“Go tell!” he said, “But wait!”
What? Wait? We were so excited,
overwhelmed with joy
by all his words that made it clear:
the Sacred Word had prophesied
it all—his death but then
this third-day miracle,
life made new in him!
We touched his hands,
and he touched us.
This was no ghost:
he ate that roasted fish!
And he forgave our fearful hiding,
even Peter’s scared denying
that he knew him, yet another
prophesy we saw was true.
He loved us anyway!
But now he’s said goodbye.
And yes, we’d be his emissaries,
telling all the world this news
of radical forgiveness
now at hand, in his hand.
This is a gift of love for everyone
if only they would come to him,
say yes, accept it as the truth!
Jesus wants this whole big world
to know. “Go tell!” he said.
“But wait! You cannot do this
on your own. You have to wait:
I will be sending what you need!”
He blessed us all, then suddenly
was gone, lifted high
into the cloudy sky,
gone from view but leaving us
with hope. Everything he said
was always true, that we knew!
Two angels even came to say
he would be coming back some day.
“We’ll wait!” we all agreed.
We miss him, but we know
that anything he promises
will be worth the wait.
Now, instead of worrying,
we’re filled with worship
and undying trust.
As he said, his Holy Spirit
would come soon and give us
all the strength we need
to do his will: “Go tell!”
He will come through!
Waiting is always a challenge. When we have no idea when we will see what we’re waiting for, we fight impatience. When the resurrected Jesus was preparing his disciples for his exit from his time on earth, when he was visible, they asked if now he would be setting up his earthly kingdom. “Only the Father has the right to set that date,” he replied. “But you will be able to do this work I am giving you, because I am sending the Holy Spirit and he will empower you!” (Acts 1:6-8)
So the focus shifted. Evangelism was to be their priority, and as the two angels came and told them, they knew that someday Jesus, too, would indeed return. So they began the first wait, for his Spirit to come and “baptize” them. They formed an intimate group, constantly united in prayer: the eleven disciples, plus the women who had followed Jesus in his ministry and his mother Mary, along with Jesus’ brothers. At some point many others came to wait with them, 120 people in all! (Acts 9-26). The wait ended up lasting at least 10 days. That was a long prayer meeting!
They faced a test of trust in Jesus. Because what they were waiting for was so essential to their new phase of life with Jesus ascended to heaven, they joined together to stay in conversation with God. They could no longer see Jesus face to face to ask him questions. But they could pour out their hearts to the Godhead, praising God for what Jesus had accomplished and promised, waiting in faith for the next miracle to happen.
We face some similar challenges to our faith when we wait for God to answer our prayers, to come through as his Scriptures have promised. There are an incredible number of “waits” in the Scriptures, some of them centuries, some decades, some days. We do not have access to God’s calendar of future events; he is the Master of time and only he knows the details. But we must trust him, and wait in faith. Yes, Jesus will return. God hears all our prayers and answers in his way, in his timing. Gathering with brothers and sisters in community to pour out our hearts together can bring tremendous confidence and comfort.
And now we do have the Spirit to strengthen us—that will be next week’s focus, the blessing of Pentecost. The day commemorating Jesus ascension just passed, last Thursday, May 29th. Many of us did not even notice that, since in the U.S. it is not an official holiday. But the importance of that day should not be lost! The command Jesus gave and the promise of the Helper who was coming are both essential to how we live. We must not forget!
And some day Jesus himself will come. We wait!
Linnea's Lines 