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Waiting...one of the most frustrating exercises in our human condition. Wait we must...in traffic, in line at the store, for the results of a test, for the stew to be done, for a live voice to come on the line.
Wait we have these last eight months. As my mom observes, “If we just knew when this was going to be over!” I tell her that she sounds like the psalmist, “How long, O Lord?”
Wait we do now for the rates of infection to come down, the restrictions to be lifted, the vaccine and the treatment to be available.
We do not like to wait...but even the Lord asks us to do so;
...for prayers to be answered,
...for healing and peace to come,
...for good to prevail, ...for injustice to halt,
...for sin to disappear, ...for His kingdom to come.
Advent, which commenced last Sunday, is the season of the Church year when we zoom in on waiting.
We await the coming of Christ!
As the faithful people of Israel awaited His appearance as the promised Messiah, so do we await Christmas when we celebrate His first arrival at Bethlehem.
More importantly, we await His second coming, when He will arrive as Judge of the living and the dead at the end of the world.
Some days I exhale that this second coming can’t come soon enough! Come, Lord Jesus! Hurry up! I’m tired of waiting!
Other days I hope He delays. I’m not ready, I’m still a sinner, I still tremble at the thought of meeting Him. That’s OK, Lord! Take your time! I don’t mind waiting a while.
Of course, it’s His call, not mine. No one but His Father knows the when.
So, we wait! We prepare! We get ready! We stay awake! All Advent vocabulary words.
All good things come to those who wait!
Happiness delayed is happiness enjoyed!
Just for the time being!
One of these days!
You just wait!
All Advent expressions.
We cringe at the burdens of time and space. Time slows down as we await the vaccine; space keeps us from being close to those we love.
We wait for the coming of the One who has no clock or calendar, the One who has no boundaries or distance.
Come, Lord Jesus!
