Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life
Wait for it! This is Divine revolution!
Original publication: 11 March 2022 (Wordpress) | Adapted for republication: 1 November 2023
“You don’t understand now…but it will be clear enough to you later”
Context: READ John 13:1-17 - Jesus washes his disciples’ feet
John, named as the author of this gospel, offers several stories and accounts of Jesus Christ, like this one, which is best interpreted theologically and spiritually, rather than literally or historically. So, even the actual words attributed to Jesus in the gospel may not be his actual words, though they have value and meaning within the context of the overall style, intention, and purpose of the writer. And their significance carries significance far beyond the first audiences of this gospel; they speak to us who claim a similar faith allegiance to the Jesus who is represented by the gospel writer.
While there is much in this gospel story that has meaning and significance both then and now (e.g. Jesus’s invitation to his followers to choose the path of servant leadership), I want to focus on this element of ‘patience’ and ‘waiting’ that John draws attention to in this story of Jesus.
As Jesus prepares to wash his disciples’ feet, Simon Peter (one of his followers) protests: “Master, you wash my feet?” To which Jesus responds:
“You don’t understand now what I am doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” (13:7-8).
This story is instructive, for it seems to challenge our customary and dominant notions of leadership, spiritual practice, and human relationships at all levels. And it wants to challenge how we choose to respond to life’s moments with those understandings that may often be limited and limiting. Like Peter, we may want to impose our own thinking and feelings about something in the moment and prefer a different way or outcome because to us it seems so justified and apposite. Though, we are invited to acknowledge that such an understanding and interpretation of the immediate may not be what is best for us and others.
And so, like Peter, we are encouraged to take to mind and heart the words attributed to Jesus: “You don’t understand now…but it will be clear enough to you later.”
Waiting patiently… Jesus’ abiding invitation to each of us during our times of crises
I’m especially drawn to this invitation of Jesus during these times of crisis, uncertainty, confusion, and complexity that we as global citizens and people of faith are facing.
Right now, there are a few crises which seem to dominate the mainstream and alternative media newsfeeds: the Covid-19 pandemic (and its aftermath), the Ukraine war, and the Palestine-Israel conflict. You may wish to add others to this list.
Like Peter, we may (too) easily be impulsive, and with some bravado opt for an immediate response to these crises based on our own limited understanding and interpretation of what is going on, and what is best for everyone. Yet, Jesus invites us to remain patient and wait for the kind of clarity that may only come later.
In a reflection on this theme of ‘waiting patiently,’ the Henri Nouwen Society offers this daily meditation:
“The mother of expectation is patience. The French author Simone Weil writes in her notebooks:
‘Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.’ Without patience our expectation degenerates into wishful thinking. Patience comes from the word patior, which means ‘to suffer.’ The first thing that Jesus promises is suffering: ‘I tell you . . . you will be weeping and wailing . . . and you will be sorrowful.’ But he calls these birth pains. And so, what seems a hindrance becomes a way; what seems an obstacle becomes a door; what seems a misfit becomes a cornerstone. Jesus changes our history from a random series of sad incidents and accidents into a constant opportunity for a change of heart. To wait patiently, therefore, means to allow our weeping and wailing to become the purifying preparation by which we are made ready to receive the joy that is promised to us.” [my emphasis]
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” – John 13:7 (NIV)
[Source: Henri Nouwen Society| “Patience” Daily Meditation| 11 March 2022]
Dare we choose the way of Jesus during our times of present crises – for expectant patience and waiting - over hasty and easily misguided and misunderstood narratives and practices?
Allow me to share one of my poems which connects with our theme here:
Patience My being is easily trapped in distraction, My impulsive doing has too much haste, I want to push on from where I am, To arrive where I think the grass is greener. The circumstances of life can easily unsettle, Too quickly, I’m flustered to the core of being, There is annoyance, anxiety, and wanton action, I resist what is here for what I believe must be. Pressures bubble up within, without, I rush to ease the frothing strains, I want change right now without delay, I cannot bear to sit and wait. Patience is not a passive waiting, Patience leans in with a fuller acceptance, Present reality has messages to deliver, I slow down long enough to listen in. Patience graces me with an inner pause, Here I stand with a grounded poise, In this moment, I reconnect with breath, My life energy is allowed to freely flow. In patience with the trouble and the tedium, I open to the lessons that they teach, In solidarity with the suffering world, I embrace compassion and long-suffering. Patience is a gift of true wisdom, Each brings alignment as I journey on, Their promise is my growth into maturity, I dare to let them in and guide the way. © Roger Arendse – 20200508
You may be interested in an earlier substack of mine on this theme: “Prayer, Praxis and Patience” (3 April, 2023): https://rogerarendse.substack.com/p/prayer-praxis-and-patience
Wait for It – God’s Kairos!
During the uncertain, confusing, and fear-driven times of Covid-19 in mid-2020, I was inspired to write the poem: “Wait for it!” The poem was inspired by reflections on the prophet Habakkuk in the Old Testament, specifically chapter 2: 1-3.
‘Kairos’ referred to in the poem is the ancient Greek word used to describe “the right, critical and opportune time”. In the Scriptures, it expresses God’s opportune time.
While the Greek ‘chronos’ speaks of measurable time in months, days, minutes, and seconds; ‘kairos’ describes an appointed time in which God acts decisively. Habakkuk invites us, amidst alarming and disturbing evidence to the contrary, to see that God is ever present; God’s revolution is underway, and God’s justice, healing, and victory are assured!
Wait for it! Testing trials trigger all our senses, Prone are we to prickle and pulsate with alarm, Still, the viral days beat down relentless, And longed-for relief but a mocking charm. We swim upstream against the surge, Energy sapped, and masked by doubts, Weights of opinion challenge our courage, As each day they spin us on their roundabouts. Darkness wants to block out every semblance of light, Death grows ever bold to diminish the life, Many stutter and stammer in fear and flight, Many frustrated in fury, fuelled strife. These are troubling and traumatic days, We gasp for more of the fresh flowing air, Faith is battling against pressing forays, Hope is flailing in deepening despair. But, wait for it! The vision is sure, God’s Kairos is present, amidst the confusion, The Mystery holds sway, Life will endure, Wait for it! This is the Divine revolution! © Roger Arendse – 20200730
Reflection and Journalling Exercise
What role do faith and spirituality play in your life and actions during times of crises, confusion, and complexity?
How do you respond to Henri Nouwen’s daily meditation on ‘Patience?’
How easy is it for you right now to embody the practice of ‘patience’ and ‘waiting’ in the senses described by Nouwen, and expressed in the poem on ‘Patience’?
How do you find yourself responding to the poem, ‘Wait for it!’ and especially what is called for in the final stanza?
Thank you making the time to read this substack.
Kindly share with anyone who you feel may benefit from the content right now.
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