Waiting

We are entering again into the holy season of Advent, and I think that a large part of Christianity misses out on what this season means. With the growing number of non-denominational churches and churches outside of the deeply liturgical denominations, there's a certain sense of only a partial understanding of the season. And with a culture around us that barely lives the breath it has before it's two or three breaths down the road, a season like Advent seems...let's say "quaint." 

That's being polite. 

See, Advent is a season of waiting, and our world has taught us that we don't have to wait. 

This past week is a prime example of that. Remember when you didn't know what was going to be on sale for Black Friday until two days prior, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? You couldn't even start your shopping until some poor soul unlocked the doors on Friday morning and got trampled to death by shoppers losing their minds over a good buy. 

Today, "Black Friday" sales start right at the beginning of the month, you can sneak-peek the ads as early as September in some cases, and you don't even have to go to a physical store to get a good deal; it's on the other end of a click of a button at your greatest convenience. 

Because why should you have to wait for $10 pajamas? 

Why should you have to wait for anything? 

Our world is filled with the instantaneous - the microwave, the world wide web, the streaming services, the on-demand content, Spotify, internet shopping, the list goes on and on. And listen, I'm not immune to this. I will start the microwave for thirty seconds and stop it with three seconds left to go because that has to be long enough. I live in the same world that you do. 

But this world has made us lose our sense of waiting. We have no patience for anything. 

A few weeks ago, I noticed an item that I might like to have. It was a bit pricey for my tastes ($50), and someone who loves me lovingly told me to go ahead and buy it - I have money. But that was not the point. I figured that if I waited, the price would probably go down, and honestly, it wasn't an item I needed (still don't need it), so why does it bother someone else if I decide to wait and price-watch for a little bit? But the world we live in has told this other person, buy it now. 

There's even a button for that. 

So we come to Advent, and it is a season of waiting. A stretch of weeks leading up to what we, this side of the Incarnation, already know is coming It's been coming since August when the big box stores put up the first Christmas trees. And we don't know what we're supposed to do with ourselves. We don't know how to wait. 

Most of this generation has simply never had to. 

But I...love the quiet space of the waiting. 

Welcome to Advent. Let's talk about it.