When, God?

April 28, 2008

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

So what are you waiting for?

During a recent car trip from Minnesota, my younger daughter Madelyn had an urgent need to use the bathroom.  We were several miles from the next exit, so we told her she had to wait.  “Try singing a song,” we said to her, hoping to distract her.  So she sang that classic children’s song form the church musical The Music Machine in which the old, plodding Herbert the Snail sings to his fellow critters:

     “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry.
    When you get impatient, you only start to worry.
    Remember, remember, that God is patient, too
    And think about the other times that others had to wait for you.”    

Story after story, the Bible teaches the value of patience.  Think of the numerous times biblical people wondered, “When, God?”

    The slaves in Egypt:  “When, God?  When will we be free?”
    The wandering Israelites:  “Are we there yet?”
    The twelve tribes:  “God, when can we have a king?”
    The exiles:  “Is it time to go home?”
    The Jews:  “When will the Messiah get here?”

Such biblical yearning echoes common cries today.  Over time, we drift toward that fine line between impatience and desperation.  You’ve heard these before, perhaps from your own mouth:

    When will this housing slump be over?
    When will gas prices drop again?
    When will this war be over?
    When will my family find peace?
    When will I find health and prosperity again?
    When will there be peace and joy in my life?

Turning our gaze toward this Sunday’s scripture, we discover that the book of Acts opens with a similar sentiment.  The disciples, still itchy for Jesus to build a national theocracy and overthrow Rome, repeated the question, “When, Lord?”

     “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus’ response is equally telling and timeless:  “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

For Jesus, the best answer for impatience is empowerment.  He did not ask the disciples to cling to hollow promises, wishful thinking, or a hope that was passive or powerless.   Their future would not be charted by feeble solo efforts or by a God who would do it all for them.  Their hope was anchored in a partnership between a faithful God and an empowered people, co-creating a future together.  They would make it happen, but only through the power of God’s Spirit at work among them.

This Sunday, our sermon series on living the resurrection pauses to consider the sure and certain nature of Christian hope.  In times like these, when all seems lost, the world churns in chaos, and our future seems bleak, we cling to a hope that is neither wishful or weak.  It is a hope that empowers us to be part of God’s transformative work in our lives, in our communities, and in the world.  

Thus, the mindset for a disciple of Christ, is not “When, Lord?”  It is, “Let’s do it, Lord!”

So, what are you waiting for?

Grace and Peace,

Magrey