Wait

"Wait" is a popular word in the book of Psalms. "I waited patiently for the Lord" 40:1. "But for thee O Lord do I wait; it is thou who wilt answer me" 38: 15. "And now Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you" 39:7. "Be still before the Lord and wait silently for Him" 37:7. "Truly my soul waits silently for God" 62:1.

I am not an expert in the Hebrew language, so I can't say for sure exactly what "wait" means. But I bet it's more than how we wait for a bus, or wait for this dentist visit to get over with. I think it's all that and more. It can be patient endurance, or active service. It may be focused attention. And I think it speaks to our desire, our active anticipation in what will surely come to pass.

What exactly are we waiting on? One would be the coming of Christ in his glory. Maranantha, Come O Lord! We wait for the kingdom of God to come; not only in that second coming of Christ but now as we bring peace, love and beauty to alleviate the suffering of others. We wait for Christ to be present to us each week in the Eucharist.

And while Christ is already present to us in many ways, we wait for the fulfillment of his union in us. As we abide in his presence, as we are mindful of his presence, we still wait for future iterations of his "being" with us.