I am thankful that you are reading this reflection during this Advent season; this season of waiting. “Waiting,” I’ve been saying that word a lot for the past few weeks haven’t I? Not only is it the liturgical season of waiting for our Lord; taking the time to quiet our own lives so that we can pay attention to what God is doing, but it is also the secular season of waiting in lines forever in order to check out at the store. Let’s be honest with ourselves. This isn’t a season of waiting; this is a season of impatience.
People are impatient about a great many things. Is this the Christmas tree that I should buy…the one and only Christmas tree that will bring the spirit of Christmas back into my life…or will it just cause me to sneeze? Is there another? Is this the party that I should go to…the one party of the season that will spark a sense of good will and love for one another in my soul…or will it be just another awkward social function. Is there another? Is this the gift the right gift…the one that will bring tears to her eyes and allow her to see how much I love her…or will she simply smile, say thank you, turn away and focus more on the Christmas meal than on me? Is there another?
Waiting patiently without apprehension and doubt is a difficult thing. We hear these same words coming from the mouth of John the Baptist. He is doubting the coming of the messiah as he sits lonely, waiting to be executed, from behind the bars of his prison. Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” As his execution date approaches I think he is really asking, “Jesus, are you the one who is going to save everyone? Are you the one who is going to save me? I proclaimed your coming. You were supposed to turn the world upside-down with the Holy Spirit and Fire. But, Herod still has a firm hold on the land. Are you the one who will save or should I wait for another?”
His words still echo from our lips today: “Are you the one who will help me out of this financial pinch, or should I wait for another?” “Are you the one who will cure my illness, or should I wait for another?” “Are you the one who will save me, or should I wait for another?”
The horrible possibility lingers in our mind that our expectations of Jesus will go unfulfilled. A natural but uncomfortable feeling of impatience mixed with doubt settles in and starts to take hold of our lives.
Jesus tries to take the reigns of John’s life back by changing John’s expectations. John wanted the social-political world to be turned upside-down. John wanted the ruthless to be separated from the faithful and the chaff burned up in an unquenchable fire. Perhaps, John had his hopes set on something different than what God desires. Jesus says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Jesus is not who John expected him to be, but that does not mean Jesus is not active in the world. Do not take offense at Jesus just because he is not necessarily who we want him to be. Jesus is active in the world. If we listen and watch carefully, we will see it. If we take the time and wait before jumping to conclusions about God’s intentions, we will see it.
When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to open the huge presents under the tree; obviously, big meant great. I expected those huge presents to literally transform my life. However, I cannot even tell you what those huge presents were now that I look back years later. They occupy no space in my mind. I can tell you about the small golden necklace that my grandma gave me which I still have to this very day. My expectations concerning which presents would be the most important were totally wrong. My expectations have been adjusted.
I think Jesus is putting John through a similar reorienting process. Jesus is not great because he causes drastic social reform, breaks people out of prison who do not deserve to be there, or protects us from everything in the world that would harm us. These are unrealistic expectations. Consider the fact that even those people who Jesus did heal still became sick and suffered for years in the first place. Jesus does not protect us from every suffering. If fact, Jesus promises us just the opposite. He warns us that if we follow him we can expect to be treated as well as he was. Jesus did end up of the cross in the end. But, what we can expect is that Jesus will take horrendous experiences, such as the cross, and mysteriously transform them into something redemptive and good. This sort of divine work is not easily seen. It is also not easily understood. Perhaps, we should grasp onto the invitation of Advent to take the time to wait, listen, and watch closely for God’s work. In time we will see God’s work and we will be amazed.
I am reminded of a 40 year old mother who lost her only, very young baby from sudden infant death syndrome. Weeks after the death she entered the late infant’s room and started to sort through everything bought for the child. The tiny suit would never be used to take the infant to church. Looking away she tossed into a box for rummage. The crib would not be needed to protect the child from harm in the night. It did not do that when her child was alive. She tore the crib down like it alone had let her down. There would never be toddler years on the tricycle. There would never be teaching him how to drive. There would never be a last kiss before he walked forward to be with the new woman of his life. All she was left with was an empty room.
The empty room loomed for months. Increasingly, it just didn’t seem right that the room be empty. With the support of some friends, she decided to take in a foster child.
Ten foster children later, God has gifted the woman with the blessing of kissing four boys on four separate occasions as they handsomely moved forward in their crisp suits to be with the new women in their lives. She didn’t expect that her baby would die before it was time. She also never expected to impact so many children with that empty room. God didn’t cause her suffering. God also didn’t stop it. But, that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t at work. Just as Jesus transformed the cross from something horrible into something redemptive and good, Jesus transformed the horror of that empty room into a room of redemption and love for both the woman and her new children.
Wait for the Lord, and you will encounter the Lord’s goodness.
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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