Words of Reflection
A friend told me a story once of a pastor who was preaching one Sunday on the return of Jesus. After setting up the message with relevant songs and Scripture readings, the pastor got up into the pulpit and preached his sermon, the shortest sermon I’ve ever heard of.
It contained one line. A question:
“What are you doing while you wait for Christ to return?”
And with that, he left the pulpit, walked down the aisle of the sanctuary and out the front door, and made his way to a coffee shop across the street from the church building where he ordered something to drink and took a seat. He waited about the length of a normal sermon, then headed back to the sanctuary, wondering if his point had been made.
I wish I could have been there on that Sunday morning. I would have loved to watch the congregation’s reaction to their pastor leaving the worship service like that! And it would have been fun to watch the dawning realization that they were basically serving as a living sermon illustration—they were living in the moment they had just been asked to think about. What would they do?
When the pastor returned to the sanctuary, he found the congregation had embraced an appropriate activity in his absence—they were engaged in a hymn sing with the help of the organist and choir. In the absence of their shepherd, they were praising God.
Advent is a season of both looking back and looking forward. We look back to the promise of God made real in the birth of Christ, but we also look ahead to the final and complete fulfillment when Christ comes again. While we live in gratitude for what God has done, we are still waiting for what he will one day do.
There are lots of things we can do in seasons where we’re waiting on God, some good, some bad. But what my friend’s story reminds us is that of the many things that can fill times of waiting, perhaps one of the very best is simply praise.
May that be true of us as we wait this Advent season.
Scripture for Meditation:
“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
—Psalm 27:13-14 (NRSVUE)
“For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
—Habakkuk 2:3 (NRSVUE)
Song: Waiting Here For You (lyrics here)
Questions for Contemplation:
Are you in a season of waiting right now? What are you waiting for from God? Or is there perhaps someone you know who is waiting “to see the goodness of the Lord?” How does this season of Advent form your understanding of waiting? How are you being led to pray for yourself and others as we wait for God’s final consummation of his kingdom work?
How can engaging in praise refocus you in seasons of waiting? How intentional are you about building times of personal worship into your week? What practices or resources can help you in that desire?
In the words of the song, “all we need” is God—he is sufficient for us, even as we endure times that test our patience. How has God shaped you in previous seasons of waiting? Spend time praising and thanking him for that formative work.