But patience really is the key to making real lasting change. Patience is what allows people to wrestle and negotiate the best path forward.
And it is clear that even in the days of the early church, patience truly was a virtue.
See what you think.
Text:
Philippians 4:1-9
+++
You know that saying, “Patience is a
virtue”?
It’s one of those phrases that people
like to drop on other people when they’re not being patient.
I’ve always thought I was patient.
Then we got our cat Romeo.
Romeo is a very good hunter…or at least
he is good at catching tiny geckos and bringing them into the house.
When he plays…he’ll lie very still for
several… way too long minutes…. before he finally pounces on the toy at the end
of a string.
He feels triumphant as he wrestles with
his play thing.
Often he wins those games….because I’ve
already lost my patience waiting for him to do something!
The actual phrase…patience is a virtue…
dates back to a 14th century poem…but the idea has existed a lot
longer than that.
It’s one of the major tenets found in
both Eastern and Western religions.
And I think it is at the heart of many
of our readings this morning.
We definitely hear it in the story of
the Golden Calf. The Israelites lose patience waiting for Moses.
God starts to lose patience with a
people who make other gods for themselves.
And Moses appeals to God to have more
patience…which God listens to and relents.
Whew!
We can also hear it in Paul’s Letter to
the Philippians….which could be like a letter to just about any faith community
of today.
The Easter Season was more than a minute
ago.
We heard the story of Pentecost with the
Holy Spirit making a dramatic entrance into the Upper Room back in May.
We’re now at the 20th Sunday
since Pentecost.
As the weeks and months have worn on…and
we’ve experienced sufferings…from the deeply personal to the existential.
In times such as this…it’s easy to lose
our focus and go down rabbit holes that want to take us deep into the warren of
despair.
And when we fall into that trap… that’s
when we start losing patience.
We have disputes…people start working at
cross purposes to one another…often out of a sense of urgency.
That was all true of the early Christian
church as well.
We hear Paul telling this new church at
Philippi…”Hey, Euodia and Syntyche…I need y’all to slow down…chill out…and quit
fighting with each other.”
We don’t know what the problem was between
these two women.
But what we can gather from Paul’s words
that whatever it was…it was causing stress within the church community.
Stress that wasn’t needed in a time and
a place where the church was a minority in a still challenging environment of
Roman empirical rule.
And given that he named them…these were
clearly two church women who were in the leadership ranks.
Both probably had their own ideas as to
how things ought to be done in the church.
Both were good and faithful church
members and wanted to serve.
And Paul…from his jail cell…is reminding
them and all the church…including us… that the one mission that matters is the
Gospel mission of Love:
To care for the poor…the sick…the
hungry…and the oppressed…and those in prison…both the literal and the
figurative.
And all of that requires working
together…with patience and forbearance for each other’s quirks and attitudes.
And it can happen with joy…even in the
middle of difficult circumstances and trying times.
Paul loved the church at Philippi and
really wanted them to succeed.
Not for the sake of his ego…but for what
the Christian church stood for: a place of building up those who were getting
knocked down by the Roman Empire…and connecting them to the God of
Love…Mercy…and Compassion.
Taking people who often felt harassed
and tired….and giving them hope.
We can hear this in his opening
sentence…when he talks about the Philippians being his “joy and my crown.”
The “crown” is a reference to the
victory wreaths that were awarded to athletes and the winners in a contest.
These wreaths were made from real twigs
and metal that was twisted together.
Think of the images of the Greek god
Apollo…and other larger than life figures from ancient times…wearing them on
their heads or holding them in their hands.
For Paul…the Philippians of the
church…who…through the care they offered to him while he sat in prison…proved
they were winners.
And their hard work was the outward and
visible symbol of the victory that happens when Love goes into motion with all
the members putting forth their best efforts.
When they are diligent… persistent and
patient with themselves and each other…that’s when others see the light of
Christ in them.
Not as an individual achievement of
greatness…but as a team.
That’s what it means to be “in
community.”
I remember the late Governor Lawton
Chiles of Florida in his first state of the state address to the legislature
talked about working toward Florida being a community and not a crowd.
The idea of a crowd represented people
who were engaged in jockeying for position…bumping up against each other…and
trying to push aside anyone they considered a rival for attention.
As long as they got what they thought
was their share… members of the crowd didn’t care what happened to anyone else.
Community…on the other hand…evoked a
sense of responsibility… not only for oneself but for others.
Communities pulled together to make a
difference that wasn’t just for a day…but hopefully for a lifetime…improving
things for the current and future generations.
And making things easier…better…bigger
and brighter…for more people…that’s truly a reason to rejoice.
Working together to make things happen
is critical to building up joy in the church.
And we know that from our own efforts
here at St. Barnabas.
When there’s a need to lay out pallets
for the pumpkin patch…people show up in the middle of Wednesday to help.
When a member of the altar guild or a
person scheduled to be a lector falls ill…someone steps in to take on that
task.
When we hear of government cutbacks to
food assistance programs…people pull from their pantries to put items in the
basket out in our narthex…or contribute to entities in their towns and still
others go to help feed the hungry on the streets of Valdosta.
Together…we do make a difference in the
ways that we are able to do so.
That’s important in these times when
going to the grocery store or watching the evening news makes us keenly aware
that all is not right in society.
We have the chance… and indeed we’ve
been invited and called… to be the people who show up and are ready to respond
as good stewards of our church and our community.
As Paul says…”keep on doing the things
that you have learned and received and heard” knowing that God is working
through us in our efforts to make this world a place of health…healing…and hope
with unconditional love.
In the name of our One Holy and
Undivided Trinity.
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