Loving God, we often have trouble waiting, and we don’t always trust your timing. Strengthen us in our faith and trust of you, helping us to see that you are the one who knows the right time for things, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            The season of Advent has always been a time of waiting.  For the very young, it is a time of waiting for Christmas to come.  However, then somebody had the bright idea that Advent calendars should maybe have chocolates in them.  I suppose you could call that “snacking while you wait.”  For the more mature, however, Advent is a time of waiting for Christ to come again.

         In at least some ways, this is very similar to what the prophet Habakkuk was waiting for.  He wanted to see an end to all of the violence and injustice and wrong-doing that he saw all around him.  He wanted to see the nations stop plundering others and taking captives and seizing lands and dwellings that are not theirs.  He looked for the end – not necessarily the end of the world, but the end of all of the godlessness that he saw in the world.

         In the reading that we heard today from Habakkuk, the Lord answers Habakkuk’s complaint, and it is a very interesting answer.

Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.  For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay (Hab. 2:2-3).

Even in the midst of violence and injustice, God gives a vision of the way that things will be for those who live by faith.  In spite of how things look – in spite of drought and famine – in spite of the arrogant and the greedy – God is the one in charge.  There will be an end to all of these things, but it will be according to God’s timing.  To us, it might seem as though it’s taking a while.

         When we think about waiting for anything, one of the questions is always what to do while you wait. Habakkuk actually gives an astonishing vision of what is possible, even in the midst of trouble all around. There is this one little sentence that says, “The righteous live by their faith” (Hab. 2:4b).  Eugene Peterson expands on this sentence in The Message: “the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive” (Hab. 2:4b).  This matches the vision at the end of Habakkuk where, even in the midst of trouble, rejoicing in the Lord is possible, and even treading the heights like a deer because of God’s strength (Hab. 3:18-19).

         This is a picture of what it is like for those who trust God’s vision.  Yet, even so, that doesn’t mean that we are necessarily rejoicing all the time.  Surely we could say that Jesus trusted God’s vision.  In fact, Jesus knew that God’s vision was going to include unbelievable suffering for him before everything was accomplished.  In spite of this, however, Jesus prayed that if it were somehow possible to avoid this suffering, please, Father, take it away.  Yet, ultimately he asked that it would be God’s will that would be done.

         It takes an awful lot of trust to pray “your will be done” and mean it.  It also takes some trust to believe God’s promises, even when it seems as though they are taking a long time to be fulfilled.  One of the things that Habakkuk does is to remember all of the awesome things that God has done in the past.  He remembers these things, even as he prays for God to act in the present.

         In a sense, we do the same thing during Advent.  We remember the promise of a Saviour, and how many hundreds of years it took for Jesus to come among God’s people.  We also remember with each prophet that we hear how long it took for their promises to be fulfilled.  When God says to Habakkuk, “If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay,” God doesn’t mean without delay like we might mean it.  In fact, the end of the violence and threats from the Babylonians doesn’t happen until long after Habakkuk is dead.  He doesn’t see peace in his lifetime, yet he continues to live by faith.

         So what does it look like today when we trust God’s vision while we wait?  For one thing, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that our purpose is to share God’s love with all people.  Part of God’s vision is that all people would come to know the saving love of Christ, and God is far more patient in this department than we are.  Trusting God’s vision also involves prayer and worship, for these things strengthen us in our faith and in our relationship with God.

         Of course, all of this also spills over into how we live.  Acting with compassion and sharing what we have are certainly part of God’s vision, as is welcoming all those who come seeking God’s grace.  This is all part of placing ourselves under the direction of Jesus, who is our Lord and Saviour.  This is also part of praying “your will be done on earth as in heaven,” and remaining open to God’s answer and to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

         It is not easy to live by faith when there seems to be trouble all around.  Yet, all those who put their trust in Jesus will not be put to shame.  The Holy Spirit continues to be at work, and God continues to dwell among us through Jesus Christ.  For our part, then, let us share the love of God while we wait, keeping our attention focused on God’s vision for us and for our world, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Advent 1 (NL 1)                                Habakkuk 1:1-7; 2:1-4; 3:17-19

December 2, 2018                           Matthew 26:36-38

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved