First Sunday of Advent

I find myself coming back to this reading again and again over the past few days:

Waiting with Patience
by Henri Nouwen from Bread for the Journey

"How do we wait for God? We wait with patience. But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise. It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.

"The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior, which means "to suffer". Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God's glorious coming."


等候與忍耐
(Waiting with Patience…by Henri Nouwen from Bread for the Journey)

“我們應如何等候神？”我們以忍耐等候，但等候不代表被動，耐心的等候不只是等巴士到站，等雨停或太陽初昇，而是有力的盼望，努力的活出當下，好讓我們發現我們所等待的那一位，所顯示的印証。

忍耐的拉丁字源代表“受苦”，忍耐等候代表我們雖受苦於當下，卻堅毅的活著，等待那己撒於地土的種子，茁壯破土而出；忍耐等候，也表示我們留意眼下週遭所遇之事，讓我們可注視神所發出的第一道榮光。

(Chinese translation by The Oaks)