Today we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Advent.
The season of Advent is a time for waiting. Waiting is something that we often dread to do. Be it that line that you have been standing in for some time that never seems to move, that package that should of already arrived in the mail, or that food that you have ordered through Doordash which is running late. If only everything were as easy as pushing a button on a phone and getting what you desire at a moment’s notice.
As Saint Augustine stated concerning the agony of waiting, “If God seems slow in responding it is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.”
Therefore, waiting does not have to be something that we dread. As Christians we must rediscover the understanding that is the importance of suffering. Our waiting can become a form of suffering which leads us back to God and aids us in growing in the pursuit of virtue. Let us be willing to unite all of our sufferings to that of Christ. In the end we must come to realize that God is the one who is in control. Waiting is difficult, but it brings forth virtue.
During this season of Advent the one that we now wait for is Christ. We prepare and wait for He who will come again at the end of time, we prepare and wait for He is the one who comes among us in the Most Holy Eucharist, and we prepare and wait for He is the Word made Flesh who comes to dwell among us at Christmas.
Hopefully we will not be too hasty in our preparation for Christmas. Christmas does not arrive until December 25th and thus we are given a whole season in order to prepare for this coming. Week by week we will come to this church and see a new candle of the Advent Wreath lit that will remind us of the quickness of this coming. Let us be found willing to be found expectantly waiting for His coming.
As we were told in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “So too, you must be prepared, for at an hour your do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Indeed He will come, so let us be found joyfully waiting for Him. During this season of Advent the Lord calls us to make room for Him to enter in and to dwell with us. If we are to be found ready for such a reality what must we rid from our life in order to make more room for Christ?
Let us continue to welcome Him into our midst through our joyful waiting for His coming.
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