expectation

The arrival of three snow days - which means the schools will not re-open until the New Year - has me a little worried. Hopefully the snow will continue to be interesting enough to keep our four excited-by-Christmas children occupied. Otherwise we are in trouble because there is nothing outside except snow......twenty inches or so.

Most children are not patient in the week before Christmas - try as they might their excitement often gets the better of them and their behavior can nose-dive. But, as adults, we are, hopefully, more patient, and hopefully spreading our focus across both physical and spiritual expectation.

I love the line in Psalm 123

"As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, •
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress....."

Then it goes on to say this is how we look to God. Notice the expectation is that of a servant not a slave - someone who loves their master or mistress and wants the best for them. It is the sort of attentiveness which both anticipates and obeys - it wants only the best for the one served.

This attentiveness is something which we have become used to in Advent as we journey towards Bethlehem - our attentiveness is of those who love to be where we are serving Christ. Our attentiveness anticipates and responds to God's love and God's will. The mixture of watching and selflessness which a servant might exhibit is something which we would do well to note.

Jesus was servant of all, He washed feet and helped the hopeless and unknown. The idea of being a servant is hard for us because it involves letting go of so much and realigning our priorities but this is what we are called to do - watch for the hand of the God, listen for the coming of Christ.