The Second Letter to Peter teaches, “With the Lord one day is like
a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his
promise, as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you.” For me this
reading begs a question, and I am forced to ask myself, “God is patient with
me, but how can I be patient with God?” So often, I want God’s plans to happen right
now. I don’t want to wait. Waiting is hard, often tortuous work. It also forces
me to accept that I am not in the one in control, and that rarely fits into my plans.
John the Baptist prepared the way of the
Lord with patient hope and with a great sense of immediacy. He wasn’t preparing
the way for a kingdom to come years down the road; he was preparing the way
right now. Yet, he also managed to wait patiently for Christ, the one mightier than
he who would come, and John the Baptist fully accepted that he was not the one
in control. How can I work tirelessly for God and his kingdom with that same
sense of immediacy while also trusting in the slow work of God and allowing
myself to be restless and incomplete?
Advent is a time of waiting, but it isn’t
passive waiting. How can we actively wait for God and trust in his plans for us
while we simultaneously work to bring about the kingdom right here and right
now? God’s plan for our salvation requires us to hand over control to our
loving Father and to wait, work, and trust with hope and with joy.
Questions for Reflection:
Do you struggle to be patient with God?
How can you work this Advent season on developing a patient, joyful trust in
God, our loving Father?
-Stephanie Smith teaches in the Theology
Department at Divine Child High School in Dearborn. She is an active member of
the Graduate Student & Young Professional Group at St. Mary Student Parish.
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