The question was posed to me, “Does a waiter wait?” So what does a waiter wait for?
When we begin to look at this question and open it up, the obvious strikes us with a scene at a restaurant and the waiter waiting on us. That is what the Advent season is about.
The life that you and I live requires us to wait; it is a constant process of waiting. I carry my phone around as if I would somehow be detached from civilization if I didn’t look at it every time I left a class.
Oh dear, what if someone texts me when I’m in class and I miss it? I think if I missed a text the earth’s rotation would stop. Well, maybe not, but it sure seems that way.
The stress level rises quickly if someone doesn’t return the text I sent a minute ago, and if he or she doesn’t return it in an hour they have surely been abducted by alien forces and will never be seen again.
We wait for grades to come out and then wait to see what classes are available to fill our schedules. We wait to order our food and we wait for it to be prepared.
Then we wait to see if that special person notices the new cologne or perfume we are wearing. Will she notice my new shirt or sneakers? Will he notice my hair is colored?
The one thing that matters the most we sometimes overlook because we are so overwhelmed by the daily activities and interests that the necessary focus is lost.
If we have a significant other and he or she is the entire focus of our lives and we use all our energy on the relationship it will grow and be mature. We will come to know the very core of our love.
If we lose sight of him, “who called us while we were yet sinners,” we cannot expect to have a good healthy relationship. It will not grow; it will wither and die.
The behavior of failing to see Christ as the center of our lives can have some real dangers attached to it. The danger can be not seeing the other person as a person made in the image of God.
The “waiting” to hear God’s call that enables us to recognize the vocation and mission we are called to in this life is accomplished in silence. “Be still and know I am God” is found as effective instruction in seeking the Lord.
The words at the Eucharistic celebration after the Lord’s Prayer – “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ” – call to mind the method in which to wait: in “joyful” hope.
The “waiting” we experience void of Christ’s joyful hope leaves us anxious and uneasy with not much to go past when we do achieve the goal of the moment.
Joyful then becomes a decision that we make to overcome the despair or anxiety of waiting in the world. Remember the Samaritan woman at the well? She was waiting for water and Jesus said the water he gave was eternal.
Can you imagine if we just put that in our hearts how much easier we would go about our days?
Instead of just waiting around we should also be active waiters.If all I do is sit around and wait I may miss the boat.
I remember the story about the man who was given many opportunities to be rescued from a flood. God sent him a policeman to warn of the upcoming storm, a rescue worker in a boat and a helicopter ride out of harm’s way.
But the stranded person was waiting for Jesus to rescue him. He said, “Jesus loves me, he will save me.”
The statement is an illusion, in so far as we are not taking responsibility for our lives and seeing the opportunities in our daily lives to become a better people and better members of the community. Jesus did try to save the man; he sent him three ways to get out of the mess.
How many times has God sent you a way out of a bad relationship, or a way to a better one? How about a course of life? Has anyone suggested a career that you have not thought about? Think about it. There may be an answer to a prayer in there somewhere.
We need to be active as we wait. It is OK to say the Lord will provide, but don’t overlook the delivery message.
Ask yourself, what is the reason for this? And how may I use this to better myself and those around me?
The situation can be anything, but look for the answers. Be an active waiter and “DO” something.
