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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-11-30, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017. From the Minister's Study Waiting at The Waiting Place: Livingstone By Allan Livingstone, Anglican Archdeacon for Huron Perth In the book, Oh! the Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss, there is a little piece about the Waiting Place - a place for people just waiting. "Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No.... It's a wonderful sentiment about how our lives seem to be ruled by the "hurry up and wait" syndrome. Waiting seems an inevitable part of our life. Dr. Seuss says we don't like it. He calls it a useless place. And yet there is something to be said for using waiting as a way of coming to a better or a greater appreciation of the goal, the end result, the diagnosis, or the yes or no. Think about our biblical heritage for a moment. Even in the earliest of times the people of Israel waited in bondage in Egypt. The Promised Land seemed only a dream after a while until Moses led them to freedom. Even then he led them on a 40 -year trek through a waiting place in the Sinai desert until finally they settled in what was to be their homeland. Would they have appreciated what God had given them? Would they have been a true nation ready to withstand even more tribulation in their storied history if their patience had not been tested? Surely the Sinai desert was a waiting place for them. Whatever age we are, waiting is a test of patience. It's not that we aren't used to it. We spend our whole lives waiting! Our on-line Amazon orders seem to take just a little longer at this time of year. The checkout line-ups in all the stores are a little longer and a little slower. On the phone, we are put on priority hold. "Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line." Waiting for Christmas is a test of patience too. For the very young, the impatience is driven by the vision of remote control cars or the latest iPhone. For some of us on the more experienced side of life, the waiting is not always so pleasant because Christmas can be an especially lonely time. Still others wait for an end to the exhaustion brought on by all the Christmas obligations we seem bound to keep. It has never been part of our culture to like waiting for anything. Even in Isaiah's day waiting was painful. His people knew the bloodthirsty Assyrians were on their doorstep getting ready to consume the people of Israel. Isaiah tells them in the prophecy we hear every year in Advent, that a time would come when wars would be no more. Even though his people were waiting and crying out desperately, he implored them to wait patiently and to put their lives right with God. We are no different when we pray for peace in a violent world and for food for the millions devastated by tyranny, drought and disease. We are no different when we pray for an end to family bickering. We are no different when we pray for an end to our own ailments or diseases. In every case our Lord says to us, "All in good time" And so we must wait. Advent is a time when we learn to be in the waiting place. We learn to be still. We learn patience. We learn to pray. Christians believe that God makes himself known to humanity in many ways: through the beauty of nature, through the stirrings of conscience, through the words of inspired men and women and writings, through events of history and ultimately through Jesus Christ. The problem is that so often we miss the signs of God in our lives because we are so preoccupied or there is too much noise around us. And so if we want to have God in our lives then we need to get into the waiting place where we can be still, patient and prayerful. In Advent, if we can escape all the hub -bub and get into that waiting place then we will see a great stage before us. We will all be hushed just before the curtain goes up. It is a time of expectation, a time when we prepare for the most wonderful story ever told to unfold before us. A story of infinite holiness. So as we settle in to this waiting place, as we sit back and listen for a voice, like the voice of our father or mother who once read us bedtime stories, we need to listen as that You're c9nviteJ a join 2ts S1n Warship SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 Morning Service 10:00 am Community Advent Service at the Blyth Trinity Anglican Church at 7:00 pm"3AI"� t h II BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH • Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen ( Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 ANGLICAN PARISH OF NEW BEGINNINGS AL BLYTH BRUSSELS Trinity St. John's 4 (:15 am 11 ch am pi Church OffiOffice ce Church 519-357-4883 519-887-6862 Everyone Welcome! COME WORSHIP WITH US! rSunday, You're `Invites( �d to come worshiy V' With US " .N N tf e December 3 at 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. 650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School) Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 SAME HURON CHAPEL SERVICE TWO TI ii ES 9arm o'c Yam, Every Sunday in Auburn - huronchapel.com voice tells us again the stories of the creation of the world and God's first garden. We need to be still and listen as the story unfolds to tell us of humanity's growth and struggles through the times of kings and prophets. Then we will see the story explode before our eyes into a starry night over the sleepy village of Bethlehem, where Mary and Joseph and a new baby begin episode two in this wondrous story. BRUSSELS This Advent, take some time in the Waiting Place. Step away from the place where Dr. Seuss says that, "boom bands are playing with banners flip -flapping." Instead, be still, listen, pray and wait for God's promise. BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED United Church Welcome to Sunday morning worship & Sunday School at 11:00 am Hillary MacDonald (905) 246-7386 Macdonald.hillary@gmail.com Everyone welcome MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 We invite you to join our church family in: Worship & Sunday School - 11 am Coffee & Snacks following the service Come out and meet our new minister, Rev. Charmila Ireland Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Nursery care available 519-887-6687 Blyth United Church Est. 1875 Worship Service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, December 3 White Gift Sunday Collecting gifts in HOPE that all will receive this season. Hillary MacDonald OFFICE: 519-523-4224 THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph's Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N.