During the season of Advent we are reminded that the Jewish people had to wait for the coming of the Messiah. Indeed, during the season of Advent we are drawn into the experience of their long years of waiting. God makes his chosen people wait for the fulfilment of their longings.
Waiting is a holy thing, but it may not be an easy thing, or a popular thing. Our contemporary culture has no time for waiting. It is an instant culture; instant food, instant coffee, instant communication. We want everything now, immediately. This puts our contemporary culture at odds with the spiritual life. The spiritual life is a process of waiting. Spiritual growth does not happen overnight. There are no microwave mystics, no instant saints. Spiritual growth is a gradual process. It takes time, a lot of time. It involves patience and it involves perseverance.
We say that God’s ways are not our ways. It is also true to say that God’s time is not our time. In Advent we are being invited, like the Jewish people, to wait patiently on God to fulfil his plan for us, in us; for me, in me. We see this spirit of waiting in John the Baptist, one of the great Advent figures. John sent messengers to Jesus to ask if he needs to continue to wait: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Luke 7:19). Jesus assures John that he has to wait no longer. The Kingdom of God is at hand. John’s waiting is over, and it has been rewarded.
Why God makes us wait for what is good for us is not easy to understand. Perhaps it is one of those mysteries that we may just need to accept. What is true is that waiting increases our desire and kindles our longing. It makes us grateful and helps us to appreciate what has been given to us. It also deepens our trust in God and the deeper our trust in God the freer God is to work in us and through us.