Monday, January 27, 2014

Advent and waiting


At the meeting this morning of the Committee on Ministry, the opening devotions centered, appropriately enough, on the predominant Advent theme of "waiting."  And waiting is not something we do well in our instant-gratification oriented society, is it?

Years ago I wrote an Advent devotional for the congregation that I served at the time.  I wrote one devotional for each day of Advent, and began with that pesky idea of "waiting."  The Scripture passage I chose for that first Monday in the first week of Advent was Galatians 4:4-7.  This begins by talking about how Christ came when the time was right:  "But when the fulfillment of the time came, God sent his Son, born through a woman...so that we could be adopted."  People had long waited for the Messiah to come, just as we long for the time when the Messiah's reign will be completed.  Isn't that why we pray every Sunday, if not every day, "thy kingdom come," because we know there is more to God's reign than what we experience now in our broken and fallen world?  We long for that promised Day!  And so we work, and we pray, and we witness, and we advocate for peace and justice, and, yes, we wait.  And again, waiting is not easy for most of us.  So I began my Advent devotional with what I entitled, "Waiting - An Advent Prayer."  On this first Monday in the first week of Advent, I share this with you all...

Waiting . . .

Lord, I'm tired of waiting:

waiting for the next appointment

waiting for school to get out

waiting for the 4:30 time-clock

or the 6:02 to the city

waiting for Christmas finally to get here.

It seems that waiting

is what I most often do -

waiting to feel closer to You,

waiting for my prayer life to mature,

waiting to be "spiritual."

I wait for others to do what they should,

even when I cannot do what I know I must.

I am tired of waiting, Lord.

I have become impatient with my impatience!

So, during Advent,

slow me down, Lord.

Let me drink deeply the sweet water

of your love, your presence.

Let me rest awhile

in the sea of your grace.

And let me patiently learn

the art of waiting; knowing that,

In the fullness of time,

your will will be done.

Amen.

A happy and blessed Advent to you all!

Blessings and peace,
Steve

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