Why are we waiting?

"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

The account of the death of John the Baptist in Matthew 11, makes for gruesome reading. John, sitting in prison, no doubt anticipating his own execution, hears what Jesus is doing, and sends his disciples to ask. How sad. How sad that, having given his life to the task of preparing the way for the Messiah, having said to Jesus at his (Jesus’) baptism, "It is you who should be baptizing me," having seen and done all this, John is finally plagued with uncertainty as he watches the Messiah fulfill his ministry. He just cannot be sure that this is what God intended the Messiah to be and do

The Bible also contains the well known stories of Mary’s rejoicing when she realizes she will be the mother of the Saviour of all mankind.  

Both of these people are waiting;  Mary is waiting in the way all pregnant women wait;  my daughter is pregnant at the moment and she and her husband are starting to prepare for the baby’s birth.  I too, await with eager longing to see this little new life.  We wonder whether it will be a girl or a boy;  we wonder what the baby will look like;  what sort of person will it be?  But in Mary’s case, she is also waiting for the restoration of her reputation and for the fulfilment of God’s prophesy to her, because although she knows she is pregnant by the holy spirit, we can imagine that perhaps the people in her world found this very hard to believe, and would have been quick to condemn her has promiscuous - a very harsh judgement with terrible consequences, in Mary's culture.  People would undoubtedly have been very unkind to her.  She must have spent some anxious times when it became apparent she was not married but was pregnant, and even after the birth, Joseph married her of course, but down the years, she must have borne the taunts of people who never really believed that the child she bore was not just the child of a human father.

She waits as he grows, to see what sort of man he will become.  She waits to see evidence of his divinity, she waits while he begins his ministry. She must have worried about him. She must have wondered where his destiny would take him.;  indeed the bible says “she pondered these things in her heart”.  She waited and watched and wondered.  And finally, she waited at the foot of the cross for him to die.

Waiting is often very difficult.  Waiting even on worldly things can be a frustrating business.  How often have we fretted about how long we’ve had to wait in the supermarket queue?  In reality, it’s never more than a few minutes.  And just as an aside, I always use this time to pray for the people around me.  It’s my way of turning something with potential for frustration, into something much more pleasant and positive.

Waiting on test results is often very difficult.  In most cases, we find waiting difficult.

Waiting on God is also difficult.  What does God say to us about waiting?  He has, after all, been telling his people to wait, for thousands of years, from when he told Abraham he would be the heir of thousands of people of God, and impelled Abraham to wait until he brought this about, to this story in the new testament of Mary and her waiting for the Saviour to be born. 

In John's case too, he must have wondered why Jesus didn't come to the prison and save him.  He was his cousin and the messenger to Christ's coming.  

 We might spare a thought for John’s parents.  They must have also waited a very lonely and anxious vigil, to hear news of his death. They would be hoping for his release, but really, I think they knew in their hearts, this would not happen.

We too, in our waiting, hope for the best outcome;  we want the test results to be good;  we want our child to be healed;  we want our financial worries to be over. 

But life isn’t like that;  sometimes the worst happens.  God doesn't always rescue us.  We see that from the death of John the Baptist. But just as we must walk out into the dark to see the stars, sometimes we have to experience terrible darkness in our lives, in order to see the stars of God's presence in our lives. It’s then we can experience the presence of God.  Our anxious waiting can give birth to a new understanding of the peace of the Christ child. 

Whether we are waiting, like John, alone, with the threat of something dreadful over our heads, or like Elizabeth, expecting a child who will become the messenger of the Messiah, or like Mary, expecting the fulfilment of God’s promise to her, we can always wait, with the hope and peace of God in our hearts.

Sustain us, Father, with the power of your love on our journey to meet the One who is coming; strengthen our weak hands, make firm our feeble knees, and open blind eyes to the dawning of your kingdom; that our hearts may rejoice with joy and singing as we behold the majesty of our God. We ask this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen ( Prayer was written by Rev David Beswick, Uniting Church  website)