Advent: A Season of Waiting

It seems like more often than we would like, we find ourselves in seasons of waiting in our lives. For example, perhaps now you are waiting for an upcoming break from school, or a holiday from work, or for a loved one to visit for Christmas. As a diocese over the last number of years, we have found ourselves waiting for a new bishop now on two occasions. What makes waiting so hard is that there is something good that we desire but is not yet here. It is a future reality that is not present right now, which creates this feeling of longing and anticipation that often accompanies these seasons of waiting.

The longing of waiting can be uncomfortable, unpleasant, and even painful on a certain level. The fact that the person or thing we are waiting for is not present right now can be a constant thorn in our side. The grief that arises from that can cause a heaviness and weariness. How often do we get tired of waiting for something or someone! The culture of instant gratification that we live in tries to convince us that waiting is bad, that it is something that can and should be avoided, and that we should be able to get whatever we want at a moment’s notice. And our culture has done a very good job of removing many elements of waiting from our lives.

That means that when we find ourselves in a season of waiting that we cannot avoid, it can be even harder. As we get more accustomed to instant gratification, we get less accustomed to waiting. The temptation will be to focus on the thing that we don’t have and the pain that lack causes.

However, the invitation for us this Advent, and indeed every Advent, is to focus less on the lack and more on the real cause of our waiting. Advent is a season of waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh, our Savior now becoming Emmanuel. That reality fills our hearts with an expectant joy and wonder at what God has done and will do because He loves us so much. When we focus on what is missing, our hearts become weighed down. But when we focus on what will come, we are renewed in our hope at the good things that are in store for us.

While all of us are waiting for different things, there is one thing that we are all waiting for – the coming of Jesus. And not simply His coming as a child in the manger. We are ultimately waiting to be united with Him forever in Heaven. There is no greater gift that He could offer us. There is no greater life that we could want than the life that He has prepared for us after this life – eternal life, free from all pain and suffering, sorrow and mourning. If we keep our gaze fixed on the good things that God has prepared for us, seasons of waiting will fill us with this expectant joy and wonder at His goodness rather than the grief of “what is not.” As we enter into this season of Advent together, may the Lord bless your waiting and give you great hope at the good things He has prepared for you.