Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 24: 36-44
Why Wait?
I'm beginning think that culturally the word
"wait" is the ugliest 4-letter word there is in our language! We hate waiting, don't we? I know I do!
Why can't the fast food drive through be faster? Why can't my latte
be brewed more quickly? Why aren't there
more check-out lanes open at Kroger? Waiting rooms are horrible black holes
that can suck you in for hours at a time! Why not deck the halls and sing Christmas
carols beginning November 1st? Why
shouldn't we have stores open on Thanksgiving day to get door buster
sales? I'll be the first to admit I got
really itchy to put up the Christmas tree this year, I started it last weekend
when I knew I would be home and have the time to do it. But, I think we are missing something if we
constantly give in to instant gratification.
We lose that warm feeling of anticipation bubbling just below the
surface when we fail to wait. Sometimes,
things lose their luster when we can purchase or participate immediately. I think about the anticipation of going to a
Hanson show or driving down to Montreat for a conference. Would it be awesome if I could go to Hanson
shows all the time, walk right into the venue and get a front row spot,
sometimes I think yes! But, the anticipation that builds while counting down
the days and waiting in a long line with friends is half of the fun! Do I sometimes wish that Montreat was an hour
drive away and I could venture there anytime I wanted, of course! But, if it was so commonplace to me, perhaps
it would lose some of its shine. It is
all the more special because I have to wait for it. Driving through the gates always feels like
Christmas morning to me.
God teaches us a lot about patience and the gift of waiting
in the Scriptures. I just don't believe
that the mass exodus of the Israelites from Egypt would have been as meaningful
if they had reached the promised land in a month. I am sure that the promise of a land flowing
with milk and honey meant a lot more to the people who had been munching on
manna and sand for 40 years. And we
learn a lot about the struggles that come when one doesn't wait for God to
fulfill God's promises from people like Sarah and Abraham. The drama with Hagar and Ishmael could have
been avoided if they had just waited.
Thus, the most beloved story in Scripture, the birth of the Messiah, is
also a lesson in waiting. The season of
advent is structured for us to experience the growing anticipation of the birth
of a child. The narrative builds up to
Jesus' birth, the promises of the Old Testament about a Savior are reiterated
to remind us of the many generations that had to wait for the One to come. And it reminds us as well of what exactly his
mission was, that is to sacrifice himself so that we might live. So that we might experience renewal and rebirth
thanks to the resurrection. It reminds
us that he has walked among us once and he has promised to do so again...but we
have to wait.
Waiting can also mean engaging in preparation for that which
is to come. Can you imagine if children
were given a license as soon as they could see over the stirring wheel and
reach the pedals? Well, I still might
not be driving! No, we can't fathom this
because they have to wait, they need time to mature, to prepare. Can you imagine planting seeds in your garden
and having them not only sprout but be ready for harvest the next day? No, because you have to prepare the soil for
plants to flourish and you have to prepare your store houses and your kitchens
for the harvest. It is the same with
Advent and Christmas. In advent we are
called to prepare ourselves for the joy that is to come. Because we know that along with the
celebration of the birth of the Messiah also comes a narrative of hardship,
opposition, and pain before the resurrection.
Advent is the time to slow down, to step out of the chaos that swirls
around us and prepare our hearts, to make a place for the one who was born to
save us.
Rev. Kathryn Huey points out that as we read the narrative
from Isaiah today, it isn't hard to imagine how they must have felt throughout
years of destruction, war, famine, and exile.
The world hasn't changed so much.
We still face the effects of natural disasters, disease, warfare and
endless camps of refugees the planet over.
"More than 500 years before the time of Jesus, they listened to
Isaiah's dream, this vision of the future, and then they looked at their
once-beautiful city, Jerusalem, burned and battered by powers that must have
appeared unstoppable. Still, they held on to their trust in the promises of One
more powerful than any empire and any destructive force. This week's passage is
Isaiah's recitation of God's promise of a future very different from what was
visible just then."[1] And so they had to wait.
Huey elaborates,
"We hear this text not only in a time of conflict and war but in a new
season at the beginning of a new church year: Advent, the time of waiting, and
so much more. Walter Brueggemann writes: 'Advent is an abrupt disruption in our
'ordinary time'…an utterly new year, new time, new life." While the world
around us wraps up another year hoping for increased consumer spending and
waiting for final reports on this year's profits, the church has already
stepped into a new time, to begin a season of hoping and waiting for something
of much greater significance than profits or spending: "Advent invites us
to awaken from our domesticated expectations,' Brueggemann writes, 'to consider our life in
light of new gifts that God is about to give' (Texts
for Preaching Year A). At the beginning of a new church year, we
dare to hope for something much better than the news may report. We begin a new
time remembering who is really in charge of everything, and setting our hearts
on being part of this One's plan. As beautiful as these verses are, they paint
a very clear picture: God is the One who brings this dream to reality, but
there's work for us to do, too, in re-shaping the instruments of war, violence,
and destruction into instruments of peace and provision for all. So, there are
words of comfort and promise about what God is going to do, but between the
lines, there's a call as well for us to participate in bringing the dream to
reality."[2]
We cannot ignore God's acts of salvation throughout
history. While it is valuable to look
back and remember the scene of a savior born in a stable, we cannot overlook
all of the other ways in which God has been at work, and continues to be at
work in our lives. Advent is a time to
prepare ourselves for the work that God is still doing, work that God needs our
hands, feet, and voices to achieve. And
perhaps also, it is a time to come to grips with the fact that we cannot know
everything that the Lord has in store.
Isn't that what this passage is saying in Matthew, keep watch, for you
never know when the time will come or what it will look like when it does?
“Advent is such a beautiful season: it remembers and
re-tells the story of people who, like us, were waiting for the promises of God
to be fulfilled, and striving to live faithfully as they waited. We note that
an important practice of faithfulness, of course, is repentance, turning away
from the paths that have taken us away from God, turning off the things that
have drowned out God's voice in our hearts and minds, turning toward new ways
of living that offer hope not just to us but to those we encounter, in our
personal lives, and in the whole world that God loves."[3]
This is why we wait.
We steep ourselves in anticipation of what is to come to us through
God's grace. We trust in his promises
for us because we can see his faithfulness throughout history. And as we wait, we work, preparing our hearts
as best we can because we never know what holy moment may be waiting for us
around the bend. Amen.
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