Day 9

Monday, December 5

Steve Weibley

Every year my friend Michael sent letters to prepare his church for Advent. Wise words like “Cards: If they are not fun to send, don’t send them! If they are fun to send, send as many as are fun. Then stop!” Or, “Ignore other people’s expectations (It’s not their birthday!).” Along the same line, another pastor wrote of Psalm 111 that it:

Helps us cut right to the chase about what’s truly important in a world of multiple priorities and demands for our time, attention, and pocketbook. This ancient song encourages us to stop, take stock of the amazing attributes of the Creator of the Universe, and then align our lives to walk faithfully in respectful wonder-following [1].

These are two people whose writings have reminded me of not missing joy in my wait.

The words of John, pastor to first century churches in what is now Turkey, similarly tug at my own heart. Ephesus First Church worked hard for the Word and had endured. But what had been First was no longer FIRST. And that is how I again head into a new season, asking, “Have I abandoned the love I had at first?” Life is busy. The distractions are many and effective. But in those things are not, as William Cowper wrote, “the soul refreshing view of Jesus and his Word” [2]. Am I waiting for the return of Jesus as if Jesus really is my first love?

I recently heard Bono reference Eliot’s Four Quartets: “The End is where we start from.” I think that’s what John meant: it all leads back to looking first to Jesus, the “End” and, in repentance, hearing what the Spirit says above the distraction around me. And then, in this season of waiting, leaning forward in hope for the time when waiting is over and every precious promise is realized.

1. Blezard, Sharron R. “The Good Life: Psalm 111 and Stewardship.” Stewardship of Life Institute, 1 Feb. 2015, stewardshipoflife.org/2015/01/the-good-life-psalm-111-and-stewardship/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2022.

2. From William Cowper’s Hymn “O For a Closer Walk With God”

Steve Weibley, a retired pastor of 35 years, lives with his wife Deb in Clinton and currently teaches Latin, drama, and music at the Imago School, a 47 year old Classical Christian School in Maynard.