Waiting

The scriptures referred to are Matthew 25:1-13.

My grandson really wants a Spy Ninjas New Recruit Mission Kit. He has been literally calling us every day to see if my wife has ordered it for him. And everyday we tell him the same 2 things. First, because it is past his birthday, it will be a Christmas gift. So he must wait. But, secondly, even if we did want to give it to him earlier, we can't because it is not yet available from the online site where he saw it. The date it will be available is right there on the website. So he must wait.

Waiting is hard, especially for kids. It was hard for me when I was a kid, waiting for birthdays and Christmas or the release of the new James Bond film. And I think it is particularly hard these days when you can just buy something with one click and receive it in the mail a few days later. Or wonder about something and find the information on your phone in seconds. Hungry? Pop a prepackaged meal in the microwave and you can be eating by the time the commercial break ends. It's like our technology is training us to be impatient.

But I wonder if waiting was ever easy for human beings. I have been doing my daily readings of the Bible on Facebook Live for more than 7 months and I have been struck by how often we are told to endure and to persevere. Many of the books of the Bible were written to people in painful circumstances, usually beyond their control. The Hebrews were oppressed slaves in Egypt, awaiting liberation. Israel was a small nation, oppressed by hostile neighbors and often waiting to see which of the empires surrounding it would be the next to try to conquer it. The Jews in Babylon were captives of war, living as foreigners in a strange land, waiting to be released from exile. Judah and Galilee were occupied territories, oppressed by the brutal Roman empire and waiting for the Messiah. For the first 300 years Christians were a persecuted minority, awaiting the return of Jesus. So we shouldn't be surprised to find the Bible full of advice and reassurance for those who living through extended periods of suffering and injustice.

One of the things the Bible tells us is appropriate at such a time is honestly expressing our pain and asking God for deliverance. A lament is one of the world's oldest literary forms and we see it in scripture. Several psalms are laments, written on behalf of an individual or the nation. Typically they begin by addressing God, then give a description of the things causing distress. Then they look back at how God has helped his people in the past and ask him for relief and rescue. They declare the person's innocence or else how he has repented. They express confidence that God will intercede, make a vow to praise God for what he will do, and they end with thanksgiving.

There are sections of the prophet's writings that are laments, and of course, the book of Lamentations is composed entirely of laments for God's judgment on Jerusalem and the temple when both were destroyed by the Babylonians. What strikes me about the laments, especially in the psalms, is how raw and honest they are. In Psalm 44, which is a lament over a devastating defeat, the psalmist says to God, “You handed us over like sheep to be eaten; you scattered us among the nations. You sold your people for a pittance; you did not ask a high price for them. You made us an object of disdain to our neighbors; those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. You made us an object of ridicule among the nations; foreigners treat us with contempt. All day long I feel humiliated and am overwhelmed with shame, before the vindictive enemy who ridicules and insults me.” (Psalm 44:11-16) The psalmist protests that the people didn't disobey or break their covenant with God. It concludes, “Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Wake up! Do not reject us forever! Why do you look the other way, and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated? For we lie in the dirt, with our bellies pressed to the ground. Rise up and help us! Rescue us because of your loyal love!” (Psalm 44:23-26) Wow! You don't hear prayers like that very often, especially in church. The good news is that we can be honest with God about how we feel. It's not like he doesn't know our thoughts.

Another thing the laments teach us is to remember the times in the past God has come through for us. Too often we get so focused on today's troubles we forget yesterday's help and assistance. We may not recall how harrowing things got the last time before God came to our rescue. Or our attitude towards God is “Yeah, but what have you done for me lately?” But trust is built on the history of a relationship. Remembering the times when God pulled our bacon out of the fire will help us be patient this time.

Patience is a forgotten virtue these days. In the past, not having the benefit of our technology, things happened at a much slower pace. In the 1800s, a wagon train could only go about 2 miles an hour. The trip from the "Gateway to the West," St. Louis, to California took 5 months. Today to go from St. Louis to Los Angeles it would take just 4 hours and 14 minutes by plane. 175 years ago patience was not just a virtue, it was a necessity. In the King James translation, patience is often rendered "longsuffering," which actually reflects the Greek word quite accurately. Again nobody likes waiting, especially when circumstances are unpleasant. But sometimes it is all one can do.

Uncertainty can add to the suffering, or even be its main component in the form of anxiety. I have seen inmates finally relax when they get a verdict, even if it is a sentence for more time, because at least the uncertainty is over. Now they know what they must face. Uncertainty opens up a range of possibilities, not all of them desirable. And sometimes all we can think of is how the situation can go wrong or get worse. So along with patience, we need hope.

Someone has called hope the future tense of faith. Faith is trusting God now; hope is trusting God for a better future. And faith should fuel hope. What God has done for us in the past should assure us that he will continue to help us into the future. That is reflected in the laments of the Bible. Recalling God's mighty acts turns into the confidence that he will act again.

Of course, if we caused our own misfortune, we may have to repent, as David does in Psalm 51, which we read on Ash Wednesday. He is writing after the prophet Nathan confronts the king about his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband on the battlefield. After asking God for mercy, and asking that he be cleansed from his sin, David writes, “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. And so you are justified when you speak and upright in your judgment.” (Psalm 51:3-5) He makes no excuses. He does not justify himself. He accepts God's spiritual diagnosis and asks to be healed. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.” (Psalm 51:11-13) If we have caused our own suffering, we must admit it and ask God for forgiveness and healing.

But not all misfortune is caused by our sins. The whole book of Job refutes the idea that all suffering is our fault. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And that can make it hard to be patient. Yet Abraham Lincoln, depressed over the loss of his son and the progress of the Civil War, found comfort in the book of Job. And while we don't know exactly what it was that helped Lincoln, one takeaway from the book is that God knows infinitely more than we do. Just because we do not see a reason for our sufferings does not mean there is no reason. We have to trust God in such matters and persevere.

Part of the problem of waiting through a painful period of time is having no control over the major features of it. But that doesn't mean we have no control over anything. Doing something with the things we can control can alleviate the feeling of helplessness that overwhelms us. You should be patient but you don't have to be passive. Keeping busy is good but keeping busy doing something that is beneficial is better, especially if it is useful to someone else. It can help you remember that you have value.

And it starts with just that: assessing what you have or do that can be of value. Inventory your assets. What resources you do have? What skills and talents do you possess? What you do enjoy doing that you are also good at?

Then look at needs that are going unmet, especially in your community. Can you tutor people with knowledge you possess: how to cook or do taxes or read or draw or do crafts? Can you drive handicapped or elderly people to doctor's appointments? Can you deliver meals to the needy? Can you answer a helpline? There are many nonprofits that can use volunteers. Find an area of concern that interests you, study it and find a ministry or charity that addresses it. Or maybe you can create a service no one has thought of or that no one provides in your community.

And this is not merely an activity that distracts you while waiting. Remember how in a lament the person makes a vow. Often it is to praise God and worship him. But it also can be to serve God in other ways. In Psalm 51 David says, “I shall teach your ways to the wicked and sinners shall return to you.” (Psalm 51:14) And indeed that is the essence of what Jesus tells his disciples to do until he returns. “...Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

But that is not all that Jesus told us to do in the interim. In speaking to his disciples about his return, Jesus tells them not to worry about the time and hour. No one knows when that will be. Instead he says, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other servants their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds at work when he comes.” (Matthew 24:45-46) So we are to be taking care of one another. Jesus said our love for one another would be the way the world would know we are his disciples. (John 13:35) Nor should we restrict the display of our love to other Christians. We are also to seek and serve Jesus by serving the destitute, the disabled, the despised and the disadvantaged, whom he called his brothers and sisters. (Matthew 25:34-40) What we do to them we do to him.

And this is reinforced by today's gospel passage, the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. They are waiting for the arrival of the groom. He and his entourage would usually process through all the streets of the town so all the neighbors could see and congratulate him. There would be music and dancing along the way. Knowing this could take awhile both the prudent and foolish bridesmaids brought lamps, little clay vessels that would hold about 15 minutes worth of oil to burn. But when the groom's procession to pick up his bride and take her back to his house finally comes into view, the foolish bridesmaids didn't have enough oil for the trip. The wise ones had enough to replenish their lamps. While the foolish ones go off to buy more, they get locked out of the wedding. The wise bridesmaids enjoy the celebration and the feast, usually the highlight of village life that season.

What does the oil represent? The Jewish Annotated New Testament points out lamp oil is a metaphor for righteousness or good deeds. (Proverbs 13:9) As Jesus said, “People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:15-16) Like the parable where the servant uses the master's delay to slack off, get drunk and abuse the other servants (Matthew 24:48-51), this parable is saying, “Don't coast on your righteousness. Keep doing the acts of love Jesus commanded. Keep your light burning.”

And keep alert, Jesus says. Like a kid waiting for Christmas, we are to live in anticipation of the bridegroom's approach. He is coming for us. Let that fuel your patience. Vent your feelings if you must, but remember what he's done for you in the past and let that charge up your hope. Let God be in control of what you can't help but use what you can control to help others and by doing so help yourself. Seek and serve Jesus, even in unlikely persons and places. Spread the good news. And don't let your fire go out. Let your light shine. After all that waiting you don't want to miss the celebration Jesus is planning for us, literally the greatest party of all time.