A New Kind of Waiting

In an Advent reflection, Oscar Romero wrote:

          Christ is now in history.

          Christ is in the womb of the people.

          Christ is now bringing about the new heavens and the new earth

           Christ became a man of his people and of his time:

              He lived as a Jew,

              he worked as a laborer of Nazareth,

              and since then he continues to become incarnate in everyone.

How then, does this happen in our world today?

Christopher Pramuk, an associate professor of theology at Regis University, describes it this way although I have adapted the ending:

“Here is the wonder, and the risk, of God’s incarnation in creatures who are free.  The hope we seek in Advent is the graced capacity to say yes, it’s perfect.  Perfect enough to begin the creation of something new, even when all that life seems to hand us is a battered, divided, wearied, worried world in this time of the pandemic.

This is the same kind of world John the Baptist encountered in his time, a people poor and oppressed by a foreign government and Jewish elders whose primary aim seemed to be wealth and power.

I have always been intrigued by John the Baptist, wondering how this wilderness man captured the hearts of his people.  He certainly lived differently than most of them, though he did resemble the lives of earlier prophets with which they were familiar.  What attracted the people?  I wonder if he and Jesus had conversations about what was happening to their families, neighbors, and their nation.  Maybe they talked about what they could do to change things?  From John’s way of life, they could see that he was not going to follow in the footsteps of the current leaders.  However it happened, John was moved to preach to the people reminding them of God’s steadfast and continuous promise of the Messiah which had been handed down through the ages by the prophets.  In this way, he re-kindled hope in them and could lead them to look at their lives and see where they had doubted God’s promise, forgotten the Law, and turned to idols like some of their ancestors.  

His initial preaching no doubt stirred in the hearts of a few and then spread through word of mouth to others.   People who came to him were moved to return to God and be open to the coming of the Messiah.  The ritual of John’s baptism was the sign of that commitment.  Hope and expectation continued to arise among the people as he preached “Prepare the way of the Lord and make straight God’s paths…One mightier than I is coming after me.  I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

We, on the other hand, have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.  How might we prepare the way for Christ to be born anew within us this Christmas? Maybe in this pandemic space time when our world has literally been turned upside down, we need a new perspective on the meaning of waiting.  In the Prologue of the Rule Benedict says, “God waits for us daily to translate into action…[God’s] holy teachings.” 

In what ways might God be waiting for us?

• waiting for us to be silent in order to hear God’s word
• waiting for us to open our hearts wider so that God can enter more deeply into our hearts
• waiting for us to notice the many small gifts given to us each day instead of bemoaning our losses or hurts
• waiting for us each day to offer our love to God and others no matter how fragile, limited or broken we might be 
• waiting for us to risk whatever it takes to bring the light of hope to others

This Advent may we see “the wonder of God’s incarnation in [us] through the graced capacity to say yes, it’s perfect. Perfect enough to begin the creation of something new. even when all that life seems to hand us is a battered” divided, wearied, worried world in this time of the pandemic.

That is my prayer for you and your family during these Advent Days.