Is there anyone here who likes to wait?
Who among us revels in the feeling that someone else has all the control over what happens to you next? And it all depends on something you did or didn’t do? Or that whatever news comes next will be life-changing?
If you are that rare person who enjoys waiting, please let me know; I would love to learn from you.
We wait for all kinds of things.
The arrival of a child
Closing on our dream house
A job offer
College acceptance letters
Pregnancy tests
Diagnoses of mysterious symptoms
Election outcomes
To see if next year’s budget requires downsizing staff
Peace instead of war
Plowshares in place of guns
For Jesus to come again in glory
Waiting causes anxiety. Anxiety comes from fear that the thing we await will be more than we can endure, learn, deal with, survive or thrive from. We fear the unknown. And when the answer is delayed or the waiting is prolonged, we feel even more anxious. Why haven’t we heard? What’s the hold-up?
Can you imagine the excitement of those bridesmaids? Waiting to accompany their newlywed friends to a great big wedding party. Definitely good waiting! As the happy couple are delayed, the initial excitement wears off and the women fall asleep.
When the wedding procession finally arrives, some of the bridesmaids find that their lamps have gone out and they do not have any extra oil. Their shrewd and distinctly ungenerous companions refuse to share their supplies. The oil-less bridesmaids venture out into the dark to find more and, when they return, they find themselves locked out of the party. How is that good news?
This parable has often been read as a warning to be prepared for the second coming of Christ. For Matthew’s audience, 50 years after Jesus’ ascension, it was an admonition to continue practicing their faith in the face of persecutions, lest Jesus return and find them living lives unworthy of salvation. Read through that lens, the parable incubates fear and anxiety. My knotted stomach agrees.
2000 years later, waiting for Jesus is woven into how we live our faith in everyday life. How we wait is up to us.
We can wait in paralyzing, self-absorbed anxiety about our worthiness. Always worried that we are not enough: not good enough, not meek enough, not strong enough, not prepared enough, not worthy of love or forgiveness. Hounded by a feeling of relentless competition for resources perceived to be in short supply. Lonely and worried we might be locked out of the party.
Or we can wait, living as though the party has already begun. Not recklessly or cruelly, because that would disregard our baptismal vows to love and preserve the dignity of all people and creation. I’m talking about living the prodigal generosity God shows us through Jesus. Living as though every moment of waiting is a gift to be lived and shared. Dancing and making music with abandon. Bright happy colors, and the happy smells of bacon and cinnamon rolls. Inviting everyone who walks by to come in and join the party, to eat and drink, to find community and hope, to know unconditional love, grace, forgiveness. Doing the things of every day life with joy that makes others wonder what we put in our coffee, and makes them want what we have.
Waiting with joy that sounds too good to be true.
Sometimes we do wait for difficult news, or there is no simple resolution for our waiting. It’s easy to feel alone and invisible at those times. Like no one notices the heaviness of your burden, or cares that you’re suffering or grieving. These are times for the quieter corners of the party, where we can connect and let others know that they do not wait alone.
How we wait, with fear or with hope, is up to us. Hope is just as contagious as fear. We choose how our faith in God moves our hearts and hands. History teaches us that we have survived, even thrived through the unknown many times over. We read the Old Testament and the Psalms to remind us that God does not forget us. Even when we feel alone, God remembers us and we will live and thrive.
The Church is in a time of active waiting and learning right now. I have been watching Trinity’s Vestry leading into the unknown with hope and courage. They are wondering aloud what people and neighborhoods need from church. Looking for new and sustainable ways to support our life together, gathering data about our congregation and our neighborhood, and supporting ministries that are organically growing like Trinity Young Adults, community lunch, and Night Out. Soon they will be inviting all of us to join their conversation and learn together.
Waiting is hard. We live in a culture where delayed gratification is intolerable. Waiting is often seen as a waste of precious time because we’re not ‘doing’ anything. Waiting is time to practice being who we want to become.
We envision a kingdom of God permeated by compassion and kindness, grace and hope for ourselves and every person we meet. Where we courageously and generously offer our gifts of wealth, wisdom, and works to create a place where we learn and thrive together. That place does not wait for Jesus to come again, because Jesus is already here with us. We ARE the party of love and delight. What are we waiting for?
Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
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