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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