“The Joyous Wait” by Andrew Scala, Fiat Ventures
Second Sunday of Advent
A man is talking to God. “God, how long is a million years?” God answers, “To me, it’s about a minute.” “God, how much is a million dollars?” God responds, “To me, it’s a penny.” Finally, the man asks, “God, may I have a penny?” God laughs and says, “Wait a minute.”
This is now the second week of advent, a time of year that really has us in a holding pattern, waiting. We know that Christmas is close now, but the next few weeks tend to take a million years, or “a minute” in God’s time. However, the readings and gospel this week keep our eyes on the prize, so to speak. We spend so much of our time waiting on potential sad news, or ambiguous news, or news that produces unwanted change. But this is not so with the coming of Jesus Christ.
The first reading today implores Jerusalem to stand up and “take off your robe of mourning and misery, and put on the splendor of glory of God forever.” What awesome imagery we are given here. Furthermore, Baruch 5:1-9 gives us dose after dose of positivity in saying “God has commanded every mountain be made low, and the age old depths and gorges be filled to level ground.” The message here is that God is leading Israel through joy and in joy, making it all worth the wait!
Our second reading comes from the very beginning of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He continues this theme of eventual gratification in the form of Jesus when he says “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” St. Paul’s joy comes from the future, from what he knows will ultimately save us.
Finally, our Holy Gospel according to Luke echoes the words of Isaiah that we heard in the first reading, “God has commanded every mountain be made low, and the age old depths and gorges be filled to level ground.” The Gospel ends with the best news we could hope for: “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.” We are told 3 times over in our scripture readings that our faith is worth the wait. What a beautiful reinforcement.
So as we anxiously await the following weeks, hopefully we can be reminded of today’s readings, and their overall theme: We truly have a joyous wait, whether this month feels like a minute or a million years. In a world where waiting can be negative more often than positive, we are waiting for our Savior to arrive. Joy to the world!
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