Day 2
|
Theme: Changed through patient
waiting for the Lord
Text: Let it be so now, for it is proper to fulfil all righteousness (Mt 3:15) |
Readings
|
|
1 Sam 1:1-20
|
Hannah’s trust and patient waiting
|
Ps 40
|
Patient waiting for the Lord
|
Heb 11:32-34
|
Through faith they conquered
kingdoms, administered justice
|
Mt 3:13-17
|
Let it be so now, for it is proper
to fulfil all righteousness
|
Commentary
Victory is often associated with
immediate triumph. Everybody knows the taste of success when, after a difficult
struggle, congratulations, recognition, and even tributes are paid. At such a
joyful moment, hardly anyone realises that from a Christian perspective victory
is a long-term process of transformation. Such an understanding of
transformative victory teaches us that it occurs in God’s time, not ours,
calling for our patient trust and deep hope in God.
Hannah witnessed to such patient
trust and hope. After many years of waiting to be pregnant, she prayed to God
for a child, at the risk of having her weeping prayer dismissed as drunkenness
by the priest at the doorpost of the Temple. When Eli assured her that God
would grant her prayer, she simply trusted, waited, and was sad no longer.
Hannah conceived and bore a son, whom she named Samuel. The great victory here
is not that of nations or armies, but a glimpse into the realm of a private and
personal struggle. In the end, Hannah’s trust and hope results not only in her
own transformation, but that of her people, for whom the God of Israel
intervened through her son Samuel.
The psalmist echoes Hannah’s patient
waiting for the Lord in the midst of another kind of struggle. The psalmist too
sought deliverance from a situation which remains unknown to us, but which is
hinted at in the language of the “desolate pit of the miry bog.” He gives
thanks that God has transformed his shame and confusion, and continues to trust
in God’s steadfast love.
The author of the Letter to the
Hebrews recalls the patience of people like Abraham (6.15) and others who were
able to be victorious through their faith and trust in God. The realisation
that God intervenes and enters into the narrative of human history eliminates
the temptation to be triumphant in human terms.
In the gospel, the voice from heaven
at the baptism of Jesus announcing This is my Son, the Beloved, seems to
be a guarantor of the immediate success of his messianic mission. In resisting
the evil one, however, Jesus, does not succumb to the temptation to usher in
the Kingdom of God without delay, but patiently reveals what life in the
kingdom means through his own life and ministry which leads to his death on the
Cross. While the Kingdom of God breaks through in a decisive way in the
resurrection, it is not yet fully realised. The ultimate victory will only come
about with the second coming of our Lord. And so we wait in patient hope and
trust with the cry “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Our longing for the visible unity of
the Church likewise requires patient and trustful waiting. Our prayer for
Christian unity is like the prayer of Hannah and the psalmist. Our work for
Christian unity is like the deeds recorded in the Letter to the Hebrews. Our attitude
of patient waiting is not one of helplessness or passivity, but a deep trust
that the unity of the Church is God’s gift, not our achievement. Such patient
waiting, praying and trust transforms us and prepares us for the visible unity
of the Church not as we plan it, but as God gives it.
Prayer
Faithful God, you are true to your
word in every age. May we, like Jesus, have patience and trust in your
steadfast love. Enlighten us by your Holy Spirit that we may not obstruct the
fullness of your justice by our own hasty judgements, but rather discern your
wisdom and love in all things. ; You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Questions for reflection
- In what situations in our life should we have a greater trust in God’s promises?
- What areas of church life are particularly at risk from the temptation to act hastily?
- In what situations should Christians wait, and when should they act together?
No comments:
Post a Comment