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Sermons by our Clergy
Just Wait
Preacher: The Rev. Dennis Lietz
May 4, 2008
Many of us have experienced major surgery of one kind or another. I have had my own experience with that and I remember it well. No, not the surgery itself but the recovery. After all, I was not awake to really experience any of the surgery but I certainly was throughout the recovery. I remember the anxiety before the day of the surgery. It seems difficult to believe that this will be uneventful. Fear of the unknown builds it up into something terribly ominous. But it comes and it passes without the feared outcome. After a few days, one returns home with a volume of instructions. Dont go back to work for six weeks. Dont lift anything heavier than a telephone book. No, you cant drive until I say so. It will all heal eventually and then life will return to normal. You must simply wait for the healing to take place. Obviously, I had no control over this at all. I couldnt speed it up in any way but if I werent careful and didnt follow instructions I certainly could slow it down. No, just be patient. There is nothing you can do but wait for the day of healing to come. The day is coming soon when you will be healed and you will find that you now have not only renewed ability but perhaps even newfound abilities to do things that you havent done in some time if at all. Just wait.
The disciples were in an analogous situation. They were on Mount Olivet with Jesus but why? What was the purpose of all of this? They had gone through the terrible time of the crucifixion when their leader was taken from them. They were left with nothing but fear of the future. It was all too likely that they too, would be arrested and killed. Everything seemed so bleak. Then came the day of the Resurrection and it suddenly seemed that everything would be fine again. Jesus was back, risen from the dead. Now He would restore the Kingdom. All they could think about was the kingdom being restored. So the only question they had for Jesus was, Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel? What is the reply? Jesus says, It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And then, poof, He disappears! He made it quite clear that it was Gods time that they operating under and not their own. Not only that, but there was no way that they were going to know this time, much less make it their time. But He did promise them power in due time and it would be the Holy Spirit that would bring that power. In the meantime there was little they could do but wait and pray. So they returned to Jerusalem, to the upper room and devoted themselves to prayer. They were all there, all eleven of them. But they were not the only disciples present. Joining them in this prayer were certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers. They were all waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, for that first Pentecost. Already the healing had begun. Social conventions were being broken down and a community was being formed. This community was responding to the principles of the Kingdom of God.
We are all gathered here today in a similar fashion. We have been reminded again just this past Thursday that Christ has ascended and that promise he gave his disciples so long ago extends to us as well. We too, are disciples of Christ and we must continue that process of healing. We are to carry that healing of humanity out to the rest of the world. And there is much healing to be done. We are the ones who will be charged with identifying those realities that dehumanize people and set in motion the forces that will overcome them. One of those realities is discrimination. Humans are too quick to discriminate against one another. Some discrimination has already been identified and is being countered. We have made progress with racial discrimination but we are not yet finished with this struggle. This is also true of our attitudes toward women. We must take note of the fact that there were women in that upper room and that they played a very important role. We have recognized that this form of discrimination exists and started toward overcoming it but much remains to be done. I have spoken in the past about discrimination toward aliens. This still exists.
Other dehumanizing factors are human trafficking and slavery which do exist. Poverty robs much of the worlds population of its humanity. Genocide is a vicious force which springs from reducing an entire population of its humanity. Make them something less than human and it is much less difficult to eliminate them. We must remember that we are all made in the image of God and that makes us all human. It is not really in our power to truly take away a persons humanity except in our own minds. In Gods mind we are all worthy.
But this is all terribly complex, isnt it? And each of us is only one person. What can we, as individuals, do? Well, for now why dont we, during this week that we await Pentecost, do just as the disciples did way back when all this began? Why dont we simply pray and wait? Pray constantly for the power of the Holy Spirit and do this praying each and every day. And then listen. Listen for the power of the Holy Spirit. Then next Sunday, we all will be reminded that the Holy Spirit has already come upon us. We can then go out and perform what our Rector has already so appropriately named Points of Pentecost. We can go forth and allow the Holy Spirit to work, through us, to offer healing to all of those in need. We will be advancing the Kingdom of God. Thanks be to God!
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