Christmas - The Wait(ed) Moment

The first time I saw him was when he approached me for a $5 change. I thought he looked mentally unstable with his white hair, cross-eyed & sloppy look. The next time I saw him was when he asked me for the time of the night as he walked towards the bus stop (outside my home) which I have just alighted. Surely, this is a madman, I concluded. The third time I saw him was when he was waiting alone at the same bus stop. I was on my way home, around 8+ after a long day's work.

As I turned my head back, I realized that he was with his wife, walking with her, lovingly holding her handbag. I suddenly pieced everything together & realized that he was all along waiting for his wife to return back from work! The last time he enquired about the time was to estimate the time that his wife was returning. I can't believe that at the age of 50+, this couple could still be so loving. I was somehow touched by what I saw before me. I've heard the story of the prodigal son so many times, but this is the first time I truly FELT what the parable was all about. We have waited many times for people who are late for appointments, and we tend to remember them well (don't we?)! But we forget quite quickly the times when people waited for us. What does it feel like to be waited? Especially one where the person waited for you WITH LOVE and not annoyance? Could you pause & think (+ feel) about that for a moment? Have you ever been waited with such love (be it in a relationship) or have witnessed something like that?

As we celebrate Christmas this year, we often like to think that we (the world) are waiting for the Saviour to come. Or at least, this is what the readings & Advent reminded us. But what if, it was really the other way round? Rather God was The One, who waited for us? Waiting for us to respond to Him - to welcome Him into our ever so-busy world, a world of self-interest, consumerism? A God who waited with love for us. A white-haired God who has waited since the beginning of time for our notice, for us to pause & feel His love. Yes, in so many ways, God is like the man I've encountered. So easily he escaped my notice, gets written off by my quick judgement as a madman. Yet, if only I choose to LOOK BACK & PAUSE (to reflect), I will notice someone more beautiful than I thought - a God MADLY in love with me. Is that what we see at the scene of the Nativity?

"Better than hoping for anything from the Lord, besides His love, let us place all our hope in His love itself. This hope is as sure as God Himself. It can never be confounded. It is more than a promise of its own fulfillment. It is an effect of the very love it hopes for. It seeks charity because it has already found charity. It seeks God knowing that it has already been found by Him. It travels to Heaven realizing obscurely that it has already arrived."

~ Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island

WYD Special - Pre WYD (D-2) Reflection

WAITING...

Upon a friend's recommendation, we arrive at Manly Beach today to partake in their famous fish n chips. As we stroll along the beach after lunch, I was fascinated by the beauty of the vast sea before me. I decided to take a short rest, before whipping my camera out for some pictures.

Any photographer will tell you that apart from skills, taking a good picture requires patience. One needs to wait for the "right moment" to capture the essence of the subject, be it the atmosphere, the mood or the expression. And the wait can be exasperating, anxious, hopeful or joyful for different people. So, it is for me. Coming from a fast-paced country where "efficiency" is the essential survival skill, I got exasperated in trying to get a good shot. I can't wait for some "redundant" people to move away from my lens so that they don't "spoil" my photos. And then I have to wait for the waves to come in quickly so that I can get a good shot of some dudes surfing on their boards.

But strangely enough, nature sometimes have their own course to run. And some things just cannot be hurried. And we can put this "waiting time" to good use. Before the next onslaught of waves rushed in, I saw these surfers peddling themselves further into the ocean. Once the waves come, they would steady themselves on their boards to ride the waves. The same could be said for me as I waited for the arrival of WYD. To encounter Christ through the event, I got to wait.

As part of our WYD prep, we have already been warned by veterans of past WYD participants, that THERE WILL BE lots of waiting. Waiting for transport, food, etc. But waiting need not necessarily be wasted. Like the surfers, there's something to be learnt, to be put to good use.

And so, what happened during the course of WYD was that while queeuing for toilets, I took this "wasted time" to know my fellow pilgrims - to exchange faith stories.

So, the next time I deemed waiting as a waste of time, I need to review this thought again. Perhaps, I'm missing out something here. 'Cos if nature has a "waiting time" built into its course, then perhaps, I too need to weave that into my life as well.

And before I know it, dawn has arrived. Yes, we have waited for this moment. It's once again, time for me to take out that camera for another shot. And Thank You Lord, for allowing me to wait for this moment to encounter You in this beautiful sunset.

"I wait for the LORD,
My soul waits,

And in his word I hope;
My soul waits for the LORD
More than watchmen for the morning,
More than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
And with him is plenteous redemption.
And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

~ Ps 130 : 5 - 8