Gotta Love Waiting!
December 2, 2006
Luke 1: 1-25
Elizabeth and Zechariah did not have a child. In spite of being people of faith, and good examples in the community, Zechariah and Elizabeth were without a child. This was perceived by the community to be a curse by God, to be child-less. This was perceived to be God's way of getting back at people for a sin committed by some family member. There was shame in not having children. There was disgrace on the family line. There was fear, for when old age would come and frailty would set in, there would be no one to help, to secure, to bury you, to bless you, to carry on your story. Elizabeth and Zechariah did not have a child, they had never had a child, and they were getting on in years, the time had seemed to have passed. They had waited. They had tried. They had prayed. They had made deals with God. They had lived upright and righteous lives. Zechariah was even a priest, and yet, they had no child. No matter how long they had waited, it didn't seem it was long enough, for the child had never come.
(Holly) Over and over in our lives we are bewildered and disappointed about timing. We may despair. We may think God has forgotten us or is actively defeating our well-laid plans. We may believe God is not answering our prayers, or that the answer is always “no.” Frequently, it is in the fullness of God's time that we have the opportunity to grow and bloom in patience.
(Holly) When we have to wait without knowing the answers, without knowing what's ahead, we are nudged into a new perspective. Waiting without immediate solutions presents us with an opportunity to lean into the unknowing, to let go of the false promise ofa quick fix, and to grow in patience. When we can embrace the gift of patience that waiting offers, we can trust beyond the moment
(Nouwen) True patience is the opposite of a passive waiting in which we let things happen and allow others to make the decisions. Patience means to enter actively into the thick of life and to fully bear the suffering within and around us. Patience is the capacity to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell as fully as possible the inner and outer events of our lives. It is to enter our lives with open eyes, ears, and hands so that we really know what is happening. Patience is an extremely difficult discipline precisely because it counteracts our unreflective impulse to flee or to fight…
Patience requires us to go beyond the choice between fleeing or fighting…It calls for discipline because it goes against the grain of our impulses. Patience involves staying with it, living it through, listening carefully to what presents in the here and now. Patience means stopping on the road when someone in pain needs immediate attention. Patience means overcoming the fear of a controversial subject. It means paying attention to shameful memories and searching for forgiveness without having to forget. It means welcoming sincere criticism and evaluating changing conditions. In short, patience is a willingness to be influenced even when this requires giving up control and entering into unknown territory.
Zechariah came from a priestly family. This meant that he grew up where the men in his family were always in service to the Temple . They took care of all the priestly duties, they followed the law, they worked tirelessly to be clean and pure in the eyes of God. And yet, this was the life he had always known. This is what the men in his family had always done, it was nothing special, it was the work they did, the lifestyle they lived. And, Zechariah was good at it. He and his spouse were seen as leaders and examples of how to be faithful people. And yet, they had no child. He had prayed so many times for a child, and yet this prayer was not answered. And then, this totally weird thing happened, on an ordinary day. He goes in to offer the incense which happened twice a day at the temple. He goes in to the sanctuary of the Lord and while he is in there, the whole congregation is in prayer. And, bam! A messenger of God arrives, an angel. And, the message old Zach receives is, “Hey! God heard ya! Your prayer has been heard. Liz is gonna have a baby, it's going to be a boy, you'll have a son, and you will name him John. It's going to be the answer to your dreams. It's going to be the greatest thing that ever happened to you, the deepest of joy. And, this kid is going to be something, he's going to be drunk with the Holy Spirit and that charismatic attraction will draw many to God. Then, the best part of the story…right? It's the best part for me anyway. Old Zach, he doubts. He's in the sanctuary of the Lord, the whole community is praying like crazy for him, he's offering a gift to God, an angel is there talking to him, telling him his prayers are coming true and old Zach basically says, “Yeah right”. So, the consequence for not listening the first time to an angel is, you are now mute. So, the greatest thing has happened. Your prayers have been answered, but even now, you will not be able to tell a soul. The waiting continues. The waiting for God's time to unfold. More patience is needed by Zach.
Elizabeth , waiting at home for her partner, finds him unable to speak. I'm sure the story came via another family member of how he was in the Sanctuary of the Lord and saw a vision. Shortly after that day, Elizabeth finds herself pregnant. How can this be? How can I be sure? Elizabeth waits in seclusion for five months…
So many things happen to us when we wait. We think we hate it. We work to avoid it, waiting in line, always trying for the shortest one. We buy tickets ahead so we can get to the show just in time and go directly to our seats without waiting. We fill our days with work and play so we don't have to pass the time, it runs over us. We want quick fixes and answers so that we never have to wait. But, when we pull the stop chord and get off the busy bus, we can choose to actively wait. We can choose to stay in our bodies, get out of our heads and to do lists and wait. The unknown blessing is always in choosing to do this active waiting. It's the waiting that addicts do when they take one day at a time, towards getting sober. It's the waiting that students do investing years of taking classes to achieve a degree and the promise of a new pathway opening. It's the waiting that athletes do to strengthen their minds and bodies for a competition. It's the waiting that the dying do awaiting the mystery. It's the waiting a family does when one is sick. It's the waiting we do for a baby to be born.
This advent season, let's enter into the unknown territory just as Mary and Joseph are pulled toward Bethlehem . Let's become active waiters. We'll be present, savoring each moment between now and Christmas Eve especially alert and open each time we find ourselves waiting, cultivating the discipline of patience. Let us pray.