Dear Everyone,

We are embarking on the second week of Advent. I’ve really enjoyed the first week of readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “God is in the Manger,” along with your comments. Thank you for reading with me and for sharing your thoughts.  I think of Advent, like Lent, as a kind of journey and I’m very grateful to you for journeying with me.

This week, I was struck again by Bonhoeffer’s wisdom. His reflections are always insightful, but this week his examination of both waiting and silence caught my attention. I am notoriously impatient and have been so my entire life. (The Professor and I share this attribute) Bonhoeffer reminds us that to be a Christian is to wait. At this point in our history, we live between the resurrection and the New Jerusalem. We live in gratitude and in hope, but there is much that is “not yet.” And so we must wait. We must be patient, even as we are impatient with suffering, tragedy, war, and death. 

Bonhoeffer also meditates on silence:  “Silence ultimately means nothing but waiting for God’s word and coming away blessed by God’s word.”  This remark struck me, particularly in its relation to waiting. The more impatient I am, the more I have to say. But when I’m impatient or cross, I’m not listening.  Bonhoeffer observes that the silence of the Christian is a “listening silence.” At least, it should be.

We wait in hope. We listen in silence. We have faith the time will come and so will the answers. And in the meantime, we are part of a wide and generous community of fellow travellers who wait and listen with us and to us. Let’s be sure to remember one another in our prayers, and let’s also remember those in our community who are ill.

Peace be with you all. I welcome your comments below.

May your Advent continue to be blessed,

SR

www.sylvainreynard.com