Pastor’s Pulpit for December 2019
The Fruits of the Spirit: Patience
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such
things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23;
ESV).
The fruits of the Spirit are gifts of God
in Christ, to be received by faith. The
love with which we love our neighbor is first of all the love of Christ for us,
who gave Himself into death for us to redeem us (Eph. 5:25). The joy we have even in the midst of sorrow
and suffering is first of all the joy set before Christ, the joy of redeeming
us, for which He endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb. 12:2). The peace we now know and experience with God
and extend to our neighbor is first of all the peace of sins forgiven on
account of the saving work of Christ, the peace imparted in Holy Absolution
(John 20:22-23). Each of these gifts
flows from the wounds of Christ. They
are given to us in Holy Baptism as we are joined to Christ and become one with
Him, members of His Body.
Which brings us to patience (μακροθυμία
[makrothumia] in Greek). The word could
also be translated “steadfastness, endurance, forbearance.” It includes both the idea of remaining
faithful to the Lord while waiting upon Him in difficult circumstances, and
being patient toward others.
This is first of all a description of our
Lord Jesus Christ. He remained faithful
to His Father while suffering, waiting upon Him for deliverance. And He was patient with others, His disciples
who never seemed to get it, the crowds who only wanted to see miracles and be
healed and fed, the Jewish leaders who were always seeking to trap Him in His
words, the soldiers who mocked Him and crucified Him. He is patient with us in our sins and
failures, forgiving us and loving us.
Indeed, the common Old Testament confession of faith captures our Lord’s
patience with us: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and
abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 103:8; ESV).
Consider how our Lord Jesus set the
pattern of Christian suffering in patient faith that God will deliver. St. Peter writes, “For this is a gracious
thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly… For to
this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an
example, so that you might follow in his steps.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in
return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself
to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:19, 21-23). See how His patient endurance while relying
on His Father extended to patience with those who were crucifying Him,
including you and me who crucified Him by our sins? He knew His vindication was coming in His
resurrection, and His joy in saving us for Himself for all eternity sustained
Him in His suffering.
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He died for our sins, and we are His forgiven
people, declared righteous for His sake.
And now we have the Promise. He
will raise us from the dead on that Day.
We belong to Him. We will live
with Him forever. So there is no
suffering we cannot endure with patience, waiting on the Lord to deliver
us. We know He will. We know our suffering is not forever. We know our Lord is using our suffering to
accomplish His will for us. We “know
that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who
are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). That doesn’t mean the suffering won’t be hard
at the time. That doesn’t mean we won’t
hurt or be sad. But we know how this
ends. The Lord will deliver. He always does. He is faithful. So we can wait. Lutheran theologian Hermann Sasse famously
said, “The Church can wait, for it does have a future” (“The Ecumenical
Challenge of the Second Vatican Council,” in The Lonely Way, Volume II,
Trans. Matthew C. Harrison et al. [St. Louis: Concordia, 2002] p.
328). Our future, together as the Church
and each one individually, is eternal life in Christ.
So we can be patient with our neighbor,
who gives us ample opportunity to exercise patience. Patience is both a faith word (waiting upon
the Lord) and a love word (bearing with our neighbor and forgiving his sins against
us). The Lord is patient with us: He “is
not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”
(2 Peter 3:9). In faith, we wait
patiently upon the Lord and His deliverance: “Be still before the LORD and wait
patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over
the man who carries out evil devices!” (Psalm 37:7). “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). In love,
we are patient toward others: “Love is patient and kind” (1 Cor. 13:4); “And we
urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the
weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess. 5:14); “Put on then, as God’s chosen
ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”
(Col. 3:12-13).
Be patient. Maybe give your neighbor a break. So the rude guy cut you off in traffic. So what?
Forgive, as Christ forgives.
After all, you’ve probably cut somebody off a time or two. So your kids are whining for no good
reason. So what? You whine to God all the time and He doesn’t
even yell at you. So your co-worker is
driving you crazy. Oh well! Bear with them, as Christ bears with
you. And watch yourself so that you
don’t drive others up the wall. Do you
see how God’s perfect patience with us enables us to be patient with
others? And do you see how that frees
us? And as for suffering, remember: The
time is short. God will deliver. Jesus is coming back. He is coming soon. Wait patiently.
Let us pray for this gift of God: “O God,
by the patient endurance of Your only-begotten Son You beat down the pride of
the old enemy. Help us to treasure
rightly in our hearts what our Lord has borne for our sakes that, after His
example, we may bear with patience those things that are adverse to us; through
Jesus Christ, our Lord” (LSB 312). Amen.
Peace and joy in Christ,
Pastor Krenz
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