Acts 1:4

 
In this week’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus is preparing to take his leave of the disciples.  As the book of Acts tells it, the risen Jesus appeared to and spoke with the disciples over a period of 40 days prior to his ascension.  In this verse, as he prepares to depart “out of their sight” (Acts 1:9), he gives them one last instruction. 
 
Wait.  Go back to Jerusalem, and wait.  Wait for your baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Wait for the promise of restoration to be fulfilled.  Wait for the coming of the kingdom of God.  Wait. 
 
It reminds me of one of my favorite poems by the Welsh priest & poet R.S. Thomas — “Kneeling:”
 
Moments of great calm,
Kneeling before an altar
Of wood in a stone church
In summer, waiting for the God
To speak; the air a staircase
For silence; the sun’s light
Ringing me, as though I acted
A great role. And the audiences
Still ; all that close throng
Of spirits waiting, as I,
For the message.
                           Prompt me, God;
But not yet.  When I speak,
Though it be you who speak
Through me, something is lost.
The meaning is in the waiting.
 
The meaning is in the waiting: those words tantalize me.  And they make me wonder about the disciples, in those days after Jesus’s ascension.  What meaning did they find in the waiting?  What meaning did Jesus want them to find?  How do the moments when we are waiting for God shape and deepen our lives of faith?  I wonder. 
 
And I invite you, this week, to wonder with me.  Have there been seasons or times of waiting in your life faith?  What are you waiting for now, in your life of faith?  What do those times of waiting feel like to you?  And what kind of meaning have you found there? 
 
I’d love to hear your insights, if you’re of a mind to share. 
 
Grace and Peace,
 
Pastor Andi