Waiting…

We begin our Advent worship with the declaration: Advent is a time of waiting… We say it every year, as if waiting were a positive. But I hate waiting! I thought the Christmas season is supposed to be the “happiest time of the year.” Yet, every year, I find these days leading up to Christmas Eve to be full of waiting… frustrating… annoying… even infuriating waiting!

Waiting in traffic with red taillights as far as the eye can see
Waiting in the checkout line to pay for that great Black Friday deal
Waiting to receive those Christmas lists so that I can buy the ‘perfect’ gift for those rather
hard-to-buy-for members of my family

These waits just add to the normal waiting that challenge our everyday existence. We wait: at the doctor’s office…for test results…for the baby to come… for the pounds to drop off… for water to boil… for a loved one to get out of surgery… for a plane… for the turkey to be done… Waiting always feels like such a waste. I have so much to do. I can’t afford the loss of time waiting to get on with it… whatever ‘it’ is. I hate waiting! Yet, while waiting seems to be inevitable, I am wondering if waiting is also essential?

A quick survey of the history of God’s people finds waiting woven into our story. Abraham and Sarah wait decades for the promised child. The Israelites wait over 400 years in Egypt for God’s rescue from slavery, followed by 40 years of wandering in the wilderness before they enter the Promised Land. When the people are taken into exile in Babylon, they are told it will be 70 years before they will return home. During those years, the prophet Isaiah declares God’s promise of a Messiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

It will be over 700 years before that promise is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. The resurrected Jesus tells the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Spirit. They would have to wait 50 days for that Pentecost gift, behind locked doors for fear of Roman soldiers. And when Jesus promises he will come again, he tells us to “stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42) It has been over 2000 years, and we are still waiting. That’s a lot of waiting for those who walk by faith! Is all that waiting a waste or is it essential?

For those of us who live in our fast-paced, immediate-gratification culture, waiting seems like a distraction from life. Someone once said, “Impatience is the virtue of the bold.” We: Speed date. Eat fast food. Use self-checkout lines in grocery stores. Try the "one weekend" diet. Pay extra for overnight shipping. Honk when the light turns green. Cut corners. Take shortcuts. Txt. Start things but don't fin... We hate to wait! We find waiting to be a waste. But the Bible would disagree…

• The opening line of Psalm 40 is often translated: I waited patiently for the Lord. But The Message renders this verse more accurately- I waited and waited for the Lord. David simply repeats the word wait- qavah, qavah. You can hear a bit of David’s impatience. But then he reminds us of the promise- The Lord turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit and placed my feet on the rock. Waiting is not a waste.
• Psalm 27 concludes with the admonition: Take courage; wait for the Lord. That practice leads David to a faith that declares: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1) Waiting is not a waste. 
• Isaiah 40 declares: Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. The Hebrew word renew means more than just refreshment. To renew means to exchange our weakness for God’s strength… our questions for God’s answers… our blindness for God’s vision… our stumbling in the darkness for God’s light on our path. Those gifts come in the waiting, because God can make waiting fruitful.

The Elders of Lenape Valley have heard God’s call to wait… to wait on the Lord. Since the beginning of the pandemic, our ministry has been on overdrive. The demands of keeping a ministry moving forward during uncharted times has left us without any time for prayerful planning. While God has blessed us through the last four years, bringing fruit out of the challenges, we now feel called to pause, to reflect, to prayerfully consider the way forward for the mission and ministry of Lenape Valley. We have engaged the services of The Center- a consulting group that works with churches and non-profit organizations to help evaluate ministry and determine priorities and goals for next steps. Our work with The Center will begin now and carry through the spring, inviting all of us into the conversation. More information will follow, but for now, I ask you to join the Elders in prayer as we wait on the Lord to renew us in mission and ministry. Waiting on the Lord is never a waste!

With you… waiting…
Anita 

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul… none who wait for you shall be put to shame. (Psalm 25)