Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

There is a wonderful children’s book entitled Frog and Toad Together. I’d like to share with you a portion of the story. It begins with Toad- who is, oh, so impatient- dropping by to visit his good friend Frog who is out working in his beautiful flower garden. Toad wishes he had a garden, and Frog responds by giving him some flower seeds and tells him to go home and plant them. To which Toad responds impatiently, “How soon will I have a garden?” as he looks at Frog’s garden. “Soon enough.” …“Soon enough.”

Toad rushes home and plants the seeds. He stands back and waits. Nothing happens so he bends down to the ground and says, “start growing.” Again nothing happens and this time he hollers, “START GROWING!” his friend Frog comes by. He laughs at Toad and says, “Stop all that hollering you are scaring the seeds. Let the sun shine on them and the rain fall on them and they will grow.” Be patient!

That night Toad’s impatience gets the best of him. He sneaks out to see if the seeds he’d left alone had started growing. They hadn’t. He thought to himself, “maybe they are scared of the dark.” So he brings a light out to the garden. When still nothing comes up he grows impatient and tries all manner of things: he talks to his seeds; he sings to them; he plays music for them… He tries all kinds of things to get those seeds to grow.

It is a cute little story that goes on from there, but what struck me about the story was how impatient Toad was, and how impatient we sometimes are. We live in a place and time of instant this and instant that, answering machines, cell phones, and microwaves. We often want things and we want them now! We don’t like to wait.

And James writes, Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

As I said, we are often anything but patient and our impatience often spills over onto God. Sometimes if we find ourselves in a situation we do not like, in the midst of a protracted struggle, set upon by hard times or an illness, we pray- offering it up to God, but when the answer is long in coming we grow impatient with God. We like Toad want the garden, the whole thing-not just a few flowers but roses and flower beds with all kinds of flowers, and arbors and don’t forget no weeds, and we want it now!

We are often anything but patient especially in affliction and fail to stand firm, especially in times of adversity. If God doesn’t answer our prayer when and how we think He should we grumble against God. We give up on Him saying, “He doesn’t really answer prayers any more.” or “He has turned His face away from me.” We often snatch our request back from Him and seek to do it our way- hoping to force the outcome we want or the outcome we think is best for us. In our Gospel lesson John the Baptizer’s followers are not pleased with John being in prison and they went to Jesus saying, Are You the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else? “Come on Jesus a little less talk and a little more action.”…. How often are we a little impatient with God?… Interestingly enough, Judas grew impatient with how the plan of God was unfolding and took matters into his own hands, also...

James writes, You too, be patient and stand firm because the Lord’s coming is near. As we heard in the Gospel lesson God’s plan was unfolding. Jesus was fulfilling scriptures as foretold by the prophet Isaiah and then some: the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; those who have leprosy are healed; the deaf hear, and the dead are raised…and oh yeah, the Good News is preached to the poor. “Be patient” all is working to fulfill God’s plan to save sinners, even though you may not see how. With great patience the Father left the sins of the world unpunished, waiting for the One He promised to come and atone for the sins of the whole world, and in the fullness of time, at just the right time, the Father sent the Son- born of the woman, born under the law to save us from sins. All His teachings and miracles are working to achieve a greater good that you cannot yet see- the cross and the empty tomb.

Our greatest danger is often not the illness, nor the hard times, not even a terrorist. No, it is sin for with it comes separation from God and eternal damnation. Jesus came to rescue us from that sin and to bring us into a real and lasting relationship with God, a plan that called for Jesus to stand firm. He stood firm when people rejected Him because they didn’t like His teachings. He stood firm when others twisted His words and misrepresented Him. He did not turn back even when those who had been witness to His miracles deserted Him. He stood firm even when Peter, James, and John to whom it has been revealed at the transfiguration that He was the Son of God, God in flesh appearing, rejected Him. He stood firm in the Garden of Gethsemane when He knew the cross was looming before Him. He remained resolute to the plan of salvation even as they scourged Him and crowned Him with thorns. He remained firm in God’s plan to save the world from sin even as He stood on the nails driven through His feet, even when they continued to hurl insults at Him. With great resolve He suffered and died for our sins of impatience with our God, hardheadness towards His Holy Word, and the idolatry of thinking we know better than God. He died for all those times we shake our fist at God. He stood firm to pay for all the times we didn’t and couldn’t. He laid down His life, earning for us the forgiveness of our sins and then three days later He took up His life that we might live.

This One, this Jesus, who lived and died and rose again, He is coming again and coming very soon. James writes of His coming in this way: The Judge is at the door. He may come with all the angels announcing the end of the world before this service ends or He may come pronouncing the end of one of our lives even today. We are called to live in readiness of either occurrence. That readiness is found only in standing firm in our faith and being patient even in affliction.

Left to our own devices we can do neither, but God has not abandoned us when eternal life hangs in the balance. No, in baptism and by the hearing of His Word He has poured His Holy Spirit upon us. It is by that Spirit that we are enabled to stand with any semblance of firmness, and when we fall short it is that Spirit working within us that brings us again and again to confess our sins and with joy accept the forgiveness of God. It is by the working of the Spirit- by grace- that we can treasure the things of God- His Word and His sacraments.

James writes of a time when Christians were suffering persecution and Christians today do suffer, but few of us are being persecuted for our faith to the point of death but we are in the midst of struggles of living in a sinful and often unfair world. We do experience heartache and illness, disappointment and discouragements; we add to this daily with our sins and shortcomings. To all this God says be patient and stand firm. Keep yourselves in the Word of God. Allow It to give you real hope and a future even when the answer to your prayers is a long time in coming. Remember the leper who prayed. (Jesus) If you are willing you can make me well. Translation: Jesus, I don’t want to be a leper and I know you being God you have the power to heal me, BUT if you deem it best I remain a leper then I will be a leper for Jesus. A leper who knows that all this hurt and pain will one day end. Your WILL be done. Help us Lord to believe like the leper, having a resolve like his.

All around us are people who are impatiently living on the slippery slope of sin. They, like us, are in need of hearing of Jesus who stood firm when we could not and cannot. They need to hear that He gives to all who would believe His firmness upon which to stand. They like us need to hear of God’s patience in saving us from sin- His plan of salvation. His patience can become our patience and hope. It is by His plan we can pass through the hard days of this life and by that plan we who believe may stand on the last day before the judge knowing we are saved to heaven. Amen.