2046AFC111320 – What are you waiting for?
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1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 – Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Hosea 12:6 – 6 But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.
Proverbs 20:22-23 – 22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will help you. 23 Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good.
Psalm 37:34 – 34 Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
Psalm 27:13-14 – 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Proverbs 4:23 – 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May Peace always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd! These days of confusion, anger, and conflict seems like they may go on for much, much longer. All of us are weary of COVID-19 VIRUS, politics, weather (it’s been over 80º most days here for weeks), and that “return to normal” for which we all long. If I were to ask you the question in today’s topic, “What are you waiting for?”, how would you answer?
Sometimes when people ask us that, it is meant as an encouragement to act; what are you waiting for? Go get it! Sometimes, it’s a challenge to commit to action when we’re not sure how things will turn out. Many times we have no idea why we are waiting. What do we expect will happen and when? If we don’t know what or when, or where or how or why, waiting can be pretty frustrating, even frightening. On the other hand, if we are waiting to be an aunt, or uncle, or grandparent or mom or dad, our expectation is filled with hope and Joy. We have also had times in our lives where we were waiting for what we dread – another hurricane, a trip to the principal’s office, the results of the CAT scan, or a root canal. Sometimes what we wait for seems worth the wait. Sometimes what we wait for is supremely disappointing. Sometimes what we wait for never happens. Why do we wait?
Waiting is a significant part of “the human condition.” If things happened as quickly and surely as we imagine them, life could be pretty chaotic. It’s pretty chaotic right now, and it seems like the chaos is caused by the delay of those things for which we have chosen to wait – or have been forced to wait. We seem to be caught up in the terrible power of the phrase “what if.” If we wait hopefully, waiting is endurable; if we wait fearfully, waiting is agonizing.
Much is said these days about the problem of “instant gratification. What if that happened every time we didn’t want to wait? Our lives would fill up with consequences and materials so quickly that we’d be lost in the deluge. Waiting is good for us even if it drives us crazy sometimes. The good comes from understanding what waiting is and how it works.
Waiting is an expression of anticipation – remember the ketchup commercial with the jingle “Anticipation is making me wait.”? There is the implication of expectation there, of hoping for, expecting, patiently enduring, watching, looking for, even desiring. We wait for someone or something but sometimes that is turned around; someone or something waits (or doesn’t wait) for us. Maybe the train or plane won’t wait, but maybe individual people will. The people in the service industries are said to wait on their customers, to wait tables, to wait for our demands/commands; those who wait on us often minister to us, too. So, let me ask you: Are we waiting on God, or is God waiting on us? Selah.
What did the psalmist mean when he talked about waiting? Check this out: Psalm 130:5-6 – 5 I wait* for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.* קִוִּ֣יתִי (qiw-wî-ṯî) {qavahti) {kaw-vaw’ti} hope for, expect, patiently endure, watch, look for, desire. How about these expressions of certainty that the Lord will be fair in all his ways?
Psalm 94:12-14 – 12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, 13 giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
Matthew 26:41 – 41 “Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Waiting requires wakefulness – in either sense of the word, you have to be awake to wait for someone or something, and you have to be awake to wait on someone or something. Staying awake is a requirement of the sentinel who watches and waits for friend or foe. Are we watching for the Foe, the Accuser, the Father of lies? See here: 2 Thessalonians 2:3 – 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one† is revealed, the one destined for destruction. ††
†The man of lawlessness; other ancient authorities read the man of sin ††The son of destruction. (Read the full chapter to see that in context, especially about the people held in delusions at the end of times. It will take less than 5 minutes.)
There were sentinels among the children of Israel, and they watched for enemies and for allies (look up Shibboleth sometime), but they also had sentinels who warned them of enemies or allies of God. They were called the Judges and the Prophets. We have similar sentinels in this day and age – Spirit-filled men, women, and sometimes even children who warn us against our enemies and identify our allies. If and when we recognize those Prophets and Judges, we wait for them to tell us what we need to know to be safe, to find peace, to be secure. Yet, we also have this warning from one of Jesus’ foremost sentinels, the Apostle Paul:
1 Thessalonians 5:3-6 – 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake* and be sober *γρηγορῶμεν (grēgorōmen) {gray-gor-yoo’-o-men} → literally, “stay awake”; (figuratively) be vigilantly responsible, watchful; to give strict attention to, be cautious, to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.
Belovéd, does that sound like something you might have heard or experienced lately? Waiting is a great deal more than sitting around doing nothing. The waiting God expects of us is endless awareness; it is a watchfulness which includes excitement for the good things and preparation for the bad things. These are the telltale actions of Faith; we hope because we believe, we believe because we trust, we wait because we love, we love because we obey. Where there’s life (← Check it out!) there’s hope, and God expects us, waits for us, to Trust and Obey. We walk with the Lord and simply Trust and Obey (↔ Music Link). But wait! There’s more!
We also need to take a look at the Old Testament reading from Chapter 31 of the book of Proverbs. This is the chapter that describes the Virtuous Woman (← Check it out!). We’ve studied passages about Men of Valor and Women of Virtue. I remember a Radio Preacher’s sermon on the thirty-first chapter of Proverbs. One statement he made struck me as particularly and elegantly insightful. He said, “There is nothing in this world more beautiful than a virtuous woman serving the Lord.” I thought about all the difficulties women have endured for millennia because they were deemed lesser in every way because of their gender. I also recall the several “Proverbs 31 Women” I have known. You know what I have often said about women: Naturally they are not the lesser; they are certainly deserving of all equitable consideration and treatment. In fact, I argue that women are the better part of humanity. Man was made from dirt. Woman was made from flesh and bone. Better ingredients, better people. OK, so I probably sound a little flippant there, but I say that to illustrate that indeed there is little in this world that can outshine the Light one sees in a life lived with virtue and valor. And that applies to men and women, boys and girls, saints and sinners. Now how does that relate to our theme of waiting?
Belovéd, you already know the answer! It’s in the adage, “Patience is a virtue.” (See more about that in The 2016 Lenten Series) To be Good Citizens of the Kingdom of God, we need to live virtuous, valorous lives because it is those qualities which give us the faith, the discernment, the patience and perseverance, and especially the humility to WAIT. After all, what does Scripture tell us of the Father of Nations, our old friend Abraham? It says, quite plainly, in Hebrews 6:15 – 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. And the Promise is the restoration of our communion with God.
In closing, please consider these passages:
1 Thessalonians 5:6 – 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober
2 Peter 3:7-9 – 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the godless. 8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (Use this link to read the full chapter with some very familiar statements.)
Joel 2:28-33 – 28 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. (See also Acts 2:14-24)
Now, Belovéd, isn’t that worth waiting for with virtue and valor?
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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