“I will watch and wait for you, O God...” Psalm 130:6

This Sunday we consider an important theme of Advent: waiting. Advent, the first season of the Christian year, includes the understanding that part of the spiritual life is waiting upon the Lord. As we rush to the end of the year with our heads full of all we have to finish or yet prepare, Advent invites us to wait. But that doesn’t exactly mean stop.

Martin Luther was once asked what he would do if the world ended tomorrow. He said, “I would plant my apple tree.” Talk about a contrast. What good is it to plant something if the world comes to an end? But Luther’s words were not about doing foolish things. He probably said that because he actually had a tree to plant, something that produced food. It reflected the way he lived, doing things that produced life. If his actions were motivated only by the guarantee that what he did would make a difference, he would have probably stopped long ago. Instead, he believed that history was not heading toward a futile ending. He believed God was in charge, and so even if he thought the world would end tomorrow, he would live today like he always did, doing good regardless of the outcome.

Living hopefully even when tempted to believe it doesn’t matter? Could that be, at least a part, of what spiritual waiting looks like?

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