Hurry Up and Wait!

Whenever another driver zoomed by my father on the road, only to stop at the red light ahead of us, Dad would say, “Yeah buddy, hurry up and wait.”  His voice often echoes in my head when impatient drivers cut me off.  

But when we consider our lives as a whole, there are times to hurry up and there are times to wait.   Wisdom helps us decide when each is appropriate.  And both of them are on clear display in today’s readings.

When the Lord appears as three men (the Trinity) to Abraham and Sarah in the heat of the day, they rush into action to offer hospitality.  

“Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, ‘Quick, three measures of fine flour!  Knead it and make rolls.’  He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.  Then Abraham got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and he set these before the three men; and he waited on then under the tree while they ate.”  Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18: 6-10).  

They had already waited 24 years for God to fulfill his promise of a son; and the prospect of this happening seemed less likely with each passing year.  Now the 99-year-old Abraham and the 89-year-old Sarah were being told to wait one more year!  No wonder Sarah laughed! (cf. Genesis 18: 12)   

This reading is paired with another story of hospitality:  that which is offered to Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10: 38-42).  In this case the “Hurry up and wait” tension is personified by the two sisters.  Both appear to be “waiting upon” Jesus, offering him hospitality in two distinct ways.   “Mary sat beside the Lord, listening to him speak,” while Martha is “burdened with much serving.”  She says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving!  Tell her to help me.”  As Jesus sizes up the situation he notes that Martha is “anxious and worried about many things.”  Serving is important, but it should not make us anxious and worried.  In light of this, Jesus declares that “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”  

Hospitality can be shown by offering food and drink to your guest; but it can also be shown by offering your guest a listening ear.  This is especially true when your guest is the Lord, as seen in these two readings.

What about you?   When it comes to offering hospitality to the Lord, where do you usually land on the scale between “Hurry up” and “Wait”?  Do you sometimes “hurry up” to church, “hurry” through your prayers and slip out after Communion?  Or do you take some time to linger with the Lord after Communion, waiting upon Him, “listening to Him speak” in your heart?  

If you pray the Rosary, do you race through to get it done, or do you pray it from your heart?  Our Lady once told the visionaries in Medjugorje, “I would rather you pray one Hail Mary from your heart than an entire rosary not from your heart.”

A young Benedictine novice once asked an old holy monk to tell him about his prayer life.  The old monk said, “Well, it’s really quite simple:  I pray the Our Father.”  The novice asked, “Then may I ask, how many times do you pray the Our Father each day?”   The old monk replied, “Oh, only once.   It takes me all day to get through it.”

There are times to hurry up and times to wait.  But sometimes our urgency just gets us more quickly to a red light.  Jesus clearly has a preference, especially if being hurried makes us harried, anxious and worried.  He says, “Do not worry about your life and what you will eat, and about your body and what you will wear.  For life is more than food and the body more than clothing…  Instead, seek the kingdom [of God], and these things will be given you as well.  Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12: 22-32).  

We can experience a foretaste of God’s kingdom here and now when we sit beside the Lord like Martha, when we abide in Him like branches on a vine (cf. John 15: 1-17).  So, it’s okay to hurry up to Mass or to your private prayer time.  But once there, take the time to wait upon the Lord, to listen to Him speaking within your heart, and to realize that without Him you can do nothing (cf. John 15: 5).