If there is one thing I dislike about campus ministry it is the way in which the academic calendar upsets the liturgical calendar. Lent is interrupted by spring break; Easter is overshadowed by the end of the semester; and Advent is never allowed to be four weeks long. We sometimes hear critiques of young adults as persons with little sense of delayed gratification. Surely the cutting short of Advent adds to the attitude of "We don't have to wait that long, do we?"
Advent is the beginning of our Church Year. Advent I was yesterday. For the next three Sundays we will continue our slow approach to the events of Bethlehem. During these days we are encouraged to wait, watch, and hope.
Waiting, watching, and hoping do not occur naturally in our culture. We are more inclined to find ways to make it happen, to fix the problem, to go out and grab it. Waiting, watching, and hoping are skills which need to be refined.
These skills can only happen in the lives of those willing to consider the voids in their lives. They are only important to those who long for something, and are willing to admit it is something that must come to them from another source. Waiting, watching, and hoping are traits of those who know their need for God's intervention.
You just returned from Thanksgiving Break. You have a ton of work to do before final exams. How, in the midst of all that activity, can you devote time to sitting quietly, waiting? It is tough.
But only those who recognize their need for Messiah will recognize Messiah's arrival. Only those who give voice to their hope will see those hopes realized.
With a profound understanding of the other demands on your time and the countless interruptions in your life, I encourage you to find opportunity to practice the disciplines of Advent - wait, watch, hope. (And remember these are not to be confused with "getting ready for Christmas." They do not involve putting up color lights.) Become aware of your need for God's presence.
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