Deacon Tom writes on….
“I’ve Been
Waiting Soooo Long”
Today’s
readings remind us that we are not patient people. When things are going badly,
we cry out to God for help, and it never seems to come soon enough. The Prophet
Habakkuk cries out for God’s help to end the violence and destruction that are
plaguing the people of Judah. But God “does
not intervene”.
Being
faithful to God when we are experiencing sickness or despair, when we have lost
someone we love, or when we are fearful of what the future holds is very
difficult. Our hearts and minds struggle to feel God's presence. What we really want though, is to
have our fears calmed, our financial problems resolved, our relationships
mended, our illnesses cured, and for our loved ones to remain with us forever.
Difficult,
perhaps, even as impossible as it seems, it is in these most painful times we
are called to wait on God and to know that we have a share in that vision he
told Habakkuk to write down. What
is that vision that Habakkuk wrote down on the tablets? WOW! The text doesn’t say! All it says is that the vision….. “still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint.”
Habakkuk’s
vision and prophecy came to completion in the person of Jesus Christ. He
entered our human drama in answer to the Prophet’s cry, “How long, O Lord?” God not only hears our cries but he even shares
in our suffering and pain. It is during these very moments of intense
suffering, when we are utterly helpless, that we begin to understand the very
vision Habakkuk referred to, the vision that will not disappoint that God has
in store for us, eternal life, where our tears will be tears of gladness and
all that God has in store for us surely will not disappoint.
To
make this vision of Habakkuk’s ours we, like the Apostles, need to pray for an increase in faith so that the
miniscule seeds of faith rooted deep within may sprout and blossom and enable
us to realize the life that is ours to come, the reward of eternal life
promised even to us unprofitable servants if only we have done all that we have been commanded.
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon
Tom