kardios, from which we get cardiology,

is there.

Kardios, hearts.

Establish your hearts.

Set your hearts.

Stand firm.

Set your hearts.

That's what he's saying.

Be patient.

Set your hearts.

Establish your hearts.

Now normally if you say,

if you set your heart on something,

it can be a dangerous thing.

Because things can move.

And certainly, our hearts,

our human emotions,

can be quite fickle.

We can't really rely on them that much.

But it depends on what it is that we set our hearts on.

And that's the point.

James here is talking about,

when he says stand firm,

he means establish your hearts

on the thing that will not budge.

On that upon which you can rely.

If you establish your heart,

if you fix your heart,

upon that which can be trusted,

or he whom can be trusted,

well that's a different thing.

You see, it all depends on the reliability

of the one upon which we set our hearts.

Because no building is ever stronger

than the foundation upon which it has been set.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a great example.

185 foot tall.

I think they have stopped it leaning now.

There was a massive project.

I think it was about 20 years ago or so now.

They realised that if they didn't take action,

it was going to collapse.

But even though it was built hundreds of years ago,

that 185 foot tall building,

which to begin with was on very soft

and unstable subsoil anyway,

was set on foundations

that only went down three metres.

Now you compare that with some of the cathedrals

that were built at the same time,

when the actual foundations were as big

as the cathedral that you can actually see itself.

But just three metres of rock

underneath a 185 foot structure,

little wonder that it was leaning so much.

You see, something will only be as stable

as that upon which it is established.

If you want a more recent example,

you may remember in 2008,

Hurricane Ike that swept across Texas.

It completely and utterly obliterated

whole communities.

Except,

there was one house that remained standing.

Here's a picture, and it's quite shocking.

The owners of that house

had previously been victims of storms and flood,

and had learnt the importance,

when it came to rebuild,

of setting things

on firm foundations.

Interestingly,

if you Google that image,

and you see comments underneath,

you'd be stunned,

well maybe not,

how many people said,

please give me the number of that builder.

Here's a question for us all.

What do we set our hearts on?

We say set,

I mean establish,

I mean build.

What do we build our lives on?

What do you stand firm on?

What is it that your heart,

which will be fickle,

because you're human,

we all are.

What is it established on?

James says,

be patient,

stand firm,

establish your heart,

fix your heart,

build your heart,

build your lives

on the one

who you can rely on.

Jesus.

Because, he goes on to say,

he is near.

Now, when James wrote,

because the Lord's coming is near,

he was writing as a member

of that first generation of Christians,

some 2,000 years ago,

who thought that Jesus' return

was imminent,

literally.

And it took that first generation

or so of Christians

to work out and think through

and process

what it means

to continue

and to sustain

as followers of Jesus

when he didn't return,

literally.

And it can be tempting

for us

some 2,000 years later

to draw

the conclusion

that, well,

how can you really

take that seriously

if some 2,000 years on

and the continuation

of war raging

and people dying

and suffering

and pain,

how can we continue

to wait patiently

on the Lord

to stand firm?

There's never been

a generation

that hasn't asked

and wrestled

with that question.

Of course not.

But have you ever

thought of it like this?

Each of us,

every single one of us,

is less than a generation

away from meeting

with ultimate truth.

I don't mean to sound bleak

when I say that,

but we will all

come to our own

personal expiry dates

on earth

at some point

and that won't be

2,000 years away.

We're called

to build our lives,

to set our hearts,

our foundations

on him

because it's not

that far off.

the history

of this world

may roll on

for quite a while

longer

before he comes

to make all things

new,

but in terms

of the place

that we play,

in terms of our own

role within

world history,

well that time's

limited.

That's why

these words

are here

to warn

every generation

to take it

seriously.

to be patient,

to stand firm

because

it's not

actually that long

before we

meet with

eternity.

And that's

an eternity

that right now

we can't see,

but all the while

the kingdom

is coming

and he is

preparing that

for us.

When I grew up

on the Isle

of Wight

the house

where I grew up

there was a garage

and I remember

shortly after

I first started

driving

I got my first car

it was an

Austin Allegro

do you remember

those?

It was my pride

and joy

I had a square

steering wheel

and they did

but

0 to 60

eventually

this was on

the Isle

of Wight

you can only

go so far

before you

hit the sea

or a wall

or something

anyway

I can remember

the early stages

of having

this car

and the first

time I ever

topped up

the washer

fluid

flipped open

the bonnet

and walked

into the garage

and my dad

was really

really tidy

and organised

and he had

a tap

in the garage

but there was

a hose

connected to

that tap

and it was

quite a long

hose

all tidily

coiled up

and the end

of that hose

pointed down

into a bucket

so I went

out there

with a jug

wanting some

water

to fill up

the washer

fluid

on the car

and then

I didn't

know how

to disconnect

this hose

so I looked

at it

and I thought

well surely

if I just

turn the tap

on

put the jug

underneath

the end

of that hose

sooner or later

I'll get some

water

that's what

I did

turned on

the tap

there was

a quiet

hissing

held the jug

there

and waited

and waited

and waited

there was

nothing

really long

hose

I'd better

turn the tap

a little bit

more

hissing

got a bit

louder

still no

water

still no

movement

turned the

tap again

and waited

and waited

and waited

and waited

and waited

suddenly I

wasn't waiting

anymore

this hose

just unleashed

itself

seemingly

at the speed

of light

and snaked

around the

garage

as I ran

around

trying to

retrieve

the end

of it

well by

the end

of the

episode

yes I

turned the

tap off

and yes

I got

my water

none of

it was

in the

jug

quite a lot

of it

was on

me

and a lot

of it

was on

the floor

you see

all that

time of

waiting

I

couldn't

see

the water

I could

hear the

faintest

hiss

but things

were happening

it was

moving

and all

the time

we pray

and we

wait for

the kingdom

and we

prepare for

the kingdom

and we

listen to

these words

of scripture

which has

been issued

to every

generation

after generation

after generation

since they

were written

some 2,000

years ago

things are

happening

we can't

see them

most of

the time

we're not

aware of

them

but things

are happening

the Lord

is near

and one

day

and it

won't be

that far

off in

the scheme

of things

historically

we will

wake up

to that

reality

in eternity

the Lord

is near

his kingdom

is near

be patient

stand firm

set your

hearts on

the thing

that matters

the one

who matters

because the

Lord is

near

you see

we read in

the first

verse of

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

that faith

faith is

confidence

confidence

in what

we hope

for

and assurance

about what

we do

not see

and that's

what we're

called

and we're

reminded of

particularly

during our

events

we think

of this

theme

of preparing

and getting

ready

it's what

we're called

to do

to live

and wait

patiently

not in a

passive way

but in an

active way

engaging with

the challenges

around us

praying about

what's going

on in our

lives

about what's

going on

in the

world

being poised

being ready

being engaged

getting ready

to hasten

that kingdom

that is coming

that we can't

control but God

can and God

will

and trusting

that all the

while we can't

see him

he is there

and he is

near

I want to

leave this image

with you

it's taken

to prayer

there's going

to be some

music

in a moment

and during

that time

I'm going

to invite us

to just

pray during

that music

as it

comes up

on the

screens

but the

image

that I

think is a

helpful one

for discipleship

at any time

but particularly

as we think

during Advent

of this theme

of waiting

trusting in

that which we

cannot see

expecting

patiently

and the

promises

of God

I want to

share this

with you

it comes

from the

world of

developmental

psychology

particularly

somebody

called

Jean Piaget

who wrote

about something

called object

permanence

you see

when we're

first born

when we first

come into

this world

we haven't

learned to

differentiate

between

what we

can see

and what

we can't

see

and what

just simply

doesn't

exist

and so

for the

early stages

of life

a baby

when they

see something

and then it's

taken out of

sight

as far as

they're concerned

it doesn't

exist

before

object

permanence

has surfaced

now when

we've acquired

object

permanence

in our

developmental

journey

and the

very early

stages

of growing

up

it's then

that we

realise

that just

because something

is out of

sight

it hasn't

ceased to

exist

and you can

see this

in a young

child

when if you

take something

a toy

for example

and you

put it

underneath

a blanket

the child

that has

acquired

object

permanence

will go

looking for

it

they'll try

to find

it

because they

know that

even though

it's out

of sight

it's still

there

somewhere

and that's

why games

like peekaboo

are really

helpful in

developing

in coaching

this

object

permanence

in the

mind of

a young

child

well what I

want to

suggest for

all of us

is that

when it

comes to

our

relationship

with

God

do we

need to

learn

or rather

relearn

a new

dimension

of object

permanence

to learn

to understand

that just

because

he may be

out of

sight

he's not

out of

action

he's

there

he's

here

be

patient

then

stand

firm

because the

Lord is

near

let's

pray

Lord your

word teaches

us

that

faith

faith is

that confidence

in what we

hope for

and assurance

of what we

do not

see

help us

to mature

and to

develop

that trust

in the

kingdom that

we may

not be

able to

see

whatever is

going on in

our lives

right now

and whatever

is going on

within that

wider world

may we

become ever

more patient

and ever

more firm

setting our

hearts on

you

knowing that

you are

near

we hold

this prayer

before you

now

in Jesus

name

Amen

Amen

Bluetooth

You could have come like a forest fire

With the power of heaven in your flame

But you came like a winter snow

Quiet and soared and slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the earth below

We could have swept in like a tidal of light

Or in an ocean to ravage our hearts

You could have come through like a roaring flood

To wipe away the waves we've scarred

But you came like a winter snow

Yes you did

You were quiet, you were soft and slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the earth below

Oh no

Your voice wasn't in a bush burning

No

Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind

It was still, it was small

It was hidden

You came like a winter snow

Quiet and soft and slow

Falling from the sky in the night

To the earth below

Falling

To the earth below

You came falling

From the sky in the night

To the earth below

Lord God

Lord God, we bring you our prayers

We bring you our past, our present and our future

Help us to trust in you

Help us to be patient

To stand firm

And to know that you are near

Now and every day

In Jesus' name

Amen