Year A Proper 23 Exodus 32:1-14 Matthew 22:1-14

“Hurry up and wait!” It’s a saying with which we are all acquainted, and for which we can all give good examples. Who hasn’t had to wait for the doctor to see them, or the veterinarian to see their pet? We show up on time – and we wait. Who hasn’t been “on hold” waiting to get through to a customer representative at any number of companies? There are endless examples of how our fast paced society can nonetheless bring our lives to a grinding halt as we are forced to “wait”, with no second option except to forfeit our appointment or our place in the telephone queue.

What do we do with this seemingly “wasted” time? Depending on where we are, or how we’ve been forced to wait, we can check our smartphone or tablet for the latest news. If we’re on hold on our phone at home, we can still read a magazine. We have many options, but depending on how long we’re waiting and how many times we’ve had this experience with this person or company in the past, eventually our minds start seeking alternate solutions.

We begin to wonder if there isn’t a better or at least quicker doctor with whom we could consult. We start trying to recall other companies that provide the same service by phone as the one with which we’re currently “on hold”. Some of us go so far as to take back control, march out of the doctor’s office (or drive away if we’re waiting in our car), or hang up the phone, to pursue a more satisfactory alternative. Sometimes a change is a wise decision, but more often as not, a decision made because one is annoyed and tired of waiting is a decision that leads to actions one will later regret.

What do the people of God do when they feel have been waiting too long?

Moses went up on the mountain and came back with his face aglow. Last week, we heard how the people feared the flashes of lightning and bellowing thunder when God spoke to them. They begged Moses to speak in God’s place. The people heard the Ten Commandments and pledged to obey all that God had said.

Then Moses went back up to get more instructions and the cloud of the Lord’s Presence covered the mountain like a devouring fire. The Israelites were happy to wait and hear what Moses had to say. They sat at the foot of the mountain and waited. And waited! They were at a standstill in the desert waiting for Moses as they depended completely on him. In faith, they had followed him. In faith, they committed to obey the word he said God had given him on the mountain. And he had been gone for over a month.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

Today, we find the children of Israel still waiting for Moses’ return from Mount Sinai with the Law. As they wait, they become increasingly anxious and impatient. They are in the wilderness – that space between Egypt and the Promised Land. The people call Aaron to do something – now.

Our first reading describes Aaron as making a rash decision under pressure. The people’s fear – that Moses’ delay means he is not returning with the word of God – causes Aaron to succumb to the community’s anxiety. He yields to the temptation to create a false substitute for God – something bright and shiny and new – something that looks strong, and most importantly, something they can see, touch, and know is there with them right now.

We know how they felt. When patience runs low and everything seems to be about waiting, especially now as we wait for a vaccine against the coronavirus, we want something good, and strong, to happen now, so we can feel better and feel the our lives are under our control. But are we ever, really, the ones in control?

Aaron made the golden calf for the children of Israel. The problem was and is that there is not and cannot be a substitute for God. God may be intangible, but God is also irreplaceable. The golden calf may calm God’s people in their anxiety, may bring Aaron peace from their complaining, but it is not a peace that can last.

The people of God had a choice. They could have resisted the urge to make an idol and remained in their discomfort, not knowing when Moses would return from the mountain and letting their faith drive them to continue working toward inheriting the Promised Land. But because of their impatience, they chose otherwise.

No golden calf can speak to and inspire God’s people, and no quick fix can ease anxiety and discomfort. Besides, at times, we need to sit in our discomfort, which as we all know, especially now in this time of pandemic,, is not an easy thing to do.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us another parable, the one about the unprepared wedding guest. Much in the way God dealt with the Egyptians, an angry king has already destroyed the village of people who mistreated his servants and refused his invitation to his son’s wedding banquet. A new group has been invited, just ordinary folks from off the streets.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.

It seems that, having accepted the king’s invitation, even people from off the street had the presence of mind to prepare properly for the banquet – all but one. What could have possessed this guest to be so rude, for it was extremely rude to show up without wearing the proper garment. Perhaps this guest could only think of themselves, of going to the feast. They were impatient and in a hurry to get there. No time, as they saw it, to be properly prepared. But the king saw someone who was internally so self-centered they did not display the external respect that was required. It was a case of their inside attitude showing in their outside appearance, of impatience overruling common sense and wisdom.

We all need to learn to take time to wait, time to reflect, time to be prepared. In this time of pandemic, when we are all forced to wait, when we have been forced to set aside our daily life rituals and rhythms, we can either become impatient and even reckless, or we can see this time as an opportunity to be more intentional and more creative, a time to develop new rituals.

There is a healing, a new wisdom that can arise from fearful and anxious times. Life in this time of waiting offers us the opportunity to be intentional about the way we worship and communicate with God. We can be intentional about our needs and also the needs of others. Life in waiting offers us the opportunity for growth and transformation. There is great spiritual treasure to be found in waiting – the practice of cultivating patience. It’s a practice that raises faith to a profound trust that God is working and moving even when things seem to be going nowhere. And that God’s good time is the right time.

In our impatience and worry, our relationships and our health suffer. Sometimes anxiety and uncertainty cause us to seek gods we can control and worship idols that we choose. This is always a mistake.

As both saints and sinners, we live between brokenness and wholeness, between suffering and joy, between focusing on ourselves and focusing on God. It is in these in-between times that we can feel uncertain, frustrated, disappointed, or frightened. It is in these times that we can become impatient. Yet, it is also in these times that we can find encouragement in the words of St. Paul, when he says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

When we are feeling frustrated and impatient these days we need to remember that even in this pandemic-driven time, God is with us – present in the changes and chances of our lives. Present when we are driven to weeping and gnashing our teeth. Present even when we wander off to false gods and worship idols God is always attuned to His people – always intimately aware of what is going on in our lives. At all times and in all places God is present, patiently offering forgiveness, comfort, and the peace that passes all understanding – the peace that guards our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of Christ Jesus our Lord. Take a deep breath and accept God’s love and, even in our troubled times, be at peace.

Let us pray for peace – in the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.