I went to a meeting last night. It was one in a series. Most of the meetings up to this point have been energetic, passionate. These meetings have revolved around problems/issues, or perhaps a conflict in vision between groups.
Last night's meeting was slated for solutions...and the energy seemed to dissolve. We put some ideas on the table--or on the white board--but nothing captured the intensity and the passion of the previous discussion. I was disappointed. I wanted the focus to be as intense on problem-solving as on problem-speaking. I wanted creative interaction with each other. I wanted connection with each other, the issues, the solutions, and the God that calls us to serve.
But, I think we needed to get home for dinner. I think we were tired from the intensity of what has gone before. I think solutions are much harder than problems.
So in this Advent season, I wondered what lesson was to be learned. And I am brought back to waiting. Looking at the biblical story, we, the people of God, spend most of our time waiting. Moments of clarity and insight exist...and those are the stories we tend to know. Moses and the burning bush inspires us with a clear, purposeful call story. King David and the interaction with the prophet, Nathan, teaches us that even the most powerful make major mistakes and are held accountable. But in the betweens, in the part we don't usually read because it's not exciting, the people of God wait.
What is also true, regardless of the energy level or the available clarity, is that God is working. When he finally did encounter the burning bush, Moses had been a shepherd for a while, prepared by God through moments of great danger, great privilege, murderous intensity, and desert wanderings. But outside of those few memorable moments, mostly there was waiting.
So we will continue to work, and wait. And we will claim the promise of the Advent season in all times ...in the waiting we can know that God is at work bringing salvation to us and to our world.
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