Psalm 40, 54, 51 • Zechariah 7:8-8:8 • Matthew 25:14-30
Wait. Reflect. Trust. Pray…Nope!
I was anxious! As a kid, I could not wait for what was to come. I wanted candy now. I wanted answers now. I wanted forgiveness, hope, gifts now! To endure the pain of waiting for a parent to finish shopping or for God to show up on God’s time was simply too much. But, much like the Psalmist, I needed to wait. Someone much greater than myself could hold things together in a way I could not understand.
Today, I am still learning to wait.
For most, the gift of waiting is hard. The Psalmist encourages us to find God’s peace while we wait. In our patience, we make meaning of our precious moments. Waiting deepens our understanding of the here and now, whether it pushes us to confront pain or it opens us to receive gentle rest in God’s peace. God knows there is something good in waiting.
To wait, however, does not mean to be immobile. In our readings, we are called to be merciful; to use what we have been given for the betterment of others. Waiting means we believe in the continual movement of Christ in our lives; that in all we do, we trust that what God does next will be, and is, better than what we could have imagined.
This Advent Season: Wait. Reflect. Trust. And Pray.
Remind us to wait for you, O God. Prepare us for the now and the next. Amen.
Marlon Johnson
Instructor in Counselor Education
Seminary of the Southwest
Listen to Marlon read his meditation and prayer.
Marlon Johnson is a licensed professional counselor with a focus on narrative and child-centered play therapy techniques. He is currently completing his PhD in counselor education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Johnson served as a 2018 doctoral fellow for the National Board of Certified Counselors and as the Tennessee Counseling Association’s NBCC Liaison. His research centers on recruitment experiences for African-American men into counseling programs, the intersectionality of LGBTQ identity and faith orientation, continuing multicultural counselor education, and college and career readiness in rural Appalachia.
The Advent Meditations and Prayers are a gift to our seminary community and are made possible through gifts to our Annual Fund. Seminary of the Southwest appreciates the support of its friends, alumni, and the communities around the world that its graduates serve for the glory of God. This support ensures that Southwest, as an institution made of individuals dedicated to service to God and their fellow members of the body of Christ, can continue doing its part to build the body of Christ.
