Nov. 30 "Behold, I am bringing you good news of great joy"

Wednesday, November 30 | James 5:7-8

While Advent takes place in early winter, here in Central Texas, it is still a growing season with our year-round sunny conditions. While I am not a farmer, I have known the patience required while waiting for crops to grow, or at least the small fruits that we receive from our pomegranate and lemon trees. These fruits begin long before their time to harvest—first as flowers, and once pollinated, the flowers fall off, leaving a bud that grows and swells with time. It is not just time that they need; rain is especially important. This passage in James points to farmers waiting patiently for the “early and the late rains.” You need both to have a good harvest. The early rains help the plant produce the flowers that must be pollinated, and the late rains help the fruit to swell with juices.

This is our first year to have Meyer lemons, a particularly sweet kind of lemon. When we first planted the tree, it languished in the heat and dry weather. It loves lots of water and prefers the morning sun and afternoon shade. It survived the freezes of the winter, but by early summer it still seemed to struggle. It had no blossoms at all, which would mean another year of no lemons. So I dug it up and moved it into a pot with good organic soil, brought it under an awning to protect it from the worst of the sun’s rays, and tended to it with a watering can. The results were seen quickly. New green leaves shot out, and tiny flowers began to appear. With help from the bees of the air, we soon had five pollinated blossoms that turned into small fruits. Then we just had to wait. Over the long hot summer, we continued to water the lemon tree in its little pot. The little green buds grew but stayed green for months. Then, just as summer came to an end, in the first week of fall, the first fruit turned yellow. We had our first lemon! The waiting was over.

Caring for the plants that nourish us, relying on the insects that pollinate our crops and the rain that falls from the sky, we learn the patience that invites us into the fullness of time and the joy of the Lord.

– Rev. Dr. Carolyn B. Helsel Associate Professor in The Blair R. Monie Distinguished Chair in Homiletics