Nothing to linger over in book about waiting

By Martha Thomsen and ChristianWeek | March 2, 2010

In Sacred Waiting David Timms highlights five biblical characters—Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus—as individuals who waited, and in doing so, endured, trusted, learned, worshipped and obeyed, respectively. He then goes on to discuss five periods of waiting in the church calendar—Advent, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and Kingdom. He introduces each chapter with a prayer and concludes it with questions for group discussion.

My appetite was whetted when I read Timms' introduction comparing the believer's experience of waiting on God to a waiter serving someone in a diner. He suggests that sacred waiting means, in essence, to be present with God and to serve Him.

But I quickly grew disappointed with the book. First, it has the feel of a good outline written over a biblical text, as opposed to a book that begins with a biblical text and unfolds into a good outline.

Secondly, the content lacks freshness and repeats concepts that have often been written and spoken about, albeit in a different form. Words seem to come more "out of the head" than out of the sacred waiting of which the author writes. Without that waiting, words become deficient of the energizing power which bridges the gap between intellectual truth and experiential truth.

Thirdly, although Timms' style is easy to read, precise and witty, it does not call one to pause and to ponder, to stop and think about these things. Even the sentences reverberate with a rapid and staccato effect and seem to rush the reader along.

Additionally, the layout of the book suggests "rush," geared for those who have only a few minutes to read: not too many words per page; sidebars; bold subtitles.

With the flavour and appearance of fast food, Sacred Waiting seems to contradict its own message.