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Second Sunday of Advent - 2005
Fr Ivan Aquilina

Is there a theology of waiting?
Well if it’s waiting like at the dentist or the post office, I do not
think that there is a theology for that, for that there is a virtue and a wish: Patience and good luck. If the second coming does not happen first you might get there. There is a theology, however, for a fruitful and productive waiting coupled with joyful hope. Although one has to queue for so many things, waiting is foreign to our concepts; we are used to have immediate results, seconds after taking the medicine or as soon as one presses a button. Enjoying a journey is also being lost as we want to go express.

I like Advent because it is prophetic; it goes against the grain it
tells us that the culture of fast track is not always healthy and that it is vital to take time out to wait - waiting on God. Advent provides the space to tell us that we can easily fall into the trap of fast lanes, become slaves of a fast life that at the end will not allow us to enjoy the sacred gift of life. Advent is also an opportunity for creative silence which enables us to break free from all that hinders us from living in the freedom of sons and daughters of God.

Today the Church gives us some images to help us appreciate the beauty of Advent, it shows us John the Baptist and a vivid image of destruction of massive proportions. How do we make sense of these images?

It would be a shame to stop on the externals of the portrait of John the Baptist that was given to us in today's gospel. As with every part of Sacred Scripture there is more than meets the eye. Mark starts the story of Jesus by describing a man that did not fit in the current customs of his time. He lived in the desert. The desert is a place of death, of fear and destruction. It is an unpleasant place to be in as it is the habitation of demons. John the Baptist goes there. He is not afraid of his own demons, in the desert he gives himself the freedom to face them and sort them out. What are our demons? How long are we going to keep on papering over them with our pathetic excuses? Is not Advent the right time to face our demons? What we need to remember here is not to rely on our inner strength but on the grace of God.

The desert is a place of silence. Utter silence. Silence can be noisy and cluttered. Silence can be empty silence that leads towards drying up. Silence can be pregnant with the music of the love of God.

Noisy and cluttered silence is that silence of when we have no one around us and the wireless is off and in our minds there is a flood of images and memories and grand plans of how to put the world right. It is the silence suffocated by our own ego, our own voice; it is not the thinking silence but the silence verging on day dreaming.

The empty silence is the silence of no hope and no vision, the moment we give in and abandon ship: the silence of turning our backs on God, the silence of despair.

The pregnant silence is that silence which silences the flesh, the world and the devil. It is a silence aided by fasting and prayer, the silence of waiting patiently to receive God's word, to be in tune with His eternal symphony. This was the silence that the Baptist embraced in the desert the silence that frees from silly or serious worries and throws itself in full confidence in God.

That silence transformed John into the hinge between the Old and New Testament, that silence of patient waiting transformed the desert into the springs of Jordan where many flocked to be washed, to repent, to live anew in the hope and joy of life. In those waters they buried the demons of life and the place of death became the place of life. That hope and life gives freedom. John was free from the practice of his day, in that freedom he served God; freed others and above all paved the way for Jesus. He paved the way for Jesus. Is that not our vocation to pave the way for Jesus!

How do we pave the way for Jesus?
We need to start by entering the desert, facing our demons and wait on God. The traditional word for this is contemplation. This allows us to give to others what we have received - the joy of Jesus in His Church. We pave the way for Jesus by pushing aside our self - our ego and placing Christ in the midst of our existence. This means that in the desert we have tackled the demon of pride. Pride tells us that we need to be the star of the show rather than Jesus. Pride tells us that we can not possibly give up so many good things around us in order to follow the Way of Jesus which at the end of the day might only be a nice myth. Pride tells us that we need to achieve, come what may, that we need more and more and more.

The theology of waiting tells us that we need less and less and less. We need no noise and no more words we need silence and hope, we need to give way and make way for Jesus. Worldly possessions are not for ever. In our readings we were shown this by Isaiah when he says: "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades..." Also in our second lesson Peter explains to us that all what is around us will be dissolved. Pride tells us we need to live comfortably. Yes, what about the carrying of the cross and following Jesus, what about the example of the saints in these last 2000 years, was their example one of a comfortable life or one of a loyal service to Christ? The theology of waiting shows the transitory nature of the world and how empty it is to clutch to material possessions.

Advent is the time to take stock and see where we are. These images of the Baptist and the transitory nature of earthly things are a good springboard. Waiting patiently and hopefully on God will transform our barrenness into fresh springs of living water, with the psalmist we say once more: "Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him that glory may dwell in our land." Thanks be to God for waiting on Him.

Thanks be to God for Advent. Let us make the most of it.

	ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET
	All Saints, Margaret Street, London, W1W 8JG, UK
Welcome Worship and visitor information Diary dates History and architecture Music The life of the church Sermons Support All Saints Get in touch	Second Sunday of Advent - 2005 Fr Ivan Aquilina Is there a theology of waiting? Well if it’s waiting like at the dentist or the post office, I do not think that there is a theology for that, for that there is a virtue and a wish: Patience and good luck. If the second coming does not happen first you might get there. There is a theology, however, for a fruitful and productive waiting coupled with joyful hope. Although one has to queue for so many things, waiting is foreign to our concepts; we are used to have immediate results, seconds after taking the medicine or as soon as one presses a button. Enjoying a journey is also being lost as we want to go express. I like Advent because it is prophetic; it goes against the grain it tells us that the culture of fast track is not always healthy and that it is vital to take time out to wait - waiting on God. Advent provides the space to tell us that we can easily fall into the trap of fast lanes, become slaves of a fast life that at the end will not allow us to enjoy the sacred gift of life. Advent is also an opportunity for creative silence which enables us to break free from all that hinders us from living in the freedom of sons and daughters of God. Today the Church gives us some images to help us appreciate the beauty of Advent, it shows us John the Baptist and a vivid image of destruction of massive proportions. How do we make sense of these images? It would be a shame to stop on the externals of the portrait of John the Baptist that was given to us in today's gospel. As with every part of Sacred Scripture there is more than meets the eye. Mark starts the story of Jesus by describing a man that did not fit in the current customs of his time. He lived in the desert. The desert is a place of death, of fear and destruction. It is an unpleasant place to be in as it is the habitation of demons. John the Baptist goes there. He is not afraid of his own demons, in the desert he gives himself the freedom to face them and sort them out. What are our demons? How long are we going to keep on papering over them with our pathetic excuses? Is not Advent the right time to face our demons? What we need to remember here is not to rely on our inner strength but on the grace of God. The desert is a place of silence. Utter silence. Silence can be noisy and cluttered. Silence can be empty silence that leads towards drying up. Silence can be pregnant with the music of the love of God. Noisy and cluttered silence is that silence of when we have no one around us and the wireless is off and in our minds there is a flood of images and memories and grand plans of how to put the world right. It is the silence suffocated by our own ego, our own voice; it is not the thinking silence but the silence verging on day dreaming. The empty silence is the silence of no hope and no vision, the moment we give in and abandon ship: the silence of turning our backs on God, the silence of despair. The pregnant silence is that silence which silences the flesh, the world and the devil. It is a silence aided by fasting and prayer, the silence of waiting patiently to receive God's word, to be in tune with His eternal symphony. This was the silence that the Baptist embraced in the desert the silence that frees from silly or serious worries and throws itself in full confidence in God. That silence transformed John into the hinge between the Old and New Testament, that silence of patient waiting transformed the desert into the springs of Jordan where many flocked to be washed, to repent, to live anew in the hope and joy of life. In those waters they buried the demons of life and the place of death became the place of life. That hope and life gives freedom. John was free from the practice of his day, in that freedom he served God; freed others and above all paved the way for Jesus. He paved the way for Jesus. Is that not our vocation to pave the way for Jesus! How do we pave the way for Jesus? We need to start by entering the desert, facing our demons and wait on God. The traditional word for this is contemplation. This allows us to give to others what we have received - the joy of Jesus in His Church. We pave the way for Jesus by pushing aside our self - our ego and placing Christ in the midst of our existence. This means that in the desert we have tackled the demon of pride. Pride tells us that we need to be the star of the show rather than Jesus. Pride tells us that we can not possibly give up so many good things around us in order to follow the Way of Jesus which at the end of the day might only be a nice myth. Pride tells us that we need to achieve, come what may, that we need more and more and more. The theology of waiting tells us that we need less and less and less. We need no noise and no more words we need silence and hope, we need to give way and make way for Jesus. Worldly possessions are not for ever. In our readings we were shown this by Isaiah when he says: "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades..." Also in our second lesson Peter explains to us that all what is around us will be dissolved. Pride tells us we need to live comfortably. Yes, what about the carrying of the cross and following Jesus, what about the example of the saints in these last 2000 years, was their example one of a comfortable life or one of a loyal service to Christ? The theology of waiting shows the transitory nature of the world and how empty it is to clutch to material possessions. Advent is the time to take stock and see where we are. These images of the Baptist and the transitory nature of earthly things are a good springboard. Waiting patiently and hopefully on God will transform our barrenness into fresh springs of living water, with the psalmist we say once more: "Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him that glory may dwell in our land." Thanks be to God for waiting on Him. Thanks be to God for Advent. Let us make the most of it.