Lent XI: Just Wait

 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, and so I said, "Behold, I come."

 - From Psalm 40

And so, in the midst of the reflecting, the sacrificing, and awareness of sin, and our troubles; our mortality and brevity of life: of the negative balance of hard times to the good . . . we have a manifestly positive and uplifting Psalm.

And it has to do with the Annunciation: the coming of the angel to Mary: nine months prior to the birth of the Son of God; the Messiah; the Redeemer; the King; the Shepherd; the Lamb of God; the Branch; the Lion of Judah; the Christ.

The Christmas Story is year-round. The Advent, the waiting, really begins now.

Nine months is a long time. Christmas is nine months from today. Nine months ago was last June. Nine is three seasons. It's virtually a year. There's  a continuous cycle. But before we even complete the Easter season . . . it becomes time, once again, to await the birth of the Promised One.

Did I say that nine months is a long time? Indeed, it is.

The faith journey is all about the waiting.

How many people have we all known, whose faith wavered because they couldn't bear to wait another day, for God to do something? Why is this a surprise? God has been very clear, from the beginning of recorded history, that good things do not happen instantly. So many of society's problems are due to the inability of people just to wait, and enjoy this moment.

It has been said that travel is not about the destination: it's about the journey. Those that put together a good plan, a sound process, and that begin taking that single first step, and then another, and then another, without obsessing about the end-point, are the ones that are the happiest. And they are the ones that actually make it to the end. They are the ones that succeed.

Even in the Old Testament, God reveals that it's not all about the sacrifices, rules, regulations, rituals, and routines. Simply, He's going to take care of things.

And the Psalmist says: "Behold, I come!!"