Sermons 2025

Text: James 5:7-11 

Theme: Patiently Active 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Epistle lesson of James chapter five verses seven through eleven. 

Beloved children, I pray that you are doing well today. How many days do we have until Christmas? Are you excited waiting for all the gifts, presents, and great food that you will have as we celebrate Jesus’ birth. It cannot come soon enough. You are excited that you have a whole bunch of energy. The same is true of us in this world. A famous poet Jon Milton, wrote a poem that ends with the phrase, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” This is a great illustration of what James is stating in our text for today, how we as Christians must be patient as we wait for our Lord’s Second coming and not be lazy or bored as we wait. How do we wait patiently? How does Jesus’ first coming give us joy as we wait for His second coming? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you. 

1. Impatience 

Christ is coming soon! That is what He Himself has promised in the New Testament. There are two reactions that we could have to this great news. 

The first is that we can become so excited and zeal that we become impatient. Too often, we do not like to be patient as we wait for something to happen. As we heard from the kids, they are excited waiting for Christmas. They are counting down the days until it comes. It cannot get here soon enough. When we look forward to the joys of Christmas, the excitement of getting together with family and friends, of opening presents lying in wrapping beneath the tree; we become impatient for the day to finally be here. 

We are excited that we wear ourselves out. We are ready for all of the hussel and bussel to be done with. All of the cleaning, all of the shopping, dealing with all of the crowds fighting for the best presents. We are ready for it all to be over with. Christmas gets here, all fhe presents have been opened, all the food has been eaten, the guests have left, what do you do? You probable get into your pj’s and just go blah….all of our energy has been spent so that when the day is done, we have no energy left. 

That is when the Devil attacks. He tempts us with the idea that there is nothing for us to do. He says, “It’s been so long. Jesus walked the earth over two thousand years ago. Soon? It sure does not seem like it.” He tempts our sinful nature into laziness, thinking that we can live however we want to because since it has been so long, Jesus’ apparent delay means that our sinful nature has free reign. 

2. Patient Work

 Yet, what does Saint James say? James says that we should take on the personality of a farmer. A farmer has to be patiently excited and always active. The farmer plants the seed into the ground, but then what? Does he just sit around, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for something to happen? 

No, there is much work to be done as he tends and cares for the soil and seed, while waiting patiently for God to act. The farmer knows that he cannot cause the seed to sprout on his own. He must be patient while waiting for the blessings of God, the spring and fall rains to come. The farmer cannot even cooperate with God in causing it to rain, but must simply, pray, wait and trust. Truly, the farmer is an excellent example of one who trusts in God year after year. That may be the hardest kind of service. To wait patiently, without growing either bored or angry or impatient. 

To do so is to conform to God’s gracious, invisible plan. The farmer has to trust the promises of God, that what happened last year will happen again this year. The farmer waits, but anticipates with joy the future blessings that will come. That is what we do as well. 

We have that same patience, excitement, and joy. Eternal joy is ours because of what Jesus has done for us. Because of what Jesus did in His first advent, taking on our flesh in the Incarnation, living a perfect life in our place so that we could have peace with God. Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, bled to redeem us, and rose from the dead, we have the forgiveness of our sins. We have victory over sin, over death, and over the power of the devil. This is a present reality and joy. 

It fills all of our days with comfort and peace, knowing that we have been giving the victory over every foe because of Jesus. There is nothing that can take that away from us. Knowing what our Lord has done for us, knowing that the victory is won for us, and that He is coming soon. This promise gives us the strength that we need to wait patiently for His return. We do so not just sitting around, but actively doing the work He has given us to do within the vocations and places He has put us in our lives, that through us, more people may know the joy of Jesus’ advent, and come to saving faith in Him. May we always be strengthened as we celebrate this Advent season with Joy, being patiently active as we hold onto the promises that God has given to us in Christ Jesus. 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. Amen.