On Thursday of this week, Ascension Day will be celebrated. As we know, Jesus ascends into heaven a full 10 days prior to the fulfillment of his promise that the disciples would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. In the meantime, they had to wait. Living in the “meantime” between promise and fulfillment, an end and a new beginning, is difficult. Let’s face it, waiting is hard. Like us in our waiting, the disciples must have been anxious, worried, and even apprehensive. Initially the disciples are cautioned against two unproductive forms of waiting.
The first comes from Jesus. They ask him when the kingdom will be restored to Israel. In essence, what they are asking for is complete knowledge. But Jesus cautions them. The whole picture is not for human beings to know – and with our finite minds, we probably would not completely understand anyway. Within our waiting, we must acknowledge we won’t see the whole picture. Life is not about perfect understanding… it is about perfect trust.
The second caution comes from the angels, or the men in white robes: “Don’t just stare into heaven.” In other words, there is more to productive waiting than simply waiting for God to do everything for us. So there is more to our waiting on God’s activity in our lives than doing nothing. Just because God works on God’s own time and in God’s own way doesn’t mean that we are left to do nothing. There is the work of preparation. There is the work of opening ourselves to receive God’s guidance and respond to God’s activity.
In Acts 1:12-24, the disciples offer a model of faithful waiting.
The first aspect of the disciples’ waiting is that they remained in community. Paul Tournier, a Swiss physician who did extensive work in pastoral counseling said, “There are two things that we cannot do alone. One is to be married and the other is to be Christian.” The disciples didn’t return to their homes or go their own way. They remained together in the Upper Room.
Secondly, they “constantly” devoted themselves to prayer. Pray? Yes. Pray frequently? We can work at it. Pray constantly? That seems impossible. However, if we understand the posture of prayer, we can see the possibility. The collection of Brother Lawrence’s teachings on prayer give us insight – practicing the presence of God. Prayer is not simply a listing of our wants and needs. It is communication with God. This includes our speaking, but also our listening. Being in constant prayer is an openness of spirit that enables us to commune with the presence and power of God.
Finally, the disciples began preparatory work in their waiting. It wasn’t that they rushed out to start a new religious movement. It wasn’t that they began being apostles (those who are sent) prior to receiving the Holy Spirit. Neither did they just sit around and do nothing. Rather, they filled Judas’ place so that the Twelve would be complete.
Wherever we are in life, there are places of waiting in our existence. Some are waiting for a new beginning in ministry. Some are waiting to see how the church emerges from its pandemic existence. Many are waiting in the midst of the shifting within our denomination. Some are waiting in the midst of personal, family or community uncertainties. Waiting is a part of living. However, we need not wait in fear or despair.
We wait in the dawn of Easter. We wait while trusting in a faithful God. We wait in expectation. We wait in hope. Why? Because the Spirit does come upon these disciples and followers of Jesus. The Spirit comes at Pentecost and the church is born on that day.
So if you’re waiting today, or if you know of someone who is in the “meantime” between an ending and a new beginning or between promise and fulfillment remember this: God knows the situation. God cares about those involved. God will come. God will act. And there will be new courage, new power, new beginnings, and new futures.
If you would like to view past editions of Moments with Mike, follow this link: https://corridordistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/