Printable PDF of Today’s Reflection

Patience. I confess that I am tired of waiting: tired of waiting for the world to realize that war does not bring peace to a nation, revenge does not satisfy the soul, and judging others does not make us more holy. But what is the solution? What is the answer? The answer, which seems so futile, is to wait.

But while we wait, we work. We work for justice the best way we know how; we work for peace by using peaceful means to solve conflicts and problems; and we work for forgiveness and reconciliation instead of punishment and retribution.

I am reminded of the prayer of Saint Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 

James 5:7-10 calls us to strengthen our hearts as we await the fulfillment of the coming of the Lord. He calls us “beloved” and instructs us not to grumble against one another, or judge one another, but to uphold one another as God’s beloved. He reminds us that the prophets, and the saints, suffer with patience while they speak the word of God. And so we wait this day, either in plenty or in want, in good health or illness, for the coming of the Holy One of God, who is Christ the Lord. Amen.

Rev. Wendy Depew Partelow is a retired pastor and serves on the American Baptist Churches of New York State Board of Missions.

Submitted: December 12, 2022
Image: You go first…I’m right behind you