Nobody likes to wait. This is the gist of several Advent homilies and reflections I have heard recently. But—these speakers exhort us—we must learn patience; we must learn to endure well.
I would like to suggest something startling: perhaps Advent is not about patience at all. Maybe it is actually about learning to like waiting. To love waiting.
Maybe we dislike waiting not because we are impatient but for three very different reasons. First, because we are waiting alone, instead of waiting alongside someone we love. Second, because we do not trust that the one making us wait has our best interests at heart. Third, because our waiting is passive and reactive, rather than alert and prepared.
What was Mary’s wait from the Annunciation to Christmas like? Her wait was filled with love, with awe, with meaning—because she awaited Christ’s birth with Christ’s presence already within her. She would not have sped up that nine-month period one bit, because she spent every moment of it with her Beloved.
Could I enjoy waiting, even in a doctor’s office or a supermarket line, if I remembered that my guardian angel and Jesus are there with me?
This Advent, ask Mary to make you aware of God’s presence.
What was Joseph’s wait in Egypt like? He was waiting for news that it would be safe to return to Israel, but this wait was filled with trust, because God had already proved Himself trustworthy time and again. He had made Joseph the husband of the most beautiful woman of all time. He had helped Joseph to shepherd his wife and infant Son to safety. When the time was right, He would tell Joseph to return. So Joseph’s time in Egypt was peaceful.
Could I enjoy waiting, even in a doctor’s office or a supermarket line, if I remembered that, while the doctor or the cashier might not have my best interests at heart, God does, and His Providence has the best in mind for my day? My wait is not for nothing, and God will bring good out of it.
This Advent, ask Joseph to make you aware of God’s trustworthiness.
And finally, what was the Magi’s wait for the Star like? They were studying and waiting for the great discovery that would change lives forever. This wait was full of hope and anticipation, because it was not passive. The Magi were ready to move as soon as they found what would lead them.
Could I enjoy waiting, even in a doctor’s office or a supermarket line, if I was alert to the supernatural possibilities around me? If my wait was filled with prayer for the people around me, if I was ready to engage in kind and encouraging conversation with others, if I stood ready to “give an account of the hope within me”?
This Advent, ask the Magi to make you alert to the possibilities of charity.
This Advent, learn to love waiting.
