Theme: The Power of Imminence (James 5:7-12)

by Pastor Nate Walther

Do you know the tale of the Sword of Damocles?  It’s a Greek parable about a man named Damocles, who served under powerful king Dionysius.  One day as Damocles raved about the king’s power & position, Dionysius unexpectedly offered to trade places with him for a day.  Damocles gladly accepted and immediately enjoyed the feeling of sitting on the throne, surrounded by the finest wares with all the best food brought to him by servants. But then he noticed above his throne the point of a sword hanging right over his head, suspended by a single strand of horsehair and looking as if it could fall at any second.  Just as quickly as he noticed it, Damocles no longer wanted to be sitting on the throne…  As the fable goes, Dionysius put the sword there because he also had many enemies who wanted to kill him, so the sword was a reminder of the IMMINENCE of their threats.  And that was hard, it’s why Damocles didn’t want to sit on the throne!  But there was also a POWER in that sword, it prompted Dionysius to act swiftly and decisively in his actions as king since he was constantly reminded it this could all be over at any second.  As people interpret this parable today, it helps to explain why his real-life counterpart (also named Dionysius) was considered such a tyrant ruler.

            Perhaps we don’t have an actual sword hanging over our heads, but we get the idea. You’re playing a game and the hourglass is running out – it’s never quite clear when that will be just by looking at it! – and as the pressure mounts, you frantically shout out last-second guesses.  Or it’s the end of the year and deductibles are met, or the warranty is running out on your home or car, so there’s pressure get something looked at by the doctor, or to get your car or home inspected before it’s too late!  That’s the POWER OF IMMINENCE.  When we know something could happen at any time, it prompts us to action. There’s nothing like a deadline to get things done.  So also, God shows us today in his Word that the imminence of Christ’s return has the same power to change how we live our lives.

            A little background for our sermon text: James’s audience struggled to treat others well, including fellow Christians.  They often spoke poorly of each other, even cursing one other. And even when they talked a good talk, they still didn’t actually do anything for those in need.  Meanwhile, they showed favoritism to the rich who took advantage of the poor they weren’t helping.  Now, at the end of a letter James sent to help correct their behavior, James reminds them of the power of imminence in Christ’s return so it might motivate new behavior in them.

            We see that right in the heart of our sermon text.  Take another look at verse eight.  Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James writes, “You be patient too. Strengthen your hearts… because the coming of the Lord is near” — It’s imminent, it could happen at any time!  And in that light that James goes on to say things like verse nine, “Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the door…” 

In a world that so often directs people to themselves to power through challenges and difficulties and to be a better person, God does not direct us Christians to our own heroic capabilities; rather, he directs us to the certain knowledge that Christ will return again soon. That’s what he means to empower our behavior.  It’s the same picture James painted with the farmer in the first verses of our sermon text.  The farmer doesn’t know when the rains will come, but still he prepares and perseveres because he knows it could be at any time.

            That said, how often does the imminence of Christ’s return not show in our lives?  Honestly, what would I say different, how would I treat people differently, what would look different in my life if I knew Jesus was coming tomorrow, or perhaps even this evening?… You realize he could, right?  That hourglass may only have one grain of sand left in it, we’ve seen all the signs of the end of time that Scripture talks about spill out into the bottom of the it!  Yet how often do we not live with such urgency, and we do things that wouldn’t matter to us the moment Jesus returned?  Even worse, how often do we live in sin and figure we could always come back to what God wants later?… What if God did the same?  What if he put off saving us and doing what’s best for us?  After all, he could always come back to us!  Hopefully we won’t be dead and in hell by then, or we won’t be too far gone and our hearts so hardened that we just reject him!

            Except, that’s never what God has done. In fact, the entire Bible is really the story of how our sin created an IMMINENCE in God’s behavior, which prompted him to use all of his POWER to act with urgency and love.  It’s why in the garden God’s immediate response to Adam & Eve was not, “here are the consequences for your sin”, but rather, “here’s what I will do to fix it!”  It’s why whenever God’s people cried out to him for help in the Old Testament after rebelling against him, his heart could never bear it and he would quickly send a Moses, or a judge, or a king to help them.  It’s why at the very moment king David confessed his ugly sins of covetousness and adultery and murder to Nathan the prophet, God forgave him.  Yes, there were earthly consequences to all these sins too, but one such consequence was never the removal of God’s grace and eternal pardon.  And that’s true for you and for me as well.  Even when we have shown so little concern for the signs of Christ’s coming, or even when we continue to live in sin by putting off whatever God wants us to do today, still we repent and believe. And then when the water pours over your skin in baptism, when Christ’s true body & blood in the bread & wine are tasted on your lips in Lord’s Supper, when the Gospel promise enters ears opened by repentant hearts – God only continues to save us through his Son Jesus, who felt the imminence of our condition, which powerfully prompted him to take all of his power and pour it into human flesh so that he would save us from our sin through his perfect life and innocent death on the cross.

            Dear Christian, there’s POWER IN IMMINENCE, especially when it comes from the God of all power. It’s why you don’t have to “try harder” or “find it in yourself” to be a better person. Jesus has already taken all that pressure off our shoulders.  Instead as James shows us, we just need to see more and more that Christ has come & Christ will return.  We may not know exactly when, but like we see the signs of the season – leaves changing & temperatures dropping, and you knew this past fall that winter was coming even though it took a while for it to happen; and sure enough, here it is – so also we know Christ could come at any time. Finally, that’s why tomorrow is not the day to talk to your loved one about their sin or tell that friend about Jesus.  Tomorrow is not the day to get your kids baptized or get that pet sin out of your life.  Tomorrow is not the day to start taking your family’s devotional life seriously with Bible Study and prayer or make church a bigger priority in your life.  No, today is the day for that…  There’s no other option, not when we consider Jesus’ IMMINENT ARRIVAL.  In fact, we don’t even want another option.  Because we don’t have a sword hanging over us like the rest of the world does, fearing the end of time and death and what it means for us.  We have salvation hanging over our heads.  We want to be in this chair, it’s only good, and it can only change our lives for the better.  Amen.