In our contemporary society in which information lies immediately at our fingertips or even at our voice command and we can instantly communicate our wishes in a variety of ways, we humans have become more and more…impatient. This quickly leads to frustration that our needs and desires are not being met. Impatience then causes stress, often making us feel more…impatient.
How do we break this unhealthy cycle? And it is unhealthy. Stress caused by impatience can cause a variety of emotional, mental, and physical symptoms, such as irritability, prolonged anger, emotional distress, unhealthy triggers, breakouts, and even cardio-vascular issues, not to mention behavioral issues toward others.
Do you honk your horn if the driver in front of you takes more than a second to start moving? Do you feel your blood rising when you stand in a long line at a restaurant or snack shack? Do you retort under your breath when your doctor is running late? Do you feel unjustly slighted when a movie or play begins 10 minutes late? Do you throw up your hands in anger if your computer begins updating right in the middle of your essay?
These are some of the milder forms of frustration that many feel in their daily lives due to impatience. But larger ones loom.
Do you avoid investing in deep friendships or other kinds of relationships, because of the time it may take to cultivate them? Do you bail frequently on new ventures because it’s taking awhile to receive your desired results? Do you neglect to cultivate time with God in your day, because the time you take in silent meditation impedes your ability to rush on to your next big thing?
As 21st century humans, we feel we are owed immediate gratification. But sometimes waiting makes the difference between life or death.
A week or two ago, I re-saw the theatre play about the Diary of Anne Frank. I thought about how long the Frank family had hidden in their secret enclosure –two years! How excruciating it must have been to wait on edge for all of that time. Although they were eventually discovered, many others were not. Others hid too, often for long periods. Some gratefully were rescued. No matter what, the waiting was hard. Waiting is always hard.
Those recovering from illnesses know too that you can’t rush healing. Sometimes, you just need to wait before plunging back into the racecourse of life. Those waiting for test results for life-changing diagnoses know how difficult it is to wait, sometimes a week for the “good” or “bad” news.
Waiting is not the most pleasant of human experiences.
We in the church hate waiting, especially when we contemplate renewal. We look back longingly at times past and grieve the church we used to be. How hard it is to imagine that something new and wonderful will come. We’ve been waiting. And yet…. Nothing happens!
Waiting challenges us in the depths of our collective soul. Especially if our waiting is steeped in fear.
Yet, in our scripture for today, Jesus tells his disciples to wait. He has commissioned them with a mission of love. He has told them all they need to know and do. Now, he tells them to wait: “Stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he ascends to the Father.
Jesus leaves them alone for a while with only the promise that the Holy Spirit will come to them. They don’t know when. They don’t know how. All they’ve been told is….wait for it!
How hard that must have been! How that must have tested their faith!
I could imagine them saying, “Wow, do you think he’s really coming back?” “How long are we supposed to wait here, and for what exactly?” “Will we know it when we see it?” “When is this “clothing from on high” going to come?” “Will we know what to do?”
But at least in the scriptures, it doesn’t tell us that they asked any of that.
What does it say?
“They worshiped him, and then they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God!”
Wow!
They may have questioned Jesus at first when he appeared to them after the resurrection, But at this point, after he breathed on them, after he commissioned them, after he promised them that they would be “clothed with power from on high” in preparation for the mission they must carry out –their only response now was worship, praise, and prayer!
Day and night, they remained in the temple praising God for what God was about to do! They may have been waiting, but their faith was so strong, their excitement was so great for the promise and mission that God was about to bestow upon them that the time went by quickly. They were praising, praying, singing, blessing. They were soaked, invested, and marinating in the promises of God.
I think that’s how all of us get through our times of waiting as Christians, isn’t it? We know to “marinate” in the promises of God.
We may not know exactly what will come or what lies ahead. We may not know how things will turn out or what life may ask of us. But we DO know that God never leaves us. That God’s promises for us and our lives are not fickle offers but a lifetime guarantee. So no matter how long we need to wait, our waiting does not have to be a time of empty frustration but can be a time filled with the joy of that promise, as we “marinate” in the promises of God.
I love the thought of “marinade.” In fact, those of you who love to cook have at one time or another soaked some meat or vegetables or fish in some kind of marinade –perhaps a combination of oil and lemon, spices and herbs. The result is an amazingly tasty treat. But you can’t make that happen without some waiting. You need to soak that feast for at least a few hours, sometimes a day in order for the flavors to truly seep in.
I imagine it the same way when I think about Jesus’ disciples –praising God, praying and blessing in the temple for all of those days until the Spirit of Pentecost came upon them. The more they marinated in their time with God, the more their joy filled the room.
By the time the day of Pentecost arrived, they were more than ready.
No, they didn’t know exactly when it might be. They, I’m sure, had no idea exactly what would happen! But when it did, their hearts were open and their spirits ready.
They had spent their “wait time” marinating in the promises of God!
We too need to spend more time “marinating in the promises of God.” No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter what we’ve lost or what unexpected challenges have come our way, when we put our trust in Jesus and his promises of blessing, strength, and power, we know that God will see us through and that good things will come …all in God’s time.
As you contemplate the coming of our Pentecost celebration, I hope that you too will feel the joy of marinating in the promises of God! Feel the joy people of God! Praise him! Worship him! Pray fervently for the Spirit to come powerfully upon you and this church! Make this time of waiting a time not a time of fear or trepidation or frustration or desperation, but a time of deep prayer, joy, hope, and above all faith.
For deep faith will always result in fullness of joy!
Jesus has given us the ultimate promise! People of God –prophesy! Say these bones will live! And wait for the promises of God!