Waiting is an essential part of our lives. Life is not finished in itself; there is always something more to it, something yet to come. Parents wait for their children to grow up, children wait for their time to go to school and get a job and be married, we all wait for the sun to set before we can enjoy the beauty of the moonlight. What would life be if we can no longer wait?
The first SUnday of Advent ushers in a new liturgical year. As in every new beginning, it is time for looking forward, anticipating, hoping, waiting. Advent precisely means ” coming”. It is the season that celebrating the coming of the Lord, not only at Christmas when he will be born for us and share our humanity. For Filipinos, Christmas has been very much in the air even before advent comes.
More than just a reckoning of time, Advent is here to teach us to wait with longing and with hope. Life may be difficult and the situation around us may be disheartening, but we can preserve without fear of disappointment. Our waiting has to be vigilant, disciplined, and generous. It is very easy to be absorbed in our own concerns and forget about life and God’s greater plan, to stay idle and waste time and energy, only to be sorry later. Indeed, it pays to wait.
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
