I’m not a good “waiting” person. Where I’m from, it’s move-move-move and when you stop it’s time to sleep. In Florida, yellow lights mean hurry up the light is changing. Yield signs mean take your foot off the accelerator for a second to look. And a stop sign is for rolling through, not actually stopping.
Growing up in the shadow of Disney World, lines are a part of the experience. I hated that! Disney has thought of people like me and they’ve added the Fast-Pass lines. These devices allow you to schedule your ride so line standing is kept to a minimum – I love that! If swiping a card gets me that much closer to the Pirates of the Caribbean or to Space Mountain – I’m gonna be a swiping fool!
I think the problem I have with waiting isn’t so much the waiting part – it’s the anticipation part. I like knowing what’s coming. If I’m waiting in a line I’m counting down the minutes till my experience. I want to be all in at that moment and waiting to get there is brutal.
If you look at Jesus, post-resurrection, there seems to be a LOT of waiting. Acts 1 tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples for 40 days proving to them that He was alive and telling them about the Kingdom. For 40 days, he had them captive to this time of experience and being. I can’t help but think the disciples thought that Jesus was just going to take up where he was prior to the whole annoying crucifixion thing. Things were returning to some kind of normal.
I don’t think this was Jesus attitude toward this time at all. Jesus was sharing with them with a purpose. His time with them was not business as usual – it had an outcome he was getting them ready for. He was anticipating something coming – something that would be far better than the previous 3 years!
Ascension day was a turning point for both Jesus and the disciples. This day the waiting changed. This event changed the disciples reality or their expectation of what Jesus was doing. This event turned the routine on it’s head. The disciples were now in full-blown waiting mode – and they were waiting for something they didn’t really understand. The Disciples were being primed for a universal shift.
Jesus went with the disciples to the Mount and told them to WAIT. Go to Jerusalem and wait, and soon you’ll be given the Spirit. As He’s sharing this message of “WAIT” with them, Jesus begins to ascend to the heavens. As He leaves them he “disappears into the clouds” which is Hebrew speak for he’s gone to the Heavens – to the Heavenly realm. They stand there staring into the clouds and they linger for so long that God had to send to angels to bring the gang back to reality – “He’ll be back some day, but for now quit staring and get a move on” (that’s my translation).
It’s time to wait. The Disciples are to go back to Jerusalem. Jesus said that when the Spirit came, the disciples would no longer wait – they would be going throughout Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria and then to the edges of the very world.
Think about that for a minute – we know what Pentecost brought, but for 10 days creation waited. The Disciples waited and prayed and sought God’s presence. The rest of creation waited – waited for what was promised. Even the God-head waited – waited for the time when the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh.
As I said, I’m not a good waiting person. I wonder though what would happen if I chose to prepare during this time of waiting like the Disciples did 2000 years or so ago? What would happen if I prepared for Pentecost the same way the Disciple did – the same way the God head did? What would happen if I anticipated the Spirit to blow like a mighty wind? On this Ascension Thursday, would you join me in a time of waiting? I think we could be amazed if instead of bucking the time of waiting, we embraced it.
(A quick side note – I know many will read this and think that the “waiting” I’m talking about is associated with my upcoming move and change in churches. I’m sure that flavors a little of my angst with waiting right now, but please hear me when I say that’s not ultimately what this post is about. This waiting is something far greater than a move. It’s about waiting for a fresh Pentecost to come on God’s people – right here and right now. I want my waiting to be more purposeful than a move of jobs – I want this waiting to be for something that God’s want to do in us all. Will you join me in that waiting?)
Grace and Peace –
Jim