Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Monday, December 4
By Steve Richardson
What Are We Waiting For?
Read: Mark 1:1-4
… As it is written in the prophet Isaiah … “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
Waiting. It’s one of those things encountered by every human being. Waiting is not only frequent and unavoidable throughout our lives, sometimes it’s not desirable. Maybe one of the things in heaven that will be different than Earth will be the nonexistence of waiting. Even better: Because heaven is an eternal realm, waiting won’t really matter!
Some waits can be expected. Those can be easier to deal with, compared to waits that are unforeseen or seemingly unnecessary. When waits are expected or predictable, we can plan for them. We arrange other things on the schedule around the waiting, and we line up other things to make good use of the time while waiting. (A good example: When waiting to see a doctor, I worked on this devotion). For such times, you might say we actively wait.
There’s also the notion of expectant waiting. After all, waiting implies that something else is going to come or happen. Like a shadow, the future attaches itself to waiting. Waiting and a future expectation are inseparable.
The season of Advent can be energized and enriched when we make it a time of active and expectant waiting, especially when our activities and expectations are keyed to the blessing of God coming to dwell among us. As Mother Teresa advised: “At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving others with God’s own love and concern.”
There’s no shortage of ways to love and serve others. Even prayer and/or meditation can be active and productive. There’s no need to wait to get started. May our days of Advent be blessed by acts to further build God’s kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven.
Prayer
God of grace, even during our idle times, lead our minds and hearts to ways of glorifying you through prayers, presence, service, gifts and witness to others. Amen.
