Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

They used to say that the favourite pastime of the British was queuing. I am not sure how true that is in our days, but I do know that I seem to spend a lot of time waiting; waiting to be served, waiting for a train, waiting at the airport for the connecting flight. Despite the fast pace of modern life and the “instant” culture of present day living, waiting is something that at times occupies us all.

Waiting can be very boring. It can seem absolutely pointless. For example, waiting in a traffic jam on a motor way for what seems like hours wondering what the hold up is. Perhaps it is road works; maybe something has dropped off a lorry and is blocking the road; sadly, you think, it might be an accident? After patiently waiting, or not so patiently waiting, suddenly the traffic moves and there appears to be no obstacle at all. A waste of time, you think to yourself. Pointless! Waiting for a train on a cold damp railway station; just as you begin to galvanise yourself into action the signboard indicates that the train, which until that moment had been expected on time, is suddenly ten minutes late. In the scale of things, it isn’t a disaster, but it is very frustrating and annoying for you. You arrive at an airport to find that you have to wait another three hours for your connecting flight. How do you fill the time? You wander around, have a cup of coffee, do some shopping and when you look at your watch there is still another two and three-quarter hours to go. Time weighs so heavy on you.
Yet there are other times when waiting can be of a different kind. You count the days for a loved one to come home after a period of separation. There might be an element of frustration in it but there is also a lot of excitement. The day dawns and you go to the bus station, railway station, airport or whatever. You stand by the door through which they will emerge. Every time it opens you peer through hoping to see them. Your heart beats faster, it is hard to control your excitement until you see and then finally greet them. This sort of waiting is far from pointless, boring, frustrating or annoying. Perhaps we might describe it as excited expectation.
Today we begin the season of Advent and the Church’s New Year. One of the ingredients of Advent is “waiting”. I hope, though, that we would not describe our Advent-waiting as pointless, boring, frustrating or annoying. Advent-waiting should not leave us with time weighing heavily on our hands. Rather, it should be of the excited expectant type. For whom are we waiting?
Now we watch for the day, hoping that the salvation promised us will be ours when Christ our Lord will come again in his glory.
Advent has a twofold character. It is a time of preparation for Christmas when the first coming of God’s Son is recalled. It is also the season when our minds are directed to Christ’s second coming at the end of time. So, our waiting is mainly for a person, Christ coming at Christmas and Christ coming at the end of time. Just as we count the days until we are re-united with someone we love and our hearts are filled with excited expectation, so similarly should we count the days of Advent and look to the two comings of Christ with genuine excitement and real expectation.
All our readings at Mass point us towards the future with an air of urgent yet confident expectancy;

See, the days are coming when I am going to fulfil the promise:
Stand erect, hold your heads high because your liberation is near at hand:
Watch yourselves…stay awake….stand with confidence.

For us, this Advent, waiting should provide an opportunity to ponder and reflect on the two comings of Christ and to nurture those deep-down feelings of longing and yearning to meet Christ again in his Incarnation at Christmas and to encounter him eternally at his second coming at the end of time. Every time we come to Mass we listen to the prayer after the Our Father. Can I offer a simple suggestion, that we make it our own in a special way this Advent?

Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May I wish you all an exciting and expectant Advent and a peaceful Christmas without anxiety when it comes.