Rev. Debbie Cato
Acts 1:1-11
Fairfield Community Church
May 14, 2023
O God, in
you we live and move and have our being! May we hear your word today and live
out the profound truth of your desire for us.
Help us be mindful of the beauty, the hope, and the calling of living in
you. Amen.
In-Between Times
This is the sixth Sunday of Easter. We’ve spent time thinking about the
resurrection and how Jesus encountered his followers after rising from the
dead. He walked through locked doors and gave them His peace. In passages we didn’t read, Jesus met them at
the edge of the Sea of Galilee. He fried
fish for their breakfast. He met them
walking along the road and explained the Scriptures to them. Last week we talked about Jesus’ promise of a
Holy Companion – the Holy Spirit. Today’s passage is Jesus’ ascension. Jesus time on earth is over. And now the disciples are to wait in
Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit.
These followers of Jesus begin a period of transition; a period of
waiting. An “in-between time.” A time
between doing ministry with Jesus’ physical presence and doing ministry without
Jesus’ physical presence.
As a pastor, I’ve had a lot of in-between times. I graduated from seminary and was approved to seek a call at about the same time. So when I graduated, I was ready to serve a church, I was anxious to serve a church. I had studied hard and long to prepare myself. But we all know how long the search process takes! It’s ridiculous. So I had to wait. I was in-between seminary and serving a church; being a pastor. I was anxious but tried to be prayerful and trust God. I tried to rest in this in-between time. There was this let-down of surviving seminary and graduating and then this, “now what?” What was next? Where would God call me?
Have you experienced an in-between time? Maybe a time between a major event in your life and the next thing? Whether it’s surviving the Christmas season or getting your last child into school or graduating from high school and trying to figure out what was next for you. Maybe it was settling your child in college and their first dorm room and then leaving them behind. Maybe it was helping your parents sell your childhood home. Whatever it might be, there’s a collective sense of relief after a major event or busy season. But almost inevitably, your desire to move forward into something new comes back: What now, you wonder? What’s next?
I think that might be what the disciples feel after watching Jesus disappear into the clouds. They’ve witnessed their Lord conquer death.They suffered a lot of trauma. Their eyes were opened to the Scriptures. Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit, called them to spread the news of God’s love to the world, and ascended to heaven. And now they wait. They wait because they don’t have the Holy Spirit yet, but Jesus said it’s coming soon.[1] They are in an in-between time. A time of waiting for what’s next.
I’m not good at waiting. Especially when I don’t know what is coming next. Waiting requires patience. I am not good at patience. I used to pray for patience and then I realized God gave me too many opportunities to learn patience, so I stopped praying for it. I will admit that I want to be in control of my own destiny; my own life. Yet, really, such control is a fallacy. We can make decisions with consequences, but we cannot control everything the future holds. As a result, waiting reminds us of our vulnerability. It is uncomfortable. For Christians, it requires that we trust God to give us our “daily bread” – to meet our needs and connect us with the right people at the right time.[2] It requires faith. We have to put our faith into practice. We don’t always like doing that.
I wonder if the disciples felt any discomfort after the ascension. They must have thought about the most recent time when they were asked to trust God — and failed. Peter denied Christ in the courtyard. The male disciples didn’t believe the female disciples when they reported Jesus’ resurrection. Thomas didn’t even believe Jesus when he appeared in the room, he wanted proof. After they watched Jesus ascend into heaven and heard from the angels, as the days passed by with no showing of the Spirit, did they doubt? Did they remember?[3] Jesus said the Spirit would come soon but God’s soon is very different than our soon!
If we read the rest of chapter 1 of Acts, we learn that the 11 disciples return to Jerusalem as Jesus instructed. Scripture tells us that the women were there in the room as well and they all devoted themselves to prayer. During this “in-between time” while they wait for the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised, they also do a little business. They need to replace Judas. Jesus had chosen twelve of them and now there were only eleven. Two men who had accompanied them from the beginning are nominated – Barsabbas and Matthias and they cast lots The lot fell on Matthias and so he is added to the eleven disciples. Matthias completes the list of twelve disciples. The time of waiting, although hard, is filled with good things. Prayer and filling an important vacancy.
Maybe that’s what those in-between times are supposed to be for. Praying and taking care of important business.
When I look back to that in-between time between seminary and receiving my first call that’s exactly what it was. It was a time of prayer and taking care of business. I spent a lot of time praying about a call. Praying for the church that might call me, the search committee that might be looking at my PIF – my Personal Information Form or glorified resume. I prayed for myself and my ability to be a pastor. I prayed for the community that I might become a part of. I also did a lot of reading. I went back to the suggested reading lists in some of my seminary classes. The books that were recommended but not required that you don’t have time to read during a class. I got the books and did more reading on what it means to be a pastor and I continued to learn and discern. I spent time with Jessica and Tracy.
Although the in-between time was hard for me – I struggled with the waiting and I was impatient waiting for a call, looking back I realize the benefit of not rushing into serving a church. Whether I was aware of it or not, God used that in-between time to prepare my heart and mind for the plans He had for me, and I think to also prepare the church for me.
The liturgical calendar invites us to engage waiting alongside the disciples this time of year. Easter has come and gone. Pentecost is coming, but it is not yet here. And so, we wait. It may feel pointless at times. We are tempted to say, “Let’s skip to the good part” And don’t we all want that? We’ve celebrated Easter — let’s jump ahead to the gifts of the Holy Spirit that unite us to God and each other at Pentecost. Bring on the tongues of fire![4]
But we’re invited by Scripture and church tradition to wait. Why? What is there to learn by practicing waiting with hope and expectation? What is there to learn by engaging what is directly in front of us?
Unlike the disciples in the days after Jesus’ ascension, we have the Holy Spirit. And in our seasons of waiting, we can engage the Spirit. So though we wait for the celebration of Pentecost and a reminder of when the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church began, we are not waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We have received it. So we need to ask what this time of waiting is about for us. If, like the disciples, it is about prayer and doing important business, what should we expect? What should we be praying about?
Perhaps you could pray about what are you called to do today? Perhaps you could be sensitive to how God is moving in your life in this moment? Maybe that is sharing the gospel with someone by sharing your story. Maybe it is inviting someone to church with you. Maybe it is community organizing or planting a garden in the community garden that’s being planned here in Fairfield. Maybe it is simply being a good neighbor.
As we wait, we must trust not only that God will send the next task our way, but that God is using this time to prepare us for the next season in our lives. God always has a plan for us. God is always faithful. God is always good. Amen.
[1] Rose
Schrott Taylor
@https://pres-outlook.org/2023/04/waiting-on-a-promise-april-30-2023/
[2]Rose
Schrott Taylor
@https://pres-outlook.org/2023/04/waiting-on-a-promise-april-30-2023/
[3]
Rose
Schrott Taylor
@https://pres-outlook.org/2023/04/waiting-on-a-promise-april-30-2023/
[4]
Rose
Schrott Taylor
@https://pres-outlook.org/2023/04/waiting-on-a-promise-april-30-2023/
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