HOW TO WAIT?

If God is the One who will come, He is also the One who always comes. How can we wait for Him? Jesus, in the eschatological parables (for example, the parable of the ten virgins, the talents, the master of the house) (cf. Mt 25:1-30; 24:36-51), highlights a first attitude encapsulated in a verb: gregoréite, meaning “be vigilant” (cf. Mt 25:13). We could say that the face of the believer is that of an alert, vibrant man, incarnate in his time and who, even within the complexity of history, recognizes the signs of God’s presence, of his divine coming. But that’s not all. Paul highlights the emotional tone, if you will, of this waiting: apokaradokía (cf. Phil 1:19; Rom 8:19), a term that indicates the stretching out of the neck in search of the loved one. We can break down apokaradokía into apo (separation) and karadokía which comes from karà (head). Apokaradokía, then, emphasizes the intense concentration of the gaze, without distractions, toward a specific focal point. In our case, the believer keeps his gaze fixed on Jesus, on his word, and this in a patient and loving awaiting his return in glory. But the apostle offers us a second important term: epekteinómenos (cf. Phil 3:13), used at Olympia to describe the muscular tension and the spring of the athlete in the act of leaving the platform (ek), thus forgetting what is behind him, to concentrate entirely on the goal (epí). Paul thus indicates the full dynamism of the Christian faith in view of the risen Lord. The future is therefore not just a time that lies ahead, but the space of an outburst of love, as we have said; an outburst that must be completed, certainly, but which for the Fathers is eternal, as God is eternal and infinite. Gregory of Nyssa will speak of this. It is a question of epektasis, or growth of the soul in God, or, if we prefer, of the capacity—thanks to Christ—to increasingly receive divine life. This dynamic, as we have said, is infinite. The Christian, within this horizon, knows how to renew the time of history, thus elevating it to a time inhabited by the Presence. This saves us from the supine acceptance of the current ideological trends that so negatively

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey