Luke 21:19-26 “Be Patient”

Today we finish up the last in our series on the commands of God. We started with the Ten Commandments, the Great Commandment, the commands given during the Sermon on the Mount, and now we are going to look at what Jesus tells us in the end to do. This is in light of the imminent return of Jesus himself to the world. We hear from the Lord that we are to be patient. Some bibles will use the term “endure.” “By your endurance you will live.”

Whenever some bibles translate a single word in multiple ways, that word bears a good looking over to see what the original meaning might have been. The word in this case is ‘υπομενω. The μενω part means simply “to stay.” The ‘υπο part of the word means “under” or “low.” One could translate the word literally as the command “to keep low.”

“Stay under” is also valid. We are to stay under all of the commandments of God. We are to keep our heads low in humility. Why? Why should we keep low? Why should we endure? If we read the context on either side of this commandment we see the circumstances we are faced with:

In the texts leading up to the command to endure, be patient, keep low, we read that we will be delivered up to persecutions and that some of us will be put to death for our faith. That be a pretty good reason to keep low. We know that for centuries, millennia, Christians have been persecuted and that these persecutions continue to this day–whether that be in China, Africa, the Middle East, or you name the place!

This reminds me of the times of persecution we can read about in the Bible, for instance in the Book of James. Let us look at Chapter 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.” Reading also from 5:7 and on “Be patient until the coming of the Lord. Behold the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rains.” “Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

The text that continues in Luke states surely that the Lord is coming again, and with him comes the final judgment on the world. The persecutions of the believers in God will finally end. It will be God’s time over creation once more. It will be the new Creation that we read about at the end of the Bible. Last month we heard the command “Do not judge lest you be judged,” and now we see that judgment is coming upon the return of Christ. The mercy of God over our lives is what we wait for. We bow before God’s mercy as Jesus sits upon the throne.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are told to endure and keep our heads low. Now, that is really wonderful advice if you are a swimmer! I swim for about 45 minutes everyday–except Sunday. I know people who swim for an hour or more and even some who swim for two hours. I know that I do not have that much endurance. It would take me a long time to build up to that level of endurance.

As a swimmer, I can also tell you that the trick to keeping your head above water is to keep your head low in the water. It is easier to breathe with your head low, tucked under your arm, than to struggle to keep your head high above the water. Those swimmers who must keep their heads high above the water cannot endure. It takes all of their energy just to breathe, so nothing is left for swimming.

How is your endurance, your patience, doing today? When I talk to people I keep hearing how it is that they are barely keeping their heads above water. Even though we have already been saved by Christ, the world has us convinced that we are drowning, that we do not have the endurance and patience to see this life through.

I must admit that my level of personal hope is greatly depressed right now. Just a few things can get me into that mood: Although my tax bracket did not change, the level of taxation for me and my wife went up 4% this year. The cost of my health insurance went up 11%. The cost of basic food such as ground beef is up by 16%. Meanwhile the actual value of my money, including the savings in the bank for retirement has gone down almost 10%--dollar to Euro rate. What we owe as citizens back to the national debt today is $115,000 each. That is a $38 trillion debt. Each one of us owes that much and will pass that debt onto our grandchildren.

I remember reading the book by former President Obama called The Audacity of Hope and thinking back then that I did not have to be audacious to have hope for the future. Now, I think my heart has changed. I need all the audacity I can get in order to hope, for hope is the key to endurance until I am with Jesus.

Yup, while writing this sermon I reached for my old copy of Barack Obama’s book. It was written in 2006, twenty years ago, and has an heir of the prophetic as much of what he wrote about has come to pass: For instance, “(Left or right lawmakers) purpose is not to persuade the other side but to keep their bases agitated.” If you have been feeling agitated of late, guess what? That was part of somebody else’s plan for your life!

We bought a new clothes washer not too long ago. When we first ran it, we were surprised. It spins one direction, then stops half way and spins the other direction. That is right: it agitated in both directions. It used to be that the spin was only one way, now it is both. These are the times we live in. You will be agitated both directions! And, in my opinion, nothing comes out as clean as it was before.

As I reached for the book Audacity of Hope a pink thank you card fell out of it. I guess I had used the card as a bookmark. It was a thank-you card from none other than our dearly departed sister in Christ Gladys Okada. In it she wrote “Pastor Olaf, you have been a blessing to all of us. . . .” There were other notes in it as well: Jack and Dora, Kay Yama, and others. Wow, they are all dead now. They are all with the Lord.

I was actually with Kay Yama when she passed. She was talking to Jesus and talking to us in the room at the same time. She was in two places at once as it were. So, finding that card written to me from all those souls that are now in heaven gave me the strength once more to endure. I can be patient. I can have hope. I suddenly remembered all those people who endured in the faith.

The command that Jesus gives us is not just “be patient,” but to be patient in faith. Follow all of his commands. Pick up His Cross and follow. Love all those whom you can love. Forgive when you can forgive. Honor your parents. Speak the Truth. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Have no other gods but the one True God in heaven. Do these things and you will find the patience and endurance you need to see you through this life into the next.

Yes, I remember how the saints before me lived and died in the faith–to live once more in Christ. Gladys Okada, who thanked me for just spending a little time each week with her out at the Regency, lost her husband, lost her vision (she could not see at all yet had impeccable handwriting), had broken vertebrae in her back that caused her excruciating pain in the end, yet she endured and waited patiently for her ascension to be with Christ in heaven. She understood the command to endure and be patient.

Next week we will celebrate Palm Sunday, which to me is one of the greatest examples of human impatience. All those people greeting Jesus and waving palms were expecting Jesus to go up to the Temple and take the mercy seat, the throne of God in the Holiest of Holies, and that would be that. They did not think nor have the patience to wait for the Temple to be destroyed and rebuilt in the resurrected body of Jesus on Easter morning. So, Jesus rides up to the temple on the colt, sees that the gates are already closed because it is late, and turns around and heads out to Bethany for the night.

Things will happen in this world in God’s time. We need only be patient and endure. Our ultimate healing will come in time. For now, we keep our heads above water and keep on swimming for this builds our stamina in faith.

Amen.