Sunday, November 27, 2011

The first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of anticipation.

Wait. A four letter word for most. We have waiting rooms, filled with terrible magazines and elevator music. We have waiting lists at restaurants, we ask, "how long is the wait?" and then sit in crowded entryways. Have you ever stood in a wait line for a roller coaster for more then an hour? I have. Almost everything about the word wait, we hate.

Today we start our waiting for the birth of Jesus. We light a candle. We see that small light and it gives us hope. Soon there will be a lot more light, but we have to wait.

At West Hills Friends, we have started a great Friends tradition of a collective journal. Bimonthly a collection of journal entries around a theme are published for all of us to read. The lastest chapter is, "When have you encountered God's presence in a stranger?" I'd encourage you to go here and read it.

I am fascinated how in several of the stories, people have encountered God through a stranger while waiting. I am also fascinated that this morning Mike Huber gave a message about the importance of waiting on God.

We need to change our minds about waiting. It cannot be hated. Perhaps it is the only opportunity for us to encounter God in the world.

I'm amazed at how many people have experienced God in nature while in a state of waiting. I am interested in how God seems to always speak quietly. Are we not continually disappointed when God does not reveal herself in the grand ways we expected?

There is a lot to be said for us Quakers. I am thankful that we hold waiting and listening as our sacraments.

It is the season of waiting.


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