Homily for school children for the Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
I really don't like waiting, do you? I don't like
it, but it seems like I do so much of it. What are some examples of where you have to wait?........
Dr. Seuss talks about waiting. Who likes Dr. Seuss?....One
of my favorite Dr. Seuss books is called “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” and it’s
about all the places that you can go to – but there are some dangers, too! In
the story he talks about what happens when you might get confused and then end
up in a place called “The Waiting Place”. He describes it as a useless place
where people are just waiting.
[From “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”]:
“The Waiting Place…for
people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to do
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to
go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to
snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle
Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of
pants
or a wig with curls, or Another
Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
We all have to spend some time in this "waiting
place" that Dr. Seuss talks about, but I don't think it has to be a
useless place. While we are waiting we can make good use of our time. What can
we do? Well, we could read a good book or call a friend on the phone. We could
make a list of things we need to do today or, we could even study for a Math
test. Well, maybe that's going a bit too far, but there are many things we can
do besides just waiting.
And that’s the lesson of Advent. Advent means "to
come." Do you know what's coming? Of course, Christmas is coming. This is
an exciting time, but it may also be a difficult time of waiting -- waiting for
the day when you can open the gifts that you see under the tree. What can we do
to make this time of waiting for Christmas more than just a useless time in the
waiting place? Well, we can think about the true meaning of Christmas. We can
think about Jesus and his love. We can think about giving instead of receiving.
We can enjoy all of the beautiful music and the decorations of the season like
the Advent wreath or setting up the Nativity in our homes. When we do those
things, we will find joy in the waiting place.
We can also do what Jesus did in the Gospel. You heard
that Jesus helped people by curing their illnesses and feeding them when they
were hungry. We can also make use of our time while we are waiting by helping
the people around us like Jesus did. We can be kind to them, we can do good
things for people who have less than we do, and we can always pray for everyone
who is hurting or sad.
