Delaying Gratification

PROPERS:          ADVENT 3, YEAR A    

TEXT:                 JAMES 5:7-11

PREACHED AT HOLY TRINITY, PENSACOLA, ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2019.

ONE SENTENCE:        The watchword for Advent is patience.         

                                    

            Each year, the season of Advent brings to mind a story from the days I was serving a parish in Starkville, Mississippi.

            I had been marinated, soaked in, and thoroughly indoctrinated in the Episcopal approach that Advent is a season of preparation and not an early Christmas celebration.  That was – and is – my approach.

            But, perhaps, I came on a little strong.

            One Sunday I preached a sermon that chastised the practice of premature Christmas celebrations.  I said that such early observances of the blessed event, coming on December 25^th, diminished the power of the Incarnation and the dramatic message of his birth.  I suspect, also, that my condemnation included too-early Christmas trees, lights, decorations, and other typical Christmas trappings.

            The intent was correct, I think, but the conveyance of the message was too much.

            As I stood outside the nave greeting parishioners after the service, one of my favorite members came up to me to shake hands.  She looked up at me and said, “Well, bah humbug to you, too.”

            She made a good point.  She and I have laughed about it many times.

            But, while the message was too strong, the point was on-target.  As we might say, the emPHAsis was on the wrong sylLABle.

            There is another source I would cite that makes my point – and also the point of the lesson from James today.

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            M. Scott Peck was a psychiatrist who became a very popular author.  Among others, he wrote “The Road Less Traveled” and “People of the Lie”.

            He had been an agnostic, but while writing “The Road Less Traveled”, he became a Christian and a very popular speaker at conferences.

            That book was profoundly important to me.  It was formative in my decision to enter the ordained ministry. Along with reading his book, I served as a staff member of a conference he led at Kanuga, the Episcopal conference center in the mountains of North Carolina.

            In “The Road Less Traveled”, Dr. Peck adapted many of the concepts of modern psychiatric theory to the Christian message.  One of those is especially appropriate today.

            He wrote that one of the hallmarks of psychological health is the ability to delay gratification – to see something, want something, and patiently wait for it.  A classic example he shared was eating cake:  eating the cake first, while waiting until the end to eat the icing on the cake.  I thought it was a pretty clear illustration.

            It applies to Advent, too.  We are to await the joys and delights of Christmas on the actual day, and the 12 days in the season which follow.  That is somewhat at odds with the practice of many stores to put Christmas items on the shelves in September.

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            The concept of patience – of delaying gratification – is explicit in the lesson from James today.  And the promise which invites patience is subtly over, under, around, and through the other lessons.

            James – presumed by many scholars to be the brother of Our Lord – is very direct in his instructions (which may even predate the writings of Paul).  He tells us:

“Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:7-10)

            James is speaking to us and advocating for a healthy spiritual practice.  He is also encouraging us – practically – to await the joy which will come in our welcoming of the newborn savior on Christmas morning.  And, beyond that, his advice reflects sound psychological health.  That is a trifecta.

            But what are we to do in the meantime?  James has some very practical suggestions as we wait.  Those suggestions do not include waging conflict with other forces – secular or religious.  They do not include the idea of rapping the knuckles of others who have different practices or traditions.  They are suggestions which highlight the practices of our faith.

“Are any among you suffering? They should pray.  Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.  Are any of you sick? They should call the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:13-16a)

            Yes, those words were written 2,000 years ago and half a world away, in a culture far from ours today.  But the wisdom is timeless. In preparation for Jesus’ coming – either in Christmas celebration or in an ultimate sense – we are called to catch our breath.  To slow down.  To turn inward.  To reflect. To pray. To give thanks.  To ask for guidance.  And, to reach out to those in need:  the hungry, the hurting, the lonely, the poor, the searching, and those who hunger and thirst for a kind word.

            If you are able to delay gratification and observe this season of preparation in a deeply-spiritual way, you will truly know the joys of the Lord’s coming.