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In
Search of the Spirit
A
monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office
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December
2002
What
Are You Waiting For?
By
Father Steve Pawelk
This
is the Advent question. We all know that Advent is a
time of waiting; but what are you—what am I—waiting
for?
Are
we just waiting for Christmas? Are we waiting as if
Jesus were not already born? Are we waiting for the
world to end? What in the world are we waiting for?
In
my many travels, I spend a lot of time waiting. I wait
at airports, sometimes with long and unexpected delays.
I wait for my luggage. I wait for appointments, some
that happen and some that never materialize. I wait
on weather. In all these waitings, I have found ways
to cope. I read books, pray and sometimes doze a little.
I use the time to reflect and let new, creative ideas
percolate. (At least I find them creative!)
But
with all this waiting experience, there is still one
type of waiting that I am not very good at: waiting
on God’s time.
Advent
is just that kind of waiting. We are waiting on God’s
time.
Paul
thought the Second Coming would happen very soon. It
didn’t. During the year 2000, many evangelists
waited for the world to end. It didn’t. Jesus will
come again when he is good and ready—and not before.
Yet,
in the global picture, how many more people must die
in war? How many more people will starve to death? How
much longer will family violence continue? When will
greed cease? How many more children will be lost through
abortion and how many more couples will suffer these
decisions? Lord, come and save us!
Or,
in my Glenmary work, how long must I wait before making
a sound decision? How long do I wait for “my bosses”
to decide on matters important to me? How long do I
wait for individuals to discern God’s will? When,
O God! I want things now—and faster. Lord, come
and save me!
Or,
on a very personal level, when will I become perfect,
as my heavenly Father is perfect? I know that I do not
mirror Jesus as closely as I desire. When will God finish
converting me into a clearer image of his Love? What
is God waiting for? Lord, come and save me!
Do
any of my struggles echo in your soul? Do you know what
you are waiting for? If so, what are you doing while
you wait?
Just
as I discovered ways to make my waiting at airports
and other places meaningful, so I need to learn ways
to wait on God’s time. This may mean learning to
wait on the evil in the world or the evil in me; learning
to cope with my anxiety on the job or my impatience
with others. These are times to read, pray and reflect.
We
light the candles of the Advent wreath one candle at
a time, until all four burn brightly. In the Advent
calendars of my youth, we opened one window a day—each
revealing a part of the story of Christmas. So let us
take our lives one day at a time until God’s light
is burning brightly in us and the fullness of our personal
story is revealed.
Let
us wait together on God’s time.
Happy
Advent!
