Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
May 3, 2019
Romans 12:12-18 (New Living Translation)
12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Since the pandemic began, one of the things I have really enjoyed are the “at home” concerts put on my some of my favorite artists. One of my favorites has been Norah Jones, who in the late afternoon will sit down at her piano and play several tunes for her fans on Facebook Live.
I often will put on the “at home” gigs when I am taking my walk. This week, I decided to go back and listen to an earlier one where she did a surprising cover of a Guns and Roses’ rock ballad from 1989 – Patience. At first, I didn’t even recognize the song, even though it sounded quite familiar.
When Norah arrived at the chorus, I realized what song it was – but even more, I heard the words like I had never heard them before. They go like this:
Little patience
Need a little patience
Just a little patience
Need some patience
Could use some patience
Gotta have some patience
All it takes is patience
Just a little patience
Is all you need
It was almost as though I was hearing my own conscience in the voice of a Norah Jones (I wish my conscience always sang to me in the bluesy tones of Norah Jones) – and I believe it was speaking to my condition.
I began to consider my own impatience this week.
Really, my Amazon Prime delivery is going to take 5-6 days instead of 2…?
I have to put the pansies we just planted in for the night because there could be frost again tonight, really?
Are we really going to be in Quarantine for several more weeks?
Why is my take-out order taking so long?
Can’t we just get together with other people that have isolated themselves?
This mask is making my face itch – do I really have to wear it?
Why is my internet service lagging when I need to be on a Zoom call?
Didn’t I just mow the grass, yesterday?
And then I hear that chorus again…
Little patience
Need a little patience
Just a little patience
Need some patience
Could use some patience
Gotta have some patience
All it takes is patience
Just a little patience
Is all you need
I kind of feel that lament (as we talked about last week) is somewhat connected to our lack of patience.
Many of you have shared with me this week that your patience is waning during this pandemic for a multitude of reasons. But when I actually think about, many of the things that I am impatient about seem rather petty and even frivolous, compared to those risking lives on the front line of this pandemic.
But then I was reminded of what patience really looks like from a spiritual perspective. When I first studied the work of Henri Nouwen, I would have said he was one of the most patient people ever.
Anyone who works with mentally and physically challenged people always seem to have a special grace and anointing in the area of patience, that so many of us only wish we could have. But over time, I have come to understand that Nouwen struggled with patience and waiting on God.
Nouwen often spoke of patience in his writing. Here is what he said once about patience when asked about waiting on God.
How do we wait for God? We wait with patience.
But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise.
It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.
The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior which means “to suffer.”
Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants.
Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming.
I remember the first time I read those words, it seemed very similar to hearing Norah Jones singing that chorus this week. They spoke to my soul and to my condition.
How do we wait for God during this pandemic? We wait with patience.
Not passively, like waiting for our Amazon Prime packages to arrive.
But by actively waiting and continuing to LIVE in the present moment to the FULL. All the while looking for the signs that God is giving us.
I don’t know about you, but I have begun seeing things in a different light in these past 7 weeks, from a new perspective, and I have begun to see God in new ways during this pandemic.
For me, a great deal of this has come through God’s creation.
These past weeks, I have spent a lot more time watching the wide variety and colors of birds around me (some I even know thanks to our resident bird expert, Brad Jackson – Thanks Brad!)
And then there are the male and female Mallard ducks that have made our backyard their home, the numerous turtles that stick their heads above the water to say “hello” as I walk by our pond, and the squirrels that have almost become so used to people being around again that they don’t dart off when I come close.
I have noticed the barrenness of the trees coming alive – or I should say resurrecting – as the buds and leaves blossom.
One day as I sat on my hammock reading, I was taken by the clouds forming and moving as they contrasted with the blue sky above me. I just put my book down and wondered in awe at the beauty.
I even allowed myself to get wet as I walked and enjoyed the light rain as it hit my face as the storm approached in the dark clouds.
I recognized the smell of the blooms of the lilac tree in our back yard and the pansies I planted to bring color to our home.
Where was all of this a few weeks ago?
Oh, it was there, but I was on track to miss most of it.
Actually, it makes me wonder, how much of what God has given us are we really missing? Or better yet, how much of God are we missing?
I have had more contact with neighbors, learned more about my neighborhood, even seen neighbors I thought didn’t even exist (ha!)
I see grocery workers and delivery people, garbage collectors, teachers and health care professionals in a completely different light – no longer assumed or taken for granted, but truly essential.
I look forward to seeing the mail, UPS, and Amazon Prime trucks (as much as the ice cream truck when I was a kid) but want to thank them for their deliveries.
Since we are Quakers, we believe that there is that of God in every person we meet. And in a new way I am starting to see that, the veils have been lifted. I see it in the eyes overlooking the masks people who are serving, helping, and providing for you and me.
There is a new depth, a new normal that cannot disappear – it is seeing that of God in people again!
THESE are the signs God is (and has been) providing all along for us. They are in creation, they are in our neighbors, and they are in our families.
Now, I know there is a lot of suffering going on in our world, but I like that second phrase that Nouwen mentioned, I wonder, are we tasting it to the full?
Our laments during this pandemic can easily turn into complaining, nagging, or simply playing the victim. But as I said last week, Lament must draw us toward the goodness of God.
Yes, God wants our true feelings, our deepest struggles, but God also wants us to taste all we have been given to the full, which often takes a bit of struggle. The pandemic is one of those struggles that if we let it transform us, we will be able to see with much greater clarity the goodness of God that is surrounding us constantly.
Richard Rohr talks about this transformation in a blog post called, “When Things Fall Apart.” He says,
“The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But transformation more often happens not when something new begins but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart—disruption and chaos—invites the soul to listen at a deeper level. It invites and sometimes forces the soul to go to a new place because the old place is not working anymore. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, darkness, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is, it does not feel good and it does not feel like God. We will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart.
This is when we need patience…”
I can attest that Rohr is spot on…this huge change – this disruption and chaos – for us is called the Covid-19 Pandemic.
It is causing a transformation to take place if we are willing and able to accept it. Many things in life have fallen apart, but the most important thing is that we are being invited to listen and see at a deeper level.
And yes folks, it is going to take patience both with ourselves, our neighbors, and even with God. So, I end as I began with that chorus.
Little patience
Need a little patience
Just a little patience
Need some patience
Could use some patience
Gotta have some patience
All it takes is patience
Just a little patience
Is all you need
As we enter a time of Waiting Worship, I ask that you take some time to reflect on the following queries:
1. Where is impatience getting the best of me during this pandemic?
2. How am I waiting on God and seeing God in fresh ways during these challenging times?
3. How am I allowing this disruption and chaos to transform me?