Mary's Waiting is Our Waiting

"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

We cannot talk about Advent, or wonder what the sacred act of waiting means, without talking about Mary. Mary is someone whose whole life was shaped by waiting--first for Jesus' birth, and then for his death on the cross.   Mary had no choice but to wait. Waiting sometimes brings with it deep emotion and struggle. How do you suppose she waited?   In Luke we find the angel Gabriel visiting Mary:               "The angel appeared to her and said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be." Luke 1:28-29 Most of our modern translations don't give the word "pondered" much weight, but the Greek word dietarachthe means "deeply agitated." It can carry with it the idea of struggling or being "troubled." It seems to me Mary didn't just wonder about the angel's visit; she may have been unnerved, anxious, agitated. Furthermore, the form of the word used, dielogizeto, takes on the tense of on-going action, which seems to say that she didn't just think about it for a second or two, but that "troubled" feeling stayed with her for a while. After all, she was engaged to be married to Joseph. Pregnancy outside of marriage in first-century Jewish society would surely make her an outcast. Still, just a few verses later in Luke1:38 we catch a glimpse into this young girl's character, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." As Mary waited for the birth of Jesus we see that she did not sit and twiddle her thumbs. She went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Can you imagine the conversations, the wonder, the questions in the hearts of these two women--sisters by divine appointment? Yet, they actively waited, rejoicing and praising the Lord, Scripture tells us, while preparing in anticipation for the birth of their children.   Later on in the Christmas story we find the word "pondered" again. It was after the birth of Jesus and after the shepherds' visit and after the word was out that a Savior was born, we read, "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19  I have always wondered about that verse.   While everybody around her was rejoicing, Mary was.....pondering? While angels were glorifying God in the highest heavens, Mary was pondering. What was going on? Maybe she saw the road ahead and knew it would not be easy for this little boy--her tiny baby--Savior of the World.   We were born for the purposes of God. Mary was a Jewish girl and as such she would have known the prophecies of Isaiah. It is likely, then, for Mary, that "pondered" was a deeply sacred awareness that God the Father had just acted in a profound, almighty way to fulfill his promises. When Mary pondered there was a movement in her spirit the likes of an earthquake of the soul: "My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."  Luke 1:46-47  God had moved in history and God had moved in her.  And so, my friends, we wait. We wait as Mary did--sometimes in anticipation and sometimes in agitation; but however we wait, let the sacred act of waiting move in you.   The longed-for Savior is born into this rag-tag world and we are never the same. His touch redeems our life.   Merry Christmas!  Greg

The Sacred Act of Waiting

"Advent offers us a gift of such importance; ...it is not  so much a season as a way of being." Paul Gooder

The sacred act of waiting--that's where we left off last week. And here we are in Advent: four weeks dedicated to what? To waiting!   It's interesting to note how often in Scripture God calls his people to wait:  The Israelites waited 40 days for Moses when he went up to Mount Sinai. Moses himself waited six days for God to speak to him on that same mountain. (Exodus 24) The prophet Isaiah, who foretold the coming of the Messiah, says this:  "...no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." (Is. 64)  The author of Lamentations--probably Jeremiah--speaks these words: "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." (Lam. 3)  David says, "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5)  Before Jesus ascended to heaven he told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for "...the gift my Father promised," which was the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1) It goes on and on. So what's with all this waiting? Well, I think it depends on how we wait. Waiting is an act in itself.  For those of you who have had children, you know that pregnancy means waiting. But it is such an amazing kind of waiting. It's not the sitting around, twiddling-your-thumbs kind of waiting. It's not a powerless, passive waiting. It is entirely the opposite! It is active waiting that includes much attentiveness, creativity, contemplation, prayer, preparation, hope. It sinks deep into the marrow and heart. It is still--but it is active. The Hebrew word that is often translated "wait" in the Scriptures carries along with it the meaning of "looking eagerly" or to "lie in wait for." It speaks of being an active "lookout" whose sole task is to gaze into the distance and watch for a particular person to come, and then being able to recognize them when they are still just a speck on the horizon.  Active waiting, then, is hope-filled, alert, attentive waiting. It is what Advent is all about. It is what this season is for. "We relearn how to wait," as author Paula Gooder puts it, "...a waiting that rests not in frustration but in stillness; not in frenzied anticipation but in an embracing of the present; ....finding meaning in the act of waiting." Finding meaning in the act of waiting for the Child-King. With you, I wait.... Greg

The Meaning is in the Waiting

"The Lord waits, that He may be gracious unto you." Book of Isaiah

For those of you who grew up in a mainline church, you know that the four weeks on the church calendar preceding Christmas is called Advent--a time of waiting. In the church my family attended when I was a boy, we ceremoniously lit another candle on the advent wreath each week, signifying our "waiting" in anticipation of the baby Jesus' arrival on Christmas Eve.  Last Christmas Ethie gave me a little book about Advent titled The Meaning is in the Waiting by Paula Gooder. In it she talks about finding meaning in the sacred act of waiting.    We Americans, with our instant soup, credit card, microwave, "pop-tart" society, aren't very good at waiting. It's not our forte.  And yet, we get a lot of practice at it: we wait in lines, we wait for our check, we wait in the doctor's office.   We also wait for God. We wait for our prayers to be answered, our families to be healed, our hearts to be changed. We wait for direction or clarification. We wait for hope.    We wait. And we think it's a waste of time. Time is made to be spent, managed, saved; not wasted by waiting. But it is God's time, and there is always enough of it--more than enough. And so we are invited to wait. Just wait. As I read the book I realized something: It is not only we who wait. God waits, too. He waits on us for our attention, for our ear, for the turning of our hearts. The prophet Isaiah says, "The Lord waits, that He may be gracious unto you."  This Christmas, I want to learn more about how to wait upon the Lord. After all, God isn't in a hurry. Time belongs to him. It is we who need to quiet our spirits....and listen....and wait.  There's much more to say about this, but it will have to "wait" until next week! For now, we lean into this sacred act of waiting during Advent.  Grace and Peace as you wait for the Christ Child,     Greg