Read Psalm 25; Nehemiah 9:6-15; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Samuel Beckett’s 1953 play “Waiting for Godot” is a tragicomedy in two acts. In the play two acquaintances, Vladimir and Estragon, wait on the road under the branches of a leafless tree. As they wait, the two men have an inane conversation that seems to lack any particular significance. The overall feel for the play is one of futility and absurdness as the two men wait for the titular character “Gadot”, a man whom they are unsure if they have ever met before, or even if he will ever arrive. Amid the two acts of the play, there is only ever one scene, at the foot of the threadbare tree, and only three additional characters make an appearance; The traveler Pozzo together with his slave Lucky who is bound and led around by a rope, and a boy who announces himself as a messenger for Gadot. The boy states that Gadot, “will not arrive today, but surely tomorrow.” By the end of the second act, it is apparent that Vladimir and Estragon are directionless without hope, and that Gadot will never arrive. The two men determine they may as well hang themselves, but even in this, they find disappointment for they lack any rope.
The quality of the play, as is its meaning, is up for interpretation. Beckett, the author, declined to give a clear interpretation, stating, “Why people have to complicate a thing so simple I can’t make out.”
Yet the overall tone of the play is evocative of the way the world often seems to view our lives here on earth lacking an Advent perspective; A view that tends to be atheistic at worst or agnostic at best. Many have interpreted the play to be about waiting for God, unsure if he is going to show himself. If God exists then he surely isn’t to be relied upon or going to show himself. In this perspective, the advent of God is never going to manifest. The general perception is one of unguided directionlessness without any future hope. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:32:
“”What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.””
Now Paul in this passage to the Corinthians is talking about the resurrection, but for the believer, resurrection hope and advent hope walk hand in hand. In the Old Testament, those who trusted in God’s promise looked forward to the promised coming of the Messiah. David writes in our Psalm for today:
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.” ~Psalm 25:4-5
Unlike Vladimir and Estragon, David does not wait idly along the roadside for someone who will never come. “Indeed,” David says in verse 3, “none who wait for you shall be put to shame”. David has advent hope as he patiently waits for the coming of God’s promises. Instead of being directionless, he asks that he may be led on God’s path, in faith that God will keep his covenant promises just as he had for the Israelites in the exodus from Egypt. (Nehemiah 9:6-15). As they had waited for the Lord to come to rescue them and he had led them to salvation by a cloud of smoke and fire, so too David asks God to lead him, waiting in humble anticipation.
For this David declares, he will “wait all day long.”
And so Israel held on to advent hope again as they waited for his salvation when they were exiled in Babylon, and again they waited for his coming while under Roman occupation, and when Christ came in his first advent, for those who waited, he did not let them be put to shame but delivered them to salvation from their sins.
For those of us caught in between the already and not yet of Christ’s first advent and the next, we also have this hope as we wait in humble anticipation of Christ’s second coming. Paul describes this anticipation as being like a woman who experiences the pains of birth.
As Deborah and I begin preparing for the birth of our seventh child in a few months I can feel the anticipation growing. My wife’s pregnancies tend to be fairly straightforward and unproblematic, but I can’t help watching and looking for the signs that will tell me that labor is coming closer or about to start. There are many patterns common to women in the beginning stages of labor; many begin to exhibit “nesting” patterns, and there are small physical signs that begin to develop. My wife has her own set of patterns that I have learned to look out for. As each new labor sign presents itself I can feel the hopeful excitement and anticipation grow, and Deborah and I often high-five and encourage one another because, with each new sign, we know that shortly we will be announcing our new arrival.
Paul describes the coming of Jesus as that of a woman who has labor pains unexpectedly come upon her.
“For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!” 1 Thessalonians 5: 2-3
Paul gives this statement as a warning, “Be prepared, be ready!” There will be signs of the impending arrival but just like my wife and I watch for signs of coming labor, the Christian should be looking for signs of the coming of Christ.
For the unprepared these “signs” may be cause for worry and concern, maybe even fear. Like Vladimir and Estragon, the world interprets these things as reasons for despair and doubt, but for those of us who look forward to the coming of our Redeemer, it should bring us hope. Much like Israel as a people in exile looked for the signs of the coming Messiah, faith brings us hope as we wait for that same Messiah’s coming return.
Unfortunately, the word “hope” in the common vernacular seems to have lost the strength that it holds when spoken of in the scriptures.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith, we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” ~ Hebrews 11: 1-3
This kind of hope is one that is sure. It is a hope that knows that God will keep his promises. For those without faith, hope is simply a wish. In the sense of “I wish this were true” and so when signs of adversity begin, when the labor pains of Christ’s return begin, those without faith are left wishing that things would get better, that the bad times will come to an end. Look how Paul directly contrasts this with the hope that faith brings:
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” ~ Romans 5: 1-5
Websters’ dictionary defines hope this way:
“Full Definition of hope
intransitive verb
1: to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true
transitive verb
1: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment
2: to expect with confidence : TRUST
Definition of hope (Noun)
1a: desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment
also : expectation of fulfillment or success
b: someone or something on which hopes are centered
c: something desired or hoped for”
The writers of the New Testament lived and wrote with this hope of advent. They saw the signs that pointed to the coming return of Jesus and excitedly pointed to them because they knew God was trustworthy and that He keeps His promises. These believers would encourage one another, telling one another to be prepared. We are not waiting aimlessly for a person who will never come. Advent is the season when our hopes begin to solidify into steadfast assurances. As we start seeing the patterns and signs of His coming, let us encourage one another because we know that these are simply the labor pains before the arrival.
Blessings.
Jory
Reformed in Tualatin 