The Ascension of Our Lord
/
Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53 / Rev. Gayle M.
Highness
Wait!
Sometimes, the hardest thing for us
to do is to do NOTHING but WAIT. There
are so many examples of how waiting can just about drive you crazy:
Waiting in line…
Waiting for a table at a restaurant…
Waiting for red lights to change,
especially if you’re late for something…
Waiting for the weather to be right
for planting…
And when it’s finally right and
you’re finally out there and you break down, waiting for that part or that
repairman…
When you have an agenda – someplace
you need to be, something you want to accomplish, waiting feels like being
stuck in the mud and spinning your wheels. You can almost feel the blood
pressure rising.
There are things that are even
harder to wait for, though:
Waiting to get in to see a
specialist when you know something is just not right, then
waiting for test results, then getting test results only to find out that more
tests and more waiting are required.
Waiting until you’re old enough to
drive, or to date, or to move out and be on your own…
Waiting to hear whether you got the
job for which you interviewed…
Waiting for a loved one to make a
decision or to see the light or get their life on track – however you describe
that time when you feel like you’re watching someone mess up his or her life
and there’s not a thing you can do about it – especially when their decisions
or their indecision affects YOUR life.
What is it about waiting that is so
difficult? Is it because we’re not in control? We think we see what needs to
happen, but we’re helpless to make it so – at the mercy of someone or something
else. Or maybe we DO have some control, but we don’t know where to exert it –
we’re waiting for a sign or a sense of direction, unsure where to turn.
In both the reading from Acts and
the gospel reading this morning, we hear Jesus telling his disciples to
wait. This is not two separate stories, it’s the same incident, reported at the very end of
Luke’s gospel and the very beginning of the book of Acts, which is really
Volume II of Luke’s writing.
In Acts: “[Jesus] ordered them not to leave
The disciples ended up waiting ten days for this to happen. I wonder if
it was hard for them. I wonder if they got antsy and annoyed and said things
like, “What are we waiting for anyway? What is supposed to happen?”
I can imagine the conversation:
“We’re waiting for what the Father promised to send. We’re supposed to receive
some kind of power.”
“Power for what?”
“Power to be his witnesses, I guess.
Remember how he taught us all about how the Scriptures reveal who he is – how
he is the Messiah that was promised? We’re supposed to be witnesses to that,
and to proclaim repentance and forgiveness and the coming of his Kingdom.”
“Why do we have to wait for power to
do that? I’m ready to go. Let’s get on
with it!”
“Well, he told us to wait, so we have
to wait.”
“But how long? Maybe we’re
supposed to go now. Maybe we’re just
being too scared.”
Next week, we’ll hear the story of
what happened at the end of their wait. They DID receive power and DID go and
witness and some VERY amazing things happened because, when the waiting was
finally over, they ACTED.
So … in this life of faith, this
journey of living as followers of Jesus, there is a time to WAIT and a time to
ACT. This was true for the disciples and
true for us as well.
Waiting for the Lord can be very
difficult, but then so can ACTING in Jesus’ name and so can knowing when to do
what. The serenity prayer captures this
difficulty, asking God for the “serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
So, what can we learn from these
readings today that might help us in those times of waiting, or those times of
discerning when to wait and when to move? Here are some insights:
First: steep yourself in God’s word. The last thing Jesus did before he left was
to lead a Bible study. Acts refers to “the
day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy
Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.”
And in the gospel, Luke reports
Jesus saying, “These are my words that I
spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the
law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be
fulfilled.”
Moses, the prophets and the psalms
comprised the entire Jewish Scripture – the bulk of the Old Testament as we
know it today. Then, it says, “He opened
their minds to understand the scriptures.”
When we’re waiting on the Lord, we
need to be reading and hearing and studying God’s Word.
Second: Pray and praise. It says in Luke’s
gospel that the disciples, “worshiped
him, and returned to
Next time you’re waiting for
something, try praying, “Thank you God for making me wait. I praise you for
this time of anticipation that you have given me. Thank you for whatever it is that you are
teaching me. Thank you for preparing me for what is about to
come.”
Third: Expect a revelation of
God’s power and presence when the time is right. The disciples had a huge assignment – be
witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ from
This is not something they could
have done in their own power or wisdom or authority. It was essential for them
to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
They HAD to recognize their own
limitations as well as the unlimited
POWER that God would put at their disposal.
This is the power the writer of the
letter to the Ephesians was talking about when he said:
“I pray that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your
heart enlightened, you may know … what is the immeasurable greatness of his
power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put
this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at
his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in the age to come.”
Whatever God calls us to do as
disciples of Jesus, we can fully expect God to provide
all the power and resources to carry it out. If we wait with the expectation of seeing God’s power in
action, we might be more likely to actually see it and it can make the waiting
a bit more fun.
So, while you wait for the Lord: …
immerse yourself in God’s Word; pray and praise, and expect a revelation of
God’s power.
Now, all this assumes that we ARE
waiting for the Lord. This assumes that
we understand ourselves to be wholly and completely yielded and given over to
serve as disciples of Jesus Christ in this world – that whatever we do in our
daily lives, regardless of how mundane or how magnificent, how secular or how
sacred, our desire is to live for the Lord, in the service of God’s Kingdom.
Otherwise, what’s the point of waiting OR acting?
The Scriptures are full of
encouragement for those who wait.
Psalm 27:14 - “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait
for the Lord!”
Psalm 130:5 - “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.”
Habakkuk 2:3 - “For there is still a vision for the
appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry,
wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.”
And the familiar words of Isaiah 40:31:
“But those who wait for the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
May the Lord bless you and sustain
you in your waiting and your working, and may the
peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds always in Christ Jesus. Amen.