It’s A Virtue
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
I needed to hear these words today: “And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). It isn’t the admonition, the encouragement, or the help that I needed to be reminded about, it is the patience. It’s Advent, and my patience is running low. What a shame, too. This is the season of expectation and hope, of looking forward to what God is doing while celebrating what has already been done. It is a time for preparing and for reorienting. Joy should permeate everything we do; the King of Glory is coming!

But Advent also presents us with more hectic schedules and more complicated calendars. There are family arrangements to work out and money to be spent. There are long lines and short fuses. It is a complicated time of year and I find myself getting antsy about the silliest things. I know I’m not alone. Even good experiences, even kind people, even days filled with good cheer can cause stress, like weddings, for example. As a minister I feel a certain responsibility for this season, to help others experience the joy of Christmas, and that can cause me a good bit of stress as well. And the stress in turn leads to a loss of patience.

But faithful obedience calls for faithful living. As the writer of Thessalonians reminds us, patience is a virtue for which we should strive at all times and with all people. Advent, then, should also be a time for practicing the sort of calm acceptance that the world needs. Lord, I’ll be glad to do all the admonishing, encouraging, and helping that I can, but I’m going to need you to give me the patience that I need, so that I can share your love with others and can live in peace during Advent and beyond. Oh, and Lord, could you hurry up with that patience? I haven’t got all day!

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we are quick to judge and quick to anger, and help us to live in peace with one another. In Jesus’ name. Amen.