Taking the waiting out of wanting?

Wait for the Lord,

his day is near

Wait for the Lord,

be strong take heart

(Taizé)

Those who are old enough will remember when credit cards were just being introduced. You may also recall a TV advert for one of these cards which promised to ‘take the waiting out of wanting’.

That concept always made me feel uncomfortable.

Is there not a place for longing? for patience? for perseverance? (not to mention saving up!)

In the past I have been accused of being a ‘liturgical fundamentalist’ due to my preference to observe Advent as Advent and not simply as ‘Christmas before Christmas’ as seems to be increasingly what happens. Christmas trees appear in November and carols get sung throughout December, and so on.

But it is not simply a desire to adhere to liturgical correctness that leads me to prefer to reflect on Advent themes and sing Advent hymns during this season while waiting until Christmas itself to celebrate the birth of Jesus and sing the Christmas hymns (and continue to do so for the following 12 days of Christmas!).

As I suggested in my post yesterday, it is also to do with my wanting to spend these four weeks nurturing hope, looking for the dawning of light, anticipating the coming celebrations, but also pondering the important themes of patience, preparation and perseverance. This is (for me) a time to ask the pressing questions we all have regarding suffering, death and darkness; why prayers seem to go unanswered; why sometimes God seems absent or silent; why miracles seem few and far between. And it is a time to watch and wait, and to learn the value of waiting.

Of course, in reality we all have to wait. Christmas will not come any more quickly or early just because we are impatient for its arrival! As we read again the Gospel narratives over these weeks, we will be reminded of how God’s people had to wait for generation after generation for Messiah to come. ‘he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors’ (Luke 1: 72).

As we sing the hymns looking forward to the coming of the Christ in glory, we will be aware that we are reflecting on promises made two thousand years ago... and still we wait!

But waiting time is not wasted time. We are shaped, changed, tested in our waiting... in our waiting and watching.

In the course of these recent months, I have prayed much and asked for much... and (in specific terms at least) I am still waiting for an answer. I have longed for miracles, but experienced none. I have sought clarity with regard to decisions and the way forward, and am still listening for a word from the Lord.

It has been frustrating, difficult and sometimes dispiriting.

But the waiting time has not been wasted time.

I believe that – with God – waiting time need never be wasted time.

Wait for the Lord,

his day is near

Wait for the Lord,

be strong take heart

(Taizé)