Are We There Yet?
I feel like a little kid trapped in a compact car on a long road trip. The journey toward summer has been excruciatingly long this year. In mid-May, the trees on the church grounds didn’t even have all their leaves yet. I began to wonder…is summer ever going to get here?! I have two very energetic sons at home, and they need to go outside to play. (Or maybe I need them to go outside).
Waiting can be difficult, especially when we can’t control the time of our arrival. We live in a time of restless anticipation. We live with a struggling economy in a nation embattled in war on two fronts. Technology has shaped our culture in a way that still challenges us to make sense out of this new world. When are we going to get there?!
You know what I mean? When are we going to get to a place of comfort and peace? The place that we hope for in our dreams? The “kingdom come” that we summon in the Lord’s Prayer?
I bet the followers of Jesus felt some of the same tensions, after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Before his departure, Jesus promised his disciples that he would go and prepare a place for them. In John 14:3, Jesus says “I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”
So, when are we going to get there? In Mark chapter 13:32, Jesus says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So, I guess we’re stuck here waiting.
But Jesus didn’t leave us stranded. He didn’t walk away without giving us a companion to guide us on our journey toward the promised new life. In John 14:25-27 Jesus says, “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” And on the fiftieth day after Easter (Pentecost), as the disciples were gathered together, God sent the Holy Spirit so that everyone could hear and understand the proclamation of the Gospel.
As members of the Body of Christ, the church, we too have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And we are commissioned by God to seek the presence of the Lord in our preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments.
So, when are we going to get there? Well, I’m not sure that’s the right question to ask. After all, Jesus told us God wasn’t going to answer that question anyway. Perhaps a better question for the church to ask is “What are we going to do before we get there?”
The early church gave us a good example to follow in the book of Acts. “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47).
That sounds like a pretty good life, huh? God calls us to live in a community where we invest our lives in a common fellowship, we reach out and help those in need, and we praise and thank God for each new day. All of this is possible even now. Are we there yet?
See you in church,
Pastor Brad
Are We There Yet?
I feel like a little kid trapped in a compact car on a long road trip. The journey toward summer has been excruciatingly long this year. In mid-May, the trees on the church grounds didn’t even have all their leaves yet. I began to wonder…is summer ever going to get here?! I have two very energetic sons at home, and they need to go outside to play. (Or maybe I need them to go outside).
Waiting can be difficult, especially when we can’t control the time of our arrival. We live in a time of restless anticipation. We live with a struggling economy in a nation embattled in war on two fronts. Technology has shaped our culture in a way that still challenges us to make sense out of this new world. When are we going to get there?!
You know what I mean? When are we going to get to a place of comfort and peace? The place that we hope for in our dreams? The “kingdom come” that we summon in the Lord’s Prayer?
I bet the followers of Jesus felt some of the same tensions, after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Before his departure, Jesus promised his disciples that he would go and prepare a place for them. In John 14:3, Jesus says “I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.”
So, when are we going to get there? In Mark chapter 13:32, Jesus says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So, I guess we’re stuck here waiting.
But Jesus didn’t leave us stranded. He didn’t walk away without giving us a companion to guide us on our journey toward the promised new life. In John 14:25-27 Jesus says, “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” And on the fiftieth day after Easter (Pentecost), as the disciples were gathered together, God sent the Holy Spirit so that everyone could hear and understand the proclamation of the Gospel.
As members of the Body of Christ, the church, we too have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. And we are commissioned by God to seek the presence of the Lord in our preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments.
So, when are we going to get there? Well, I’m not sure that’s the right question to ask. After all, Jesus told us God wasn’t going to answer that question anyway. Perhaps a better question for the church to ask is “What are we going to do before we get there?”
The early church gave us a good example to follow in the book of Acts. “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47).
That sounds like a pretty good life, huh? God calls us to live in a community where we invest our lives in a common fellowship, we reach out and help those in need, and we praise and thank God for each new day. All of this is possible even now. Are we there yet?
See you in church,
Pastor Brad