FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
WAITING FOR THE GOOD THINGS OF GOD
Advent1
At a bookstore recently, I got bored waiting in line at the cashier. I scouted for another possible cashier and I hastily transferred to her section. But the line was even longer and so I returned to my original cashier, but the line there was by now doubled.
One of the most difficult things to do today is wait. Why wait when you can have what you want, what you need in an instant? Letters and cards are getting passé due to email and fax machines. Telegrams give way to text messages and Facebook updates. The home computer gives you information, product orders and entertainment!
But the irony of it all is that in life, you still must wait. You must wait: outside the doctor’s clinic, for the taxi, for visa processing, for love to be reciprocated.
There are two types of waiting. First, we wait for something that will surely happen. This is the normal waiting of everyday. We wait and we know that in the end, the food will be cooked, the order will be served, classes will be over. It takes patience and yet, that is all you need to see things happen.
Second, we wait for things whose outcome is largely mystery to us. It is waiting for something beyond your control. It is waiting and not knowing exactly when or how things will turn out. A sick person has no choice but to wait for the doctor to declare he is healthy again. A wife must wait for her husband to finish his overseas contract before he can join the family again. People wait for the time when their troubles are finally over. Today, people around the volcano in Sorsogon must simply wait in the evacuation centers before they can safely return home.
It is difficult to wait like this because it doesn’t take mere patience to succeed. It takes hope and trust and faith to know that in the end, God will only allow good things to happen to you.
We have started another period of waiting, another season of Advent. Jesus calls us to be prepared for whatever life may bring us. But this preparation is not about the end of the world. Rather it is about the beginning of good things from God. This waiting links us with the final result, the joy of seeing God in action in our lives. This Advent, we wait for the good things promised by God.
A widow became financially broke. Her children were so unreliable she had to work alone. The house was in danger of foreclosure, the grandchildren, of stopping their education. But the woman trusted in the Lord and worked so hard. At the last minute, someone gave her money to pay her debts. She then sold her property and transferred to a simpler yet more peaceful environment. Waiting in faith, she knew God intervened.
Are you waiting for something? Wait for the good things of God and trust that his goodness will prevail in your life!
