Regardless of what the retail industry is telling us, Christmas isn't here yet! I admit it; I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to keeping Advent. I believe in the tension of waiting. I believe that it is a spiritual exercise that we too often deny ourselves. We rush from task to task, from obligation to obligation, and if we have to wait between these things, we simmer, we fume, we boil. Or at least that's what most of us do.
But if we were to recognize waiting as a time of grace, of a time for reflection on what's been good in our lives, would we be in such a hurry? The text for this week is Isaiah 64:1-9. This isn't a happy, feel-good text, but one that highlights God faithfulness to us as we wait. For me it has highlighted the idea that waiting in productive time, not a waste as we all too often think of it. It's an invitation to see God at work behind the scenes.
Let's accept God's invitation to wait for the celebration of the birth of the Christ child. Let's chill out and accept the gift of waiting!
