Waiting: I’m Working on It!
In adult Sunday school this past Sunday we watched the fifth DVD in Rob Bell’s Nooma series. It’s title was “Noise” and the invitation was the reflect on noise and silence and how we’re called to the latter as an act of faith. Bell also reflected on how difficult it is to enter into and enjoy this silence, because we are so inundated with noise. I think we do this at our own peril, for to avoid silence is to avoid listening for God and being present to God.
If listening is a difficult and under-appreciated virtue in our culture, waiting is perhaps even less valued. I have had to wrestle with this again as our family awaits the arrival of our new child. We’re in the “it could be any day” time frame. Truth be told, it’s a hard place to be for this guy who likes to plan things, to schedule things, to know when and where. Waiting, you see, does not come naturally to me. There’s too much that’s unexpected; there’s too much out of my control; there’s too much trust in God involved. Ever been there?
What do we normally think of when we think of waiting? Standing in line at Cedar Point? Killing time in the doctor’s office, thumbing through a magazine we’re not even really interested in? Living for tomorrow? Waiting, it seems, is something to be avoided. But what if “waiting” (not just passing time, but truly being present while actively waiting) is something that God calls us to do? What if these “pre-birth” days (or hours) in my life and the life of our family are not something to be gotten through, but to be lived and embraced and enjoyed?
What if waiting is actually a spiritual discipline to be practiced?
One of the best pieces I’ve heard on waiting is a series of reflections by the late J. Henri Nouwen and is called A Spirituality of Waiting. He does a remarkable job of talking about waiting in light of God’s presence and activity. He takes as his texts the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke and speaks of waiting for God… then looks at the last several chapters of Luke and describes the waiting of God. We often focus our our waiting (or the avoidance of it), but Nouwen invites us to consider God’s patient waiting for us.
A friend of mine who spent some time as a missionary in Cameroon, Africa says that he has to constantly remind himself that sometimes our notions of time in this part of the world are not accurate. We speak of “spending” time and “wasting” time. What if time itself is God’s gift to us, given so that we might be present with one another, that we might grow to love God, and that we might discover, in the waiting and the silence, what is the heart and mind and will of God?
Will you wait and pray with me this week?
+Pastor Matt
Our Big Backyard: Happenings in the Wider Church
Revival: December 4-5, 2008 in Bowling Green
On December 4 and 5, 2008 our entire Synod is planning a revival! That’s right, at a Lutheran gathering there will be a revival at St. Mark’s, Bowling Green, Ohio. Our theme is “Revive Us Again!” This is based on the Ezekiel chapter 37 passage concerning the “dry bones.”
Pastor Katherine Love from the church-wide offices in Chicago is a former Baptist who (years ago) fell in love with our Lutheran Confessional Theology and very much ministers to folks who are “feeling dry in their Christian walk” and who long for the Living Water of Our Lord Jesus Christ to fill them and revive them for the abundant life. Mark these dates on your calendar.
Conflict and Faith: Retreat Opportunity
Join Bishop Marcus Lohrmann and Pastor Amy Little as they lead sessions on how to reduce damaging conflict and how we can look to our faith for answers. We’ll explore Lutheran Confessions and Conflict Resolution and what is revealed in how we handle conflict. Join us for “How Can We Redeem the Day?” Weekend Retreat August 15-17th at Our Lady of the Pines in Fremont, Ohio. Hurry, Space is Limited! Click here for more information and registration.