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The Word of the Lord says “let your loins be girded and your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast” (Lk 12:35-36). Waiting is part of human life. As human beings, we have numerous desires. It usually takes some time for what we desire to be realized. There is a gap between our desires and the manifestation of what we desire. That is why we have to wait.
All of us are waiting for something or may be somebody. It is difficult, if not impossible, to see a person who is not waiting for something. If you are single, you will probably be waiting for a life-partner. If you are married, you are waiting for children. If you have children, you are waiting for grandchildren. If you are unemployed, you are waiting for work. If you find work, you are waiting for promotions. If you have promotions, you are waiting for retirement. If you are facing challenges of life, you are waiting for solution or breakthrough. It is almost trite to say that we are all waiting for something or somebody.
For many of us, the things we are waiting for are temporal, ephemeral and mundane. Most of the things we are waiting for are things that do not last; things that do not satisfy completely; things we can lose against our will. St Augustine says: “do not live and work only for the things you can lose against your will.” Nothing as tragic as waiting only for things we can lose against our will. You can lose your certificate against your will, for example, in fire. You can lose your car against your will. Your car can be stolen. You can lose your house against your will. You can lose your friend against your will. Your friend can betray you. Your spouse can abandon you. This is the reason our Gospel reading encourages us to wait for somebody who can absolutely satisfy all our desires. Our Gospel urges us to wait for Jesus who can give us the things we cannot lose against our will. If we are rooted in Jesus, We cannot lose Him against our will. We cannot lose the stupendous gifts of salvation, redemption and eternal life against our will.
King David was the king of Judah; he waited to become the king of the whole Israel. When he became the king of Israel, he began to wait for victory over his enemies. After securing victory over his enemies, he began to wait for affluence, influence and leverage. He got all those. He became bored. He committed heinous crime. Then he realized that all he had been waiting for all his life are things that do not satisfy absolutely. Looking for God- the only person who could satisfy all his desires, he wrote “like a deer that yearns for running streams so my soul is yearning for you my God” (Ps42:1). He began to wait eagerly for the lord. He wrote again, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits… My soul waits for the lord more than watchmen for the morning” (Ps 130: 5-6). Eventually, the Lord showed him mercy and forgave his trespasses. David wrote: “I waited, I waited for the Lord, he stooped down to me, he heard my cry” (Ps 40:1). After experiencing the goodness of the Lord, he wrote: “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8). David waited for the Lord, he experienced the Lord. He tasted and testified that the Lord is good.
We still have the opportunity and time to wait for the Lord. We need to revisit the list of the things we are waiting for in life. We need to make sure that Jesus is on top of our list - Jesus who can fulfill our desires more that we can ever imagine. Let us sincerely determine whether our waiting is righteous and salvific. A habitual liar cannot say he is waiting for the Lord who is the Truth. A person whose heart is full of hate cannot claim that he is waiting for Jesus who is Love. The Christian whose hands are filled with deeds of darkness cannot assert that he is waiting for the Lord who is the Light. Let us wait for the Lord in a manner befitting of Children of Light. Let us be like men waiting for their master to come. Let us wait earnestly, eagerly and patiently for the Lord. “Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mound up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Is 40:31).
