James 5:7–11 ⁷ 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. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

We don’t like to wait for things. Our world today is used to having things almost instantly. You order something from Amazon and get upset if it doesn’t arrive the next day, or in two days at the most. If you go to the store and they are out of something, you are incredulous that they don’t have what you want. How does this compare to 50 years ago when you would order something through a catalog and wait for weeks or even months for it to arrive?

Patience is not a virtue everyone possesses. But it is one that we need. Whether it is waiting for family to arrive for the holidays, or waiting for the time when you can exchange and open presents, sometimes you just have to wait. Doing so patiently makes it easier on everyone.

The people of God had to wait for the Messiah to come the first time, they had to patient for first coming. And even though they did not all accept Him for who He was, Jesus came in city of His kingly ancestor, David, unceremoniously. But come He did. And He accomplished what He came to do: “He will save His people from their sins.” He opened His kingdom to include anyone who would believe in Him, they would all be “His people.”

The epistle reading for this Third Sunday in Advent point to His second coming. We have to be patient for His return. It is certain. It will happen. If we die first, we will be with the Lord. If we are here when it happens, our faith in Jesus will usher us into His presence for eternity. The one who came in relative obscurity the first time is coming again to take His people to be with Him forever.

So we are told to wait. Patiently. James used the examples of the prophets and Job to show us what waiting patiently looks like.

Our waiting should not be just sitting around doing nothing. We should be sharing the Good News of the one who came once and is coming again with our friends and neighbors and all who will listen. We need to introduce them to the Lord who is full of compassion and mercy.

Our patient waiting should also remember that our God has been patient with us. Peter wrote about that.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

There is still time for others to come to repentance and live through faith in Jesus. That is why, in our patient waiting, we need to share what we already know about Him with the world.