From the Psalmist crying out, wondering where God was in all the mess, to the disciples, hiding in the upper room, for generations, this tiredness, this weariness has been an undercurrent in our faith, to our faith.
May 31, 2026
Hope in Bloom: Practicing Spiritual Gardening
Part 4: “Patience as Persistence”
Luke 11:9-10
Galatians 6:7-10
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Luke 11:9-10
And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. To everyone who knocks, the door is opened.
Galatians 6:7-10
Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith.
Patience as Persistence Luke 11:9-10; Gal 6:7-10
Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time, we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up.
These words are apropos given the season we are in…gardeners and farmers planting seeds in the spring, thinking about the harvest they hope to grow, a harvest which will sustain, which will nourish themselves and others in the months to come. These words found in our text today define our faith process. We know as people of faith, we plant the seeds of kindness, the seeds of love, the seeds of grace, the seeds of peace…and then we hope and pray that what will come about is a harvest of God’s Beloved Community for all of God’s people, a harvest which will sustain, which will nourish, which will transform the world in the weeks, in the years to come so that all may know God’s love and grace.
That’s the hope-filled part of our faith. Doing what good we can, never really knowing what will come about, what may come about from our actions while remaining grounded in God’s promises that love and light will always have the last word. That’s also the frustrating part of our faith…doing what good we can never really knowing what will come about, what may come about from our actions while remaining grounded in God’s promises that love and light will always have the last word. This in-between of hope and frustration is not anything new for us as people of faith. It has been the undercurrent to our faith, for our faith since the beginning of time. Because as people of faith, we live in this weird reality of knowing God’s Beloved Community is here, that God’s Spirit is moving in and among us, bringing forth healing and wholeness for all God’s people AND yet, we can look around at our communities, at our nation, at our world and know that God’s Beloved Community is not fully realized here on Earth, that a larger narrative of fear and worry, of hate and hurt is trying to overshadow the life transforming, the life giving narrative of God’s love and grace. This in between of hope and frustration is where we find ourselves most of the time as people of faith. And this in-between of hope and frustration is what Paul is addressing in our text today.
In this letter to the Galatians, Paul is writing to a community of faith who, like us, was living in this in-between of hope and frustration. They were tired. They were angry. They were doing everything which Paul told them to do to reflect the values of the Gospel message. And it didn’t feel like it was making a difference at all. Bad stuff was still happening in the world. People seemed to keep getting meaner and more hateful and hate filled. And if that wasn’t enough…their community of faith was struggling. People were starting to leave the church. They were going to other communities of faith which had bigger sanctuaries, better potlucks, or they were returning to what they used to know and do before Paul came into town. Their numbers were down. Their hope was down. Their message of welcome and love just wasn’t connecting with others like it used to.
So, this community of faith took matters into their own hands. They wrote Paul a letter asking for a cheat sheet, asking Paul if there was any way they could hurry up the process and make Jesus return today….you know something people of faith have been asking since Jesus ascended into heaven and promised to return. But instead of a cheat sheet, Paul simply tells them to have patience.
I’m going tell you…Paul was probably lucky he was not sitting with that community of faith at that moment when he offered up this word of advice. Because if truth be told, I’m not sure it went over very well back then. And as long as I’m laying it out…I’m not sure it goes over very well today. Because like the community of faith in Galatia, I’m tired. We’re tired. I’m tired of us taking two steps forward and then going back twenty years as rights are rolled back. I’m tired of Christian nationalism and white supremacy being the larger narrative which draws people in. I’m tired of the least of these being ignored and it seeming like God is ignoring it all. I’m tired of telling everyone to have faith, to trust the process while secretly wondering if God is really in the process. Most of the time, what I really want to say is God, help me, help you. God, what will it take for you to speed up the process and make your Beloved Community come to fruition now. Not five minutes from now. Like now now because right at this moment, God it seems as if you are really far away, and you really don’t care.
I’m pausing here just in case lightning strikes me down or I’m chased out of here for being a heretic.
Okay, now that’s out of my system…let me get back to this whole patience as persistence thing…When Paul tells the community of faith in Galatia and tells us to have patience, he is not ignoring or belittling our tiredness, our weariness. Rather instead, he is inviting us to shift the narrative. He is reminding us that as people of faith, we play the long game, that it is not the first quarter which matters the most. Rather it is the last second of the game when someone unexpectedly shoots a three pointer and turns the tide of the game. Paul reminds all of us that as people of faith, we are “rooted in endurance and acceptance” not because of who we are but because of who our God is. God is faithful from generation to generation. Our God has kept God’s promises to God’s people time and time again. Paul reminds the community of faith at Galatia and reminds us again today that there is time and then there is God’s time…And God is always on time.
What I love about this text is that Paul admits that this living in this in-between of hope and frustration is hard, that our tendency as humans is to put our heads down, throw our shoulders up and try to barrel our way through. But the realization of God’s Beloved Community doesn’t work that way. We cannot force the results. We cannot push past the pain. We cannot ignore the hurt because it is in those things, we find God. We experience empathy for others. We create community. We become so angered by the injustices we see in the world…that we do what good we can do, standing in this weird reality, holding on to hope, trusting that God is in the process, and knowing that the Beloved Community of God will blossom in our midst one day.
I’m not going to stand up here and pretend that I have all the answers. But what I do know is that our God is so much bigger than the hate and hurt which fills our world. I know it would be easy for God to smite us all, for God to wash God’s hands of us all because well…we are pretty grumpy, imperfect, messy people who don’t seem to listen or play well with others.
But an angry, vengeful God is not the God I know, is not the God I have experienced in my life, in my faith. My God, our God is loving, is generous, is faithful. And this same loving, faithful, generous God invites us to be co-creators, co-sustainers, co-stewards of this world we see and experience all around us.
That is what I cling to, especially when it gets too much. When it gets too overwhelming. I cling to this invitation to join in the work of healing and wholeness, knowing that God is here, that God is not finished yet…and I do what good I can do never really knowing what will come about, what may come about from my efforts while remaining grounded in God’s promises that love and light will always have the last word. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, May 31, 2026 – Patience as Persistence Luke 11:9-10; Gal 6:7-10.
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*(from sanctifiedart.org)
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