Clergy Letter -  March 2010

Dear friends

Have you noticed how some words seem to go out of fashion? I'm not just talking about archaic words such as "thou", or even recent words like "public conveniences", "soccer" or "sin". 

A case in point is the word "wait".  We live in an age that expects instant results.  A recent  credit card advert brazenly claimed to "take the waiting out of wanting".  Small wonder that we get short shrift when we tell our children or grandchildren to "wait and see" what's for pudding!

But God does want us to wait sometimes - for all sorts of reasons.  Many of us will have tired this year of waiting for spring to appear, but the seasons themselves speak of God's timely rule over His creation. It doesn't always suit our time-demands, but is none the less spectacular for that.   God often requires us to wait in order to see Him act.  The psalmist writes: "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me...." (Ps 40:1).  "Blessed are all who wait for Him!", declares Isaiah the prophet. (Is 30:18). 

Part of the reason why we are such a debt-ridden society is that we have tried to "take the waiting out of wanting".  When we tried to buy piggy banks for our grandchildren last Christmas, none of the local toyshops stocked any.  We cave in so easily when the children, like us, want something NOW.

Lent is designed as a period of waiting, waiting for God to teach us and speak to us of His plans. Giving things up is fine, but let's not forget that it's supposed to enable us to allow God more time for His characteristics to permeate our lives.  In a few weeks, in the build-up to Easter, we'll be remembering Jesus' plea to his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Stay here.  Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". And we usually prove to be no better at waiting than they did. 

But if we could just learn to wait, we should see God's plan begin to unfold for us.  And it would be all the more special!

Yours in His timing

Peter Gibbs

Vicar of St Paul's Canford Heath

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