waiting in hope
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5–6, NIV)
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”” (Romans 15:7–9, NIV)
Advent is a time of waiting. What does Psalm 130 tell us we are to wait for? How would you describe the writer’s attitude of waiting? Is he impatiently waiting? Does he just wait for a short time and then give up? Does he wait without any hope that his waiting will be over?
(Judy Olson writes) Being a mother, I often watched over my children especially if they were ill; or even when waiting for them to be born, I waited with watchful expectation. Having been through those occasions, I can almost identify with the watchman--especially a night watchman. Long hours with no companion; needing to keep alert to sound an alarm if need be; praying with your eyes open--these all are concerns of a watchman.
Have you ever had the job of watchman? Have you ever watched through the night with a sick child or other adult? What was that like for you? How does this kind of waiting help us understand the waiting of Advent, or of scripture?
Are you good at waiting? Does it depend on whom or what you are waiting for?
Gentiles are any people who do not have Jewish heritage. Why would it have been hard for Jews to accept Gentiles and vica-versa? According to Paul, why are we to accept others?
Today the Jewish-Gentile divide is not as pronounced as it was in Paul’s time. What are some other things that divide Christians today? Are there non-doctrinal things today that are hard for you to accept? Are there things that we just shouldn’t accept?