Waiting.
That’s one of the operative words in today’s scriptures. By the way, if you felt like you were having déjà vu when you heard the gospel, you were right–
It is the same story we heard in Acts today. Acts is the sequel to Luke and begins by reminding the reader of what happened at the end of the first volume – Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It’s the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the story of passing the ministry to his disciples to carry on.

Today we get the account of Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples. He reminded them of what he had taught them over the three years they were together and opened their minds to scriptures that predicted his death and resurrection. He commissioned them to be witnesses to what they had seen
and to proclaim the power of new life through repentance and forgiveness. And then he said: “Stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Say what?
Stay here?

I don’t know about you, but I think if I were the disciples, I would have been chomping at the bit to get at it. Besides their three-year training period with the earthly Jesus, they’d just had 40 days with the risen Jesus. They were prepared!! Plus, if Jesus was leaving, ascending into heaven, then they should get going. Why sit tight in Jerusalem?

I cannot find an answer in the text to this question. The closest thing I can find is Jesus’ answer to the disciples when they ask, “Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom?” Jesus does not in fact answer their question; he just tells them it’s not their concern. “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” Sometimes we don’t know the why of waiting, either.

Nonetheless, despite the fact that we often don’t know the why of our waiting, sometimes looking back, we can see that waiting has a wisdom. Steve’s waiting time was disheartening; it seemed so unproductive. But while he was rehanging dress shirts, Steve remembered that the majority of his training was actually computer coding. With some tweaks to his resume and changes in mindset, Steve landed a job in computer programming and began a long and successful career in IT. What started off seeming like wasted time turned out to be a time of reinvention.

At the end of the Gospel and the beginning of Acts, the disciples also stand at the cusp of reinvention. They were moving from being disciples, students of Jesus, to apostles who would do the same things Jesus did: healing, casting out demons, proclaiming forgiveness and the good news of Jesus. The word ‘apostles’ literally means ‘”he sent-out ones,” and the former apprentices were to be sent out to ends of the earth as witnesses.

But not yet. Jesus gives them the instructions to wait. To stay. Until the time is right and the Holy Spirit comes.

Somehow this story rings true to me: in my experience, the Holy Spirit rarely seems to follow human expectations. God knows the timing. We don’t.
But we can trust that God knows what God is doing.

I think this is a pretty handy reminder for our congregation right now because we too are waiting – waiting for an associate pastor. Being fully staffed and having consistent pastoral leadership for both campuses are critical components of living out our mission stated in our new strategic plan: to grow in faith, build thriving community, and transform lives through Jesus’ love. Like the disciples and my brother Steve, we are ready!! We put the call committee together and raised the money! We’re ready to put the plan into action! It’s been almost a year since we entered the call process… Why is it taking so long?

Of course, there are reasons, namely the dearth of pastors looking for calls. Our church is in clergy shortage, with boomers retiring and historically small classes entering seminary. We need to be patient for the right candidate to come along.

But we can trust that God knows what God is doing. Perhaps God is using this time to fill us with the Holy Spirit in a new way. Perhaps God is calling us to reinvent ourselves to be more effective witnesses in the post pandemic world.

The times and periods may not be ours to know, and we cannot avoid waiting. But we can learn how to wait profitably. When Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples stood around staring up after him. It took two angels to shake them from their stupor, saying, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” The goal wasn’t to look up, frozen in place, but to look around. To pay attention. Instead of letting waiting paralyze them, the disciples were to be active in their waiting. Luke says they “Returned to Jerusalem with great joy and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” They spent time together in worship and in prayer, intentionally supporting one another and returning to the practices that sustained them. And those fundamental practices helped them trust that God would act. They fortified them in the waiting.

That’s what we can do, too. We don’t need to get stuck as we wait; we can actively and intentionally focus on prayer and ask ourselves together:
What is God up to right now among us?
What does God want us to learn during this time?
What has changed in the world around us, and in the neighborhoods in which we live and serve?
How does God want us to change or reinvent our community and ministry to connect with those neighbors?
Let us continue to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God knows what God is doing. We can grow in faith and trust while we wait. We can prepare as we work to organize ourselves for mission. We can look forward with faith and hope so that we are ready to act when God’s timing is revealed.