God Waits for Us as We Wait for Him

Think of the many things in life we wait for:

We wait for the food in our ovens to be ready

We wait for the birth of a child

We wait to hear the results of our job interview

we with for the bus each morning for school

We wait for the traffic light to change

we wait for our children or spouse to return home safely

We wait in line at the bank and the grocery store

And we actually sit in “waiting rooms” to see our doctor or dentist

Much of our lives are spent waiting. So how do we handle that waiting? Do we tend to become anxious and agitated in our waiting or are we able to be relaxed and at peace

in our waiting?

In the Reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul that we hear today on this Second Sunday of Advent he is teaching that God’s time is not like our time, that we do not experience it in the same way:

“with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”

So when we wonder, where is God when I need him, or why hasn’t God answered the prayers I so fervently prayed, we must understand that it is all in God’s time, not ours.

Someday, united with God, we may be gifted with understanding God’s great wisdom and timing. St. Peter goes on to teach about a time when the heavens and earth will be no more and therefore we await a new heaven and a new earth. When Lord? And what does that mean for us today? St. Peter offers this in his letter: “Therefore beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without blemish before him, at peace.” So we are to strive to be without blemish as we await the new heaven and new earth and perhaps just as important we are to be “at peace”. How can we be at peace while in this world with all of the pain and confusion and turmoil that we not only witness, but are a part of ourselves? The answer lies in Jesus Christ, for only in him and with him can we become our best selves as we await his promise that we will one day be with him for all time. This world does not offer a lot of peace. We must actively seek that peace as we continue to nurture our relationship with Jesus So wait we will. We as a people will wait for the new heavens and the new earth and we will pray for peace in our waiting. We might do well to practice finding peace in our waiting with the life experiences listed above. If we can learn to be at peace, trusting that all will be well in our more immediate waiting experiences, perhaps we will more easily find peace as we wait for all that God has promised. And God is surely waiting patiently for us that we might strive to live without blemish so as to receive with much joy the gift of his promise.

Be with us Lord in our waiting. Bless us with the virtues of patience and prudence. Increase our trust in your promise that we might wait in joyful hope with much expectation. This we pray through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

In hope and peace,

Deb Rudolph