It’s been a long year of waiting: waiting to determine the depth of
the danger, waiting for a sense of how long, and waiting for clear
directions as to what to do next.
For some, the waiting has been especially excruciating: waiting
and hoping that our loved one will survive – for some families, that hope
crashed into grief.
Many have lost hope that their jobs will ever return and are
desperate for some sense of what to do next.
Now, as winter begins, we continue to wait: for a vaccine, for a
return to normal, for the next crisis.
Yes, the waiting has been painful and distressing. But, for many of
us, this pandemic Advent has also been a time of change and conversion:
We’ve grown closer to our families. We have a new appreciation of
those who work hard – and mostly unnoticed – to keep open the services
we need to function. We’ve realized that God has raised up many saints
in our midst, courageous and brave prophets clad in PPE. And we understand as we’ve never understood before how much we need one
another and can’t wait to re-connect with family and neighbors and
friends and classmates live, in person, not on a screen via Zoom or
Skype.
This year of 2020 has been one long Advent – and it’s not over.
But is has been an Advent of discovery, of awareness, of insight; an
Advent for seeing with new hearts and spirits God in our midst.
The late Father Henri Nouwen wrote that our lives are a continuing
Advent, an Advent in which “the Lord is coming, always coming. When
you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any
moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of
the Lord”. Waiting is often the cost of love: in waiting we realize our
powerlessness; we realize our deepest hopes and wants; we realize the
gift of those we love in our lives. As we struggle through this especially
difficult Advent of 2020, may we open our homes and hearts to the light
of God’s compassion and peace in these dark, difficult days. Amen
Tags: 11-29-2020