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aaron klinefelter
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December 04, 2007
> 9:25 AM
advent > what are we waiting on? What are we waiting on? You ever say that? I know you've heard somebody say it in some context or another. That's the question that popped into my head this morning as concerns Advent. This liturgical season in the Church year is about waiting, awaiting the coming of our Savior, the Messiah. Soooo, here's the thing: hasn't He already come? Why are we waiting on someone who's already here? Is that what we're doing really - waiting on Jesus to come as a little baby in a manger? That doesn't make a lot of sense does it? Of course, there are different kinds of "sense." What are we waiting on again? I didn't say did I? Lots of questions today. Well, it would seem, we're not really waiting, literally, for Jesus to come to Earth. In time, that already happened, and it very likely wasn't in December either, so what's up? There is a sense in which we are putting ourselves in that place, in the place of those who were, at that time, anticipating the coming of a Savior, a new King. Liturgically speaking, we are, as the Church, re-inhabiting that event. We are, by doing that, reminding ourselves of our Story - the big Story of all stories. That's what liturgy is about - it's that work that we do, that particular work that continues to place us in the Story, the Story of our Redemption, the Recreation Story. The theory is that as we do this, over and over and over again, that it starts sinking in - deeper and deeper - and helps to facilitate our transformation into His Image. So, our waiting now is a liturgical waiting, a waiting of reminder. Our waiting now is also a mystical waiting, a waiting on the inside for God, for Jesus, for our Savior as the Holy Spirit gives Him to us, in many different ways. We hear this, perhaps, during Advent, that we are to be awaiting God as He will choose to enter our lives. I'm not sure we always get that though. It's a little esoteric. Mystical things are like that - a little weird. God, to us, is a lot weird most of the time. He describes Himself in many ways in the Scriptures, using quite a number of analogies. None of them quite nail Him down - nailing God down, yeah, not going to happen. I'm convinced we will understand Him even as He understands Himself one day, but there's a lot between then and now. As we grow spiritually, though, here and now, we are made more and more able to get Him, to experience Him and His Life, to hear the door when He's knocking. We are made more and more able to welcome Him when He comes, on a daily basis, not just at the end of our lives or at the end of time. Our biggest concern should be how we are welcoming Him right now, today, as we live and move on a daily basis - not in the sweet by and by, not when we die. All that will come but we are here, being touched by eternity "now." Now is sort of an eternal concept really - the always now. We are slowly learning to see like God sees. Slowly. We are waiting for His arrival. We are waiting for His constant arrival. We are waiting for ourselves to be made able to see Him as always here. We are waiting for the "silence of God" in our hearts to dissipate as His Voice grows ever clearer to our inward ears. We are waiting for our dim vision of Him to be cleared by His perfect light. We've still got some waiting to do. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall dawn upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. –Luke 1:78-79 technorati tags > advent, liturgical calendar ---------------- Listening to: Vince Guaraldi - Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal) Labels: advent, liturgy, spiritual formation 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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