First Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 64:1-9)  11/27/2011

I have just returned from enjoying some restful time with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Throughout the past week, as I was reflecting on the coming season of Advent (the season of waiting for the coming of Christ), I noticed that there can be quite a bit of waiting involved with taking vacation. The practice of waiting begins fairly soon into the vacation, perhaps waiting at the ticket counter of the airport or at the security line. There can be waiting for a rental car; waiting for a table at the restaurant, or waiting for your favorite part of the vacation to finally begin. And if you are even a little bit like me, waiting can sometimes become a frustrating exercise. As I waited in the security line at the airport, I was finally the next person to have my boarding pass checked by the security person. But due to the backup in the scanning line ahead I was just out of reach of the security person and so I needed to wait a bit longer. After a few moments had passed, I noticed that the line to my right was completely empty, so I quickly dropped below the boundary and walked the final three feet to hand my pass over to be checked. The security person did not appear too pleased with me, but checked my boarding pass and allowed me through the gate. As I was moving on he raised his hand to someone behind me and said, “I am sorry but this lane is the Priority Security line and you must go back to where you were unless you have a Priority Pass.” You see, there was no waiting if you had a Priority Pass.

Waiting, however, was exactly the challenge that faced the people of Isaiah’s community in ancient Jerusalem. As we hear the words of the prophet this morning, we listen to the frustration of the Israelites as they wait for the coming of the Lord in Jerusalem. A remnant of faithful Jews had returned to Jerusalem after the long days of exile in Babylon and they waited for God to restore their city. They waited and waited; they suffered continued frustrations and their days seemed futile…no Priority Pass to avoid the long days of waiting. Continue reading →