Waiting is a fact of life, something that few of us can avoid. As part and parcel of living on this beautiful island, we usually find ourselves waiting in line to get on the ferry, sometimes long lines at that. We are accustomed to two or three ferry waits, as we call them, on certain days at certain times during certain seasons.
Waiting isn’t something we care to do, especially when our routines are disrupted as they were with lengthy power outages in recent weeks. As the hours ticked by, many of us found our patience being taxed, wondering why it was taking so long for the lights to come back on. That’s quite human, if you ask me. Saint Teresa of Avila is said to have once complained, “Lord, I want patience and I want it now!”
Waiting is defined as resting in expectation of something or someone. For hours we expected the power to be back on. Naturally, the sooner the better, thank you, so that we could get on with whatever we were doing. But what did we do in the mean time?
Waiting can be done either passively or actively. Pacing the floor, staring out the window, sitting still, twiddling one’s thumbs are ways some of us wait passively. As the expression goes, we “kill time,” essentially doing nothing and when there is nothing to do, time seems to pass so slowly.
Waiting actively on the other hand means finding something to keep us busy until the anticipated moment arrives. Many of us actively wait for the next ferry by reading a book; others do so by writing a letter or using a laptop. Without any TV during the blackout, did you read by candlelight?
Waiting actively is what advent is about, so what are we waiting for? Ask any child and you are likely to hear, “Christmas!” We tend to think of Advent primarily as a season of waiting for the first coming of Christ at his birth, but keep in mind, there are other comings of Christ…as the risen Christ at Easter, in our sacramental encounters such as the Eucharist, in our prayer life, at the moment of death, and as the readings point out, at the end of human history in what is called the parousia or the second coming.
Once again, we are hearing apocalyptic language, which isn’t to be taken literally, but the advice we are given is very much worth heeding. Jesus said, “Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
This is what the early Christian community twenty years after the death of Jesus was anxiously waiting for when Paul wrote his letter to the Thessalonians. The early Christians honestly believed that Jesus would return within their lifetimes but with the passing of time, they did not live to see this. By the time Luke had written his gospel, Jesus still had not returned in the manner they had anticipated.
Instead of witnessing the parousia as they had hoped, they encountered the second coming of Christ at the hour of their death. Those who waited in the manner urged by Paul, conducting their lives to please God saw Jesus as “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” They had no reason to fear because their redemption, as Jesus pointed out, was at hand.
The bottom line is this: wait actively by conducting yourselves in a manner pleasing to God and you will find yourself someday standing before Jesus Christ, face to face. That could possibly be when his second coming takes place but in all likelihood, as was the case for faithful Christians in the past, this encounter will happen at the hour of our death.
So how might we wait actively for his coming? If you recall, a few weeks ago, I urged you to consider your stewardship of time. Each week, God blesses us with 168 hours, so how do you spend them aside from eating and sleeping? Are you giving at least two hours of your time back to God in the manner of prayer and service? If not, I again urge you to do so, especially in this season of waiting. Participating at Mass as you are doing now counts for one hour. Other ways in which you could spend time with God include personal prayer, praying with your family, reading the Bible, studying the catechism, daily Mass, and Eucharistic adoration. The Word Among Us, in addition to articles for spiritual reading, offers reflections on the readings at daily Mass.
One woman with good insight likened the season of Advent to being pregnant. She wrote, “Waiting is an impractical time in our thoughts, good for nothing, but mysteriously necessary to all that is coming. As in a pregnancy, nothing of value comes into being without a period of quiet incubation. Not a healthy baby, not a loving relationship, not a reconciliation, a work of art, and never a transformation. Rather a shortened period of incubation rings forth what is not whole or strong or even alive.”
On this first Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that we can spend all our time waiting and doing nothing, or we can wait actively, doing our Father’s business. As Jesus cautions, this is how we will be judged when he comes again. If we want to have a healthy, loving relationship with Jesus, like Mary, we need to sit quietly in prayer and let the Spirit do what it will. Do this and you will stand tall before the Son of Man.