Beyond Words

We are a culture terrible at waiting. We are a microwave, ATM, movies on demand kind of society. We are a text happy, push notification people with express checkout and overnight delivery. We are a fast food culture, but we sometimes forget that this God we love and serve most often moves at a slow cooker pace. This is painful for us, his impatient children. God doesn’t mind keeping us waiting. One day for God is like a thousand human years (2 Pt 3:8).

With Christmas fast approaching, it gets more and more difficult
to wait on the coming of the Lord. We want the Santa decorations
put out before we’ve even had a chance to put the Halloween decor
away. St. Paul recognized this impatient, human longing; it’s why he
had to remind and encourage the Christians living in Corinth in this
second reading to be patient. “As you wait for the revelation of our
Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote, “he will keep you firm to the end . . .because God is faithful.”

We can trust Isaiah’s words in the first reading, that the Lord will come in glory “for the sake of his servants.” God will send us a redeemer precisely because he loves us! While we wait, we need to be patient and watchful, living our lives in such a way that we are
ready for his return.

God doesn’t tell us the exact time he will come, but that is precisely because he loves us. For if we knew the exact date, how many of us would live sinfully until the last day, only to repent at the last moment? Knowledge of God’s exact plan and timing could breed
even more sin than ignorance of God. In this way, we are reminded to keep watch, to always be ready, and to be patient with the Lord. Despite the habits instilled by our modern culture, the best thing (God) is worth the wait.

This excerpt from One Sunday at a Time: Preparing Your Heart for Weekly Mass (Cycle B) is reprinted with permission of Ave Maria Press.