The Waiting

“After [Jesus’] suffering, he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.” (Acts 1:3-4)

I don't know about you, but when I got word this past Monday that our Bishop asked that we not gather for worship until at least June 22nd, I was disappointed and more than a bit frustrated! While I totally understand the reasoning from a health perspective, and certainly don't want us to resume worship until it is safe to do so, nevertheless after nearly six weeks in quarantine I was (and perhaps like you, still am) impatient for life to return to "normal."

The problem is:  more than likely, "normal" will never be the same again.  Like our world after Pearl Harbor, or after the assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr, and RFK in the 1960s, or even after the attacks of 9-11, today’s health crisis will probably usher in all sorts of changes in how we see and do life in our world, some of which we cannot yet even begin to comprehend.  Sure, as Christians we know that God is with us in the midst of this change. But what does it all mean?  And how do we prepare for it?

In many ways, I think this is exactly what Jesus' Disciples may have been feeling and experiencing during the days immediately after the first Easter Sunday.  I’m sure that they, too, longed for life to return to “normal.” But for them, as for us, “normal” would never be the same again – their lives (and indeed, the history of the world itself) would be forever changed by the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

And also like us, they, too, experienced Christ’s presence in those days.  Yet even there, the scripture above reminds us that Jesus himself set boundaries on what they could and could not do during this period of time.  Namely, like us not being allowed to leave our homes, they weren’t to leave Jerusalem, but instead to “wait” for the promise of the Father, which we later learn would come in the form of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

So, all of this got me thinking about the “waiting” which is the inevitable characteristic of all “in-between” times in life:  for the Disciples, the 40 days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday; for a pregnant family, the 9 months between when they find out about the pregnancy and when the baby is actually born; and for all of us today, the time between the beginning of shelter-in-place restrictions and their end.

And it occurred to me that times of waiting are most always times of preparation for what comes next!   As the Disciples were waiting in Jerusalem, God was preparing them for being sent out as missionaries after Pentecost.  As a pregnant family waits for the birth of their child, God prepares them for how their lives will be different after the birth.  And for us today, if we allow Him to do so, I believe that God wants to use this time of waiting (where we are all cooped up in our homes) as a time of preparation for the “new” life that will follow.

After all, when this is all over, we’ll probably be doing any number of things in new ways:  school; concerts; sporting events; shopping; plays; and even church will be different!  But even though God is not the cause of this crisis, perhaps God wants to use it to remind us what is really important and essential in life and what’s not, and how we can live differently in order to truly prioritize life around those vital things.

No, very few of us like to “wait.”  We are, instead, typically a very impatient people, because we live in an “instant” world where everything can be had immediately.  Yet, without the preparation that takes place during times of waiting, we can’t really face the “new” realities that life often throws at us. 

So, rather than lamenting being cooped up, or spending time trying to find someone to blame for it, perhaps we should instead ask: “God, what are you trying to teach and prepare me for during this time of waiting?”  When each of us can truthfully answer that, then maybe… just maybe, we’re finally ready to leave our quarantine and face a new world!  Remember, God loves you and I do, too!