Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord,
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.
I stood at the end of the aisle under the sign that said TOYS,
and watched the three of them, romping and playing around their mother like
puppies on an outing. They were in high spirits as they jabbed each other and
pointed to all the good things that Santa was sure to bring them. I could see that Mom was weary, but she was
smiling at each of them, and listening patiently as she slowly and steadily
herded them onward to the front of the store, and the long check out lines. I
glanced at the contents of her shopping cart and saw that it was devoid of
anything that even hinted at Christmas – one flannel shirt and a pair of
thermal socks. I wondered what stage of
Christmas she was in, or whether she was in it at all. I wondered if she was
counting down the days – after all, there were only 14 more of them, and it
occurred to me that maybe she was just waiting patiently for day number 15 – when
it would all be over for another year.
Yup, Christmas is all about the waiting. Waiting to end, or
waiting to begin…
I thought of my own Christmas as a child, and how we waited
for the Big Day when Santa would come. We did count down the days and filled
them with Christmas busy-ness while we anticipated the gifts and the goodies. We kids romped and played our way through the
Christmas music and the Christmas pageant, and the wonderful, magical story of
the birth of Jesus. And then there was the let down when it was over for
another year.
When I became Episcopalian, Christmas didn’t start the day
after Thanksgiving. There was this Season called Advent, and we had to go
through that to get to the “good stuff” that was Christmas. During Advent I was
invited to be still before the Lord – and have patience, and there was
certainly no Christmas until – well, Christmas… I would have to content myself
with the spiritual equivalent of a flannel shirt and thermal socks in my
shopping cart, when all around there was Christmas happening in great big
capital letters right before my eyes.
When, after several of these seasons, I was able to approach
the idea of real patience, the waiting became a treasure that was hidden in
Advent. Oddly, paradoxically, it was in learning to wait that I discovered the
concept of the Eternal Now – and that Christ is born in us now and eternally. Emmanuel.
God with us.
And so it is that I invite you to seek your own treasures in
this Advent season.
Shalom
- Nancy Rogers
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