“Daddy, it’s taking forever!” cried my little one on our way to New Jersey on Thanksgiving. On the road for more than 90 minutes, my daughter was hungry and anxious to play with her cousins. Being stuck in a slowing moving traffic wasn’t helping at all. She struggled to wait patiently.

Waiting is not easy. Like my daughter, I have blurted out those same words several times in my life – It’s taking forever waiting for a diagnosis, for a government approval, for a job application, or for a driver’s license renewal.

This is the same sentiment of the exiles to whom Jeremiah offered a message of hope and a promise of the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty in our First Reading. Their hopes were dimming when the exile was prolonged but Jeremiah told them to wait for the “Lord is our justice.” In the Gospel, it is clear that Luke addresses the concern of his community about the timing of Christ’s return. Is it imminent or do we have to wait more? He exhorts them to be vigilant and live a morally upright life while waiting.

As we begin the Season of Advent, we are again invited to wait. How are we waiting? Are we waiting with steadfast-hope in God’s promises or do we wait wandering and with distraction? Truly it is hard to wait especially amid the busyness and instantaneousness of life. It is easy “for our hearts to get drowsy” and tired by the “anxieties of daily life.” Whatever distracts us, the message of Advent is clear – “settle down and be quiet,” “be still and know that I am God.”[1] Have a space for God this season. Let Jesus be born again in you. 

Let us hush the rush and encounter God in the silence of our hearts. As Thomas Keating said, “Keep returning to silence. It’s God’s first language, and everything else is a poor translation.”[2] May we use this time to be still and rest in God’s presence.

[1] Psalm 46;10

[2] https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/11/21/father-thomas-keatings-parting-wisdom-divided-church-and-country