PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
“Be patient…Do not complain…” An excerpt from James 5, our Second Reading A friend of mine likes to refer to St. James’s letter in the Bible as “The Epistle of Common Sense”. But as G.K. Chesterton observed a century ago, “A society is in decay, final or transitional, when common sense really becomes uncommon.” One of the reasons that readings from James always pack a punch is that they contain mega-doses of common sense that signal how far we have drifted from so many core assumptions of earlier ages.
Our age is marked by weariness of waiting. Our age has staggeringly gone a step beyond the microwave to insist on DoorDash deliveries being available at all hours, arriving hot and ready to eat. In that sense we have perfected impatience, and so technology rushes ever forward, trying to shave milliseconds off refresh rates, as restlessness ensues. Is it any wonder that the season of Advent ruffles our feathers, and in a certain way, if we’re honest with ourselves, we just want it to be over and done!
We all have both room for improvement and a capacity for change. This is why time is needed; why Advent is a season; why we are still works-inprogress but also why we can have hope that we’ll reach the goal.
John the Baptist had to experience the painful but potentially transformative kind of waiting which only the incarcerated can understand. In the dark, dank dungeon of Herod’s palace, John waited to see the revelation of the Children of God (see Romans 8:19-22 and 1 John 3:2). May our Advent waiting see us grow in eagerness to know that we can be among those who are least in the kingdom of heaven. May we be eager not to see the season done, but rather to have Christ come!
As I am waiting—and not always patiently—for the arrival of my sabbatical and my departure in early January, just after Epiphany, I am invited to reflect on the gift of each day and encounter with you, beloved parishioners. Christmas Cards have begun to pile up, expressing such heartfelt cheer and well wishing. Each year in the past I have undertaken in this busy season an energetic and foolhardy attempt to send my own Christmas greetings (and thank yous for gifts received)!
This year I have been able to accept the fact that I simply won’t get my cards out, much to the relief of Hanna McLevish, our Assistant to Clergy who heroically organizes my correspondence and who graciously keeps me on task day by day! I did want to suggest that if you were considering sending along a gift to me, you might consider redirecting it to the parish as a final year-end donation. I deeply appreciate the thoughtfulness but I will feel so much better seeing the parish benefit from that gift but also aware that I will be unable to get my thank yous out this Christmas.
Mothers—great philosophers that they are—love to repeat phrases such as “patience is a virtue” as well as “don’t forget to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’! That is because they do not lack the sense which is the common inheritance of all who are truly wise. They also know that common sense living leads to joy.
Patiently (at least trying to be) and gratefully yours,
~Fr. Howe