We are now in the season of Advent which is a big deal in our household. I have been doing much thinking this week about the message that Matthew delivered during the "Hanging of the Greens" service two weeks ago. For those of you who were unable to attend that service let me recap. In your Bible, tucked neatly between the Old and New Testament, you will find a simple, blank page. I never really gave much thought to that page. As a student, I look forward to blank pages and picture pages (which in Grad. school are FAR and FEW between) as they help the reading move along faster. In this case, I think there is more written on that one blank page then I ever gave credit. Chronologically, we leave off in the Old Testament with the end of the Southern Kingdom. God's people are being carried off into exile in Babylon. There was much despair and bitterness. God's people wanted a warrior king to liberate them from their oppressors (the Babylonians and then the Romans). They wanted another king just like David to rise up and save them. The prophets had told God's people to expect a king to come, and God's people were waiting anxiously for that king to arrive. They were looking for an earthly warrior king to restore their kingdom...they had no idea what they were asking for. The blank page represents 400 years of expectancy, waiting, anger and despair. All was quiet. Silent. 400 years. We wait.
In our culture...we wait for nothing. We get upset if it takes more than five minutes to get through the McDonald's drive through. We get movies, email, and dinner instantly. We are a right here, right now society. It is a rare occasion that we wait more than a day or two for anything.
Have you ever had to wait on God?
What does it mean to "wait on God"?
~Jennifer
No comments:
Post a Comment