Patiently Waiting Ep.VI: Memories of Joy

Memories are a big part of Christmas for me. I have been fortunate enough to have wonderful memories of Christmas and one of my dearest memories takes places in 1988 and in 1990.

1988, my family had moved from Waco, TX to Lowell, AR in order for my dad to help take care of his ailing mom. My Nana was suffering from cancer, the specific type of cancer I cannot remember, and my dad took funds out of his retirement to move us to Lowell, took a crappy job as a salesman for Macintech and then eventually worked at Moore's Tires in Lowell, built an addition onto my Nana and Papaw's house, and we lived there for almost a year. When we first moved there, we spent the fall in Springdale, which is two miles from Lowell, and then we moved into the new addition of my grandparents' house.

Hmm...I forgot about that.

The Christmas of '88 is special to me because it was my last Christmas with my Nana and the last Christmas ever in their house. Cancer would take her life in the early part of '89. My dad and his siblings would move my Papaw into a retirement home, sell their house, and my family would make the move to Longview, TX. The following Christmas in 1990, my Papaw came down to visit us in what would turn out to be our last Christmas together. He too would pass away due to a blood clot in the summer of '91.

Christmas memories often bring joy and sorrow. As I think about those two Christmases, I am englufed with both joy and sorrow. I still have the last gift my Nana gave me, a G.I. Joe Phantom X-19. I still have those fresh memories of her sitting in her rocking chair as my brother and I unwrapped our presents. I still those fresh memories of sitting in my Papaw's lap as we watched Christmas shows. I still have those fresh memories, even though they are more than 20 years old. The memories bring with them both joy and sorrow. The joy of spending time with my grandparents and the sorrow that I did not spend enough time with them.

I do not know my grandparents (both living and deceased) very well. I do not know their favorite colors nor do I know who they were as people. I just know that they love me deeply. Perhaps that is the feeling this season brings. In the midst of Advent there is this desire to know God in more intimate way; to the deeper nature of God.

As Israel wandered in exile, perhaps it is the longing for God's rescue that brings them joy. Perhaps it is in their longing they find the sorrow of joy. The joy that fills one's soul with an immense pain of both happiness and sorrow. One hand you are happy to see the rescue but the pain of what you went through, of the trials you endured remains as a scar. The sorrow of joy is not a mournful or depressing joy; but it is a gentle reminder that joy comes with sorrow.

My memories remind me of this. My memories give me hope. My memories give me faith. My Memories show me I am loved. During this season, my memories are memories of joy.

Waiting Patiently Ep.V: How Do We Wait

"The rulers of this age keep a close eye on any proclamation that may disturb present arrangements" Walter Brueggemann

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. The the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of the our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? Who did he consult for his enlightenment, who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales; see, he takes up the isles like fine dust. Lebanon would not provide enough fuel, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? And idol? A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood—wood that will not rot—then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon the them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?” Have you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40

How long until we have peace on earth? How long will countries rage wars against others? How long will terrorism reign in the hearts of the just and unjust? How long must we wait? How long until you come, long-expected Jesus? How long must we wait?

You are not in a hurry, are you? You will take your time. You've always taken your time. Your people have been waiting for generations. You were here for a little while but then you left. You have said that you will return. Those before us thought you would return sooner than later. They waited patiently even to the point of death. They waited with great concern, afraid that they've missed it. You gave them comfort. You gave them peace. You are the peace that passes all understanding.

But we do not fully understand your peace. We do not understand why you are taking so long. We do not understand and our hearts are troubled. Our world is in chaos; yet, it has been said that you will give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Are you guiding us now? In the midst of our chaos, in our hurriedness, we need your peace. We need your light. We need your comfort.

The longer we wait, the longer we are here we are bound to make a mistake. We will take it upon ourselves to find ways to bring about peace. We will think that peace is a warm blanket or a cup of tea with an enemy. Our countries will think of peace as something that can be achieved through atomic weapons, giant walls to separate those like us from those not like us. Our churches will think of peace as something that can be accomplished through budgets and church attendance. Families will think of peace as something that keeps the problems under the rugs. Our understanding of peace is not your understanding of peace. Our definition is not your definition, so we wait and we wait.

As we wait, give us the peace that calms the storms in our lives. As we wait, give us the peace that will pass all understanding. Give us peace with one another. Give us patience to wait on you. Renew our strength.

As we wait, give us the peace to rest on your word, on your promise. Give us the peace to know that the grass withers, and the flowers fade but your faithfulness is everlasting. Give us the peace to trust that you are making all things new. Give us the peace to wait patiently.

How then do you wait with patient peace? How then do you keep your faith in a non-peaceful world? How do you find peace in the midst of the chaos and storms of life?

By waiting on the Lord.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood? It is God who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes rulers of the earth as nothing. To whom then will you compare God, or who is his equal? Lift up your eyes high and see the stars, he brings them out and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Even the young grow weary and tired. But those who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength. They will run and not tire. They will walk and not faint.

How then do you wait?

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Get you up on your roof, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Virginia, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might and peace comes with him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the us in his arms, and carry them in his embrace, and gently lead.

The day of peace is coming; the peace that passes all understanding; the peace that calms the stormy waters; the peace that resides from within. How then do you wait? Everyone waits in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the waiting to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you patiently wait for peace.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? A day is coming. How then do you wait?

Waiting Patiently Ep.IV: Renewed Hope

http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=190105242

We didn't celebrate advent growing up. My church did not have an advent wreath or light candles. We didn't talk about preparing ourselves for Christmas day and the birth of Christ. We didn't focus on what it meant to prepare and to wait patiently. It wasn't until my senior year in college that I learned about advent. I learned about the four Sundays (hope, peace, joy, and love), each one having a specific meaning and a candle lit for each. I learned what it meant but it wasn't until Lacy was pregnant that I fully connected with advent. Since then, this time of year has become one of my favorites.

Advent is about patiently waiting for the birth of Christ. One would think that we are used to waiting; we've been waiting for a very long time. But we're not waiting in the same way or in the same hope that Israel was waiting. We've turn our waiting to be about a return and a reward. Their waiting, more pure in my opinion, was about a rescue. Israel was waiting, wishing and a hoping that a savior would rise from their streets and rescue them for exile. They hoped for a messiah to take them back to the promise land. They hoped to return home.

Isaiah 64 is a beautiful prayer before God. In it, Israel admits turning away from God because God hid. They admit there is no one who calls God's name or attempts to take hold of him. Isaiah remembers that there was once a time when God would do awesome deeds that they did not expect. God would come down and the mountains would quake at his presence. He knows from ages past that no one has heard or perceived. He asks for God to tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would once again quake in God's presence. He wishes for God to make his name known to the people.

Isaiah wonders how long until God will come to them. He wonders if and when God will rescue Israel from exile. He wonders; yet he pronounces a new hope for Israel. He knows that God is their Father; they are the clay and God is the potter. He knows they are the work of God's own hand. Isaiah has hope, but he will need patience. God is going to rescue them. God is sending the Messiah. God is taking his time.

God does not hurry. God doesn't have a delivery time of 30 minutes or less. God doesn't rush things. God takes his sweet time. We are stuck in the waiting place for people just waiting. “Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go, or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting for a Yes or No or their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.” The waiting place. The place we, you know, wait and wait and wait. The place Dr. Seuss says is the most useless place. The waiting place.

But those waiting in the waiting place are waiting “for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a better break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.” We are not. We are not in a useless place. We are sitting and waiting for better breaks, another chance, or a pot to boil. There is no hope in Dr. Seuss' waiting place. There is hope in ours. Our waiting place is the hope of Advent.

And yet, the waiting place can feel dark and lonely and absent of hope. It can feel like you are trapped in a mine shaft two miles beneath the earth's surface, waiting for the rescue team to find you. But it is not useless. This time, this season is a season to wait and prepare. A time to have our hearts and minds renewed in the hope of Christ. We are being asked to wait patiently.

We are a culture of hurry. The proof's in the pudding as they would say. Whatever that means and whoever “they” are. We have everything we could want provided to us within a second. In a hurry to eat? Stop at McDonald's and get your meal in 30 seconds! Need to get a message to someone who talks a lot but you don't have time to talk or just don't want to? Text them. Carpet dirty and you want to vacuum but don't have the time? Get a Roomba, robotic vacuum cleaner. I think you get my point.

It's counter-culture to ask you to wait patiently. We are not a patient people in a America. We do not wait well. A sign at one of my favorite BBQ joints in Richmond reads, “This is BBQ. It is slow cooked and it is a slow process. It's not fast food. It's not McDonald's. Have a sit on the bench and relax. It's worth the wait.”

We're just beginning our time of waiting. The season will fly by and soon we will gather on Christmas Eve and sing “Silent Night” while lighting candles. Soon, children will rush down the stairs and rapidly tear through their presents, passing out like Randy in A Christmas Story afterward. Soon, Christmas will be over and we will ask ourselves, “Where did it go?” With a blink of an eye it will be over.

The Son of God did not come to us in a hurry. God did not rush to save Israel. Generations after being promised, he arrived and spent nine months gestating in Mary's womb. Then he spent 30 years growing up, learning to possess a strange patience that will cause him to stop and talk to a woman who touched him on his way to heal Jairus' daughter. Even when he was here, Jesus did not hurry. It's amazing how fast we have to move. It's amazing that we know how much stress is caused because we feel rushed; yet we do nothing to alternate that lifestyle. Perhaps this season of Advent and the winter time is God's way of saying, “Slow down because you're about to miss it.

The scriptures teach us that those who wait on the Lord will have their strength renewed. Despite what we think, God doesn't help those who help themselves. When we rush, when we do not wait patiently, our hope begins to drain. We become cynical while standing in the long lines at the store. We become cynical when we see the Salvation Army ringing their bells. When we rush, when we do not slow done, we miss all that God is doing. It would seem to me to then, if God tells us to wait patiently, that if wait with patient waiting in the waiting place, our hope will be renewed, our strength renewed, our minds renewed. Our eyes given better sight, our ears better hearing, our hearts are changed in the waiting place. Knowing the initiative is in God's hands. The waiting place confirms that someone somewhere loves us enough to make all things new. Perhaps then we will finally see how God is making all things new and hear the boom-boom bands with better ears.

It is the beginning of Advent and God is saying, “Slow down. Something amazing is happening. Whether today or tomorrow, something amazing is happening. Slow down, you will not want to miss it.” In the words of Barney Stinson, “Wait for it...”