Advent and Waiting

The Rev. Dr. Michael Trainor

1 December 2016

Advent and Waiting

 

Advent is a time of waiting.

We wait for the coming of God revealed to us in Jesus. This is our time of waiting.

There are so many moments in our lives when we wait. We wait for results after a medical examination; we wait to meet a friend; we wait for that phone call; we wait for the plane; we wait to see the smile on her face; we wait for the sun to rise; we wait to hear the cry of the newborn baby; we wait for that final breath; we wait for…

Our lives are all about waiting.

These times invite us into patience. Waiting can seem short, or long; boring or exciting; frightening or comforting. Whatever our experience of waiting, Advent is that moment in the liturgical calendar that is essential for our souls. It allows us to bring the waiting of the year that is ending, all the moments that have shaped and touched us over the year, into the divine Advent, into God’s waiting.

This is the Advent God who is eternally waiting; waiting for us; waiting to accompany us; waiting to allow us to be open and enable this Advent time to meld our Advent souls with the heart of the Advent God.

This melding over Advent deepens our spirit into communion with God and prepares us for the Advent of God’s infinite presence in the birth of Jesus, the child of Advent.

As this happens and we enter into the celebration of Christians with souls touched by the Advent God, our hearts become softened and awakened to the Advent of this God in all the experiences of waiting that will permeate our lives in the year that is about to unfold.

Advent is important for our soul. This is because our souls are always waiting.

© Michael Trainor
Image Waiting, Expecting, Hoping, Anticipating, artist unknown.

Michael is a Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological College, Melbourne, Australia. He was a Distinguished Academic Visitor at Vaughan Park in 2011.