During this season of Advent, we are reminded of “waiting.” Each year I find myself getting more and more excited for Advent. While most people are focusing on Halloween and Thanksgiving preparations, I am anticipating a season of anticipation. As children, we love the excitement of anticipating Christmas and, for many, Christmas is celebrated for one day only. One of the things I love about the Catholic Church is that we know how to celebrate! First we celebrate in anticipation the celebration of Christ’s birth, the Incarnation! For four weeks we prepare our hearts for this joyous occasion and the celebration continues long past the single day of December 25th.
As we are well into this Advent season, I would like to share a reflection on Luke 2: 41-52 – the finding of Jesus in the Temple. No doubt, Mary and Joseph had experienced many things from the moment they realized Jesus was missing to the time they found Him. I’d imagine they experienced fear and anxiety as they searched for Him. They must have felt relief and peace finding Him (perhaps something we should reflect upon as well). However, most striking to me is what they learned after they found Him and brought Him home – patiently waiting and longing for Jesus to fulfill His mission. In this passage, we read:
51Then [Jesus] went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Jesus could have begun His ministry at the age of 12 or 13 (the age of adulthood in the Jewish faith). He was already teaching the doctors of the faith in the Temple. However, he listened to his parents and grew as any other human would. So what does this have to do with waiting? Think of Mary and Joseph. They both knew that God had sent Jesus to them. They knew He had an extraordinary mission on this earth. “Jesus its your 15th birthday, are you going to begin you mission? Jesus, you are 18…21…25..28. Jesus you are 29 years old and you still live at home????”
Imagine what Mary and Joseph must have longed for. I am sure they longed to witness Jesus fulfill what the angel of the Lord had told them. Yet they waited patiently for his hour to come. For 30 years Mary waited, “keeping all these things in her heart” as Jesus “grew in favor with God and men.”
What is it that we are waiting for God to do? Lord, when will I get that job? When will I graduate? When will I stop suffering with this sin? When, when, when! Perhaps as we begin this new year, we should reflect on what we are right now. We are not at the next step in our lives, but we are here, now. Jesus recognized the fact that he needed to be the best son he could be for Mary and Joseph. He needed to grow in wisdom and favor–so He did. He waited for His hour to come, and when it did, He acted.
So patiently we must wait on the Lord. Perhaps our hour has not yet come. We wait in joyful hope for Jesus to reveal his plan for us at 15, 21, 25, 30, 45, 60, 99! God bless you in this beautiful time of waiting; it is a blessing not a burden.
