Learning to wait with patience (Easter sermon)

One of my all time favorite hymns is entitled Hymn of Promise by Natalie Sleeth. Since this song is such a favorite of mine, I have asked my family that this song be sung at my Memorial Service. Just hopefully, not any time soon. If you haven’t heard it, I would encourage you to put it into your search engine: “Hymn of Promise sung by Debra Nesgoda.” It is a beautiful hymn that helps to ease the burdens of everyday life as well as helping to cope with all the tragic things happening around our world. 

Since I was a young boy, long before I understood spiritual things, nature has always spoken to me and soothed me when I was troubled. This hymn is filled with images of new life bursting forth in spring. I invite you to read verse one of this hymn prayerfully and allow these words to speak to you as well:

“In the bulb there is a flower,
in the seed, an apple tree
in cocoons, a hidden promise
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season, 
something God alone can see.”

I don’t know of many who truly enjoy waiting at a long check out line at the grocery store. But I do know of a few who have learned to wait with patience and anticipation, like for the arrival of spring when trees and flowers are budding, especially after a long winter. If we wish to grow spiritually and experience new life within us as well as around us, we need to learn to wait with patience for whatever it is we are waiting for. This parable by Anthony De Mello illustrates the need for waiting patiently:

The Master always left you to grow at your own pace. He was never known to “push.” He explained this with the following parable:

“A man once saw a butterfly
struggling to emerge from
its cocoon, too slowly
for his taste, so he began
to blow on it gently. The
warmth of his breath speeded
up the process all right. But
what emerged was not a butterfly
but a creature with mangled
wings.

“In growth,” the Master concluded, “you cannot speed the process up. All you can do is abort it.”

While it may be difficult to wait at times, wait we must for the good things in life to emerge in their own time as Father Henri Nouwen shares in this quote on waiting:

“Our spiritual life is a life in which we wait,
actively present to the moment,
expecting that new things will happen to us,
new things that are far beyond our imagination
or prediction. This indeed, is a very radical stance
toward life in a world preoccupied with control.”

Spring has sprung! So be present, totally and fully present to the budding of flowers and the song of the birds, and you may be surprised at what God may reveal to you in the days and weeks to come. Incidentally, being present to nature may also help you be more present to others and what a gift that is!

May your Easter season be truly blessed!

………….Matthias Krier, Pastor at Lyons Community Church
305 Main Street, Lyons, CO 80540
-Office- lyonscommunityumc@gmail.com   (303) 823-6245