Gifts already received

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Chakoian's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

Patience is not one of my virtues, as those closest to me know. I want answers now, clarity now, unresolved issues settled now, anxiety lifted now. Waiting "with patience" in our eschatological hope, as Paul directs us elsewhere, is not my strong suit.

My impatience is exacerbated by the pressures of time, and few times are as frenetic as the start of Advent. The demands of decorating the house and preparing Christmas Eve services, buying presents and attending numerous special events, sending cards and making special visits to the homebound...they become impossible. I feel desperately inadequate to do the basic things expected of me, a feeling that in turn threatens to distract me from the real point of the season.