Waiting

A sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on 3rd Advent, 2007
Hampton Inn, Barboursville, WV


Last week, Father Mark reminded us that 400 years elapsed between the Prophet Malachi and John the Baptist. The OT prophets spoke words of encouragement to the nation of Israel but the nation had to wait until the ‘fullness of time’ came and Jesus came to fulfill those prophecies.

I imagine they struggled with waiting. I know I do. Waiting is difficult.
We want things quickly. We hate to wait. It’s a little like this ketchup bottle – the ketchup came out too slowly in the old glass bottles, so we invented a squeeze bottle so we could forcefully squeeze out the thick sauce. Then that wasn’t good enough. We invented the upside down bottle where we could have the ketchup come out right away! We hate to wait so much that we would rather endure water board torture than to sit still and wait.

I think I’ve said this before, but if I wanted to really torture you, I’d say, “I’m going out for a while, wait for me until I return.”…After about 90 minutes you’d all start getting restless, and want to leave. Waiting is hard for human beings, especially when things aren’t going the way we expected them to go.

Even John the Baptist, the “greatest man ever born of woman” had doubts. When John observed Jesus in action John wasn’t sure this is exactly what he had in mind. His life was on the line and he wanted to know if he was sticking his neck out for the right person. So when John sent his followers to Jesus, asking for reassurance, Jesus directed John back to the prophet Isaiah by saying,

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Being an Old Testament prophet himself, John should have recognized that Jesus was quoting Isaiah (35:5,6):

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,and the ears of the deaf unstopped;6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.For waters break forth in the wilderness,and streams in the desert;

Jesus had also used similar words to announce his ministry.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,because the Lord has anointed meto bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,and the day of vengeance of our God;to comfort all who mourn…Isaiah 61:1-2.

John should have understood that Jesus was announcing that the time of waiting had come to an end. The people of Israel were now to recognize that their promised King had come to them and that He was ushering in His Kingdom.

The only problem was that Jesus didn’t look anything like a King or act like one. Because he didn’t ride in on a white horse and dramatically defeat the Roman oppressor, most people didn’t accept Him as King.
True, they found his miracles interesting – especially the part about getting free bread, but all the Suffering Servant stuff just didn’t really get it. Jesus didn’t look or act the part of a conquering King because he was inaugurating a different kind of Kingdom – one that could only be recognized by the lowly and humble of heart.

WE face the SAME Challenge.

As Christians, we face the same challenge as the Jews faced. Jesus promised that He would return to us, but it has been 2,000 years and he still hasn’t come back. The apostle James urged the believers even back in the first century to be patient:
James 5:7-10:
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
We need to have a keen sense that the Lord is returning and may return any day. The prayer “Marana Tha” expresses this: “Come quickly Lord Jesus”. But by the same token we must realize that Jesus has tarried now for some 2, 000 years. When the Lord says quickly, he means us to understand that “one day is as a thousand years”… On His calendar, it’s only been a couple of days since He left!

So we must be patient. But what to do while we are waiting?

Occupy until I Come (Luke 19:13)
We are to ‘occupy’ – to engage in our Father’s business:
To bring the Good News to the poor – to evangelize.
To open the eyes of the blind, both spiritually and physically.
Bind up the brokenhearted – to minister to those who grieve and are hurting from various life circumstances.

As Henri Nouwen puts it, we are to:
“Be alert, be alert, so that you will be able to recognize your Lord in your husband, your wife, your parents, your children, your friends, your teachers, but also in all that you read in the daily papers. The Lord is coming, always coming. Be alert to recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord” (H. Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal).

Our waiting is not simple passive inactivity, but an active anticipation, a participation in bringing the Kingdom of God to our world right now.
We pray, we reach out to heal wounds and to bring people to the saving knowledge of Christ all in obedience to his will. We do this gladly and hopefully, but at the same time we know that our efforts can only be partial until Jesus returns and sets up His righteous rule here on earth.

An Illustration from the Great Anglican Confusion

Anglicans have had to wait for many years – some would say as many as forty years- while the liberal experiment within The Episcopal Church worked itself out. Certainly when Gene Robinson was consecrated bishop in 2003, we saw the experiment reach its apex and have had to wait patiently for the Anglican world to realign so as to reflect the reality that there are now two Anglican communions in the world. Things seem to have moved as slowly as thick ketchup in a glass bottle for the last four years. But now it appears that events are rapidly coming to a climax in which all our waiting will find fruition.

Our own Archbishop Mark had been trying for several years to make a connection with the the ACN and Common Cause. The main holdup seemed to be what to do with the Bishops. Mark finally came to the conclusion that the only way to find acceptance with CANA was to renounce his Bishop’s staff and apply to CANA as a priest serving his own parish.

This past week, he called me and told me that this had finally happened. He has formally been accepted into the Nigerian church as a priest and is relating to David Anderson (Atlanta) as his bishop. He is urging us to make application to CANA as individual parishes and clergy, and it seems now that the way is primed for us to also be accepted into this new expression of orthodox Anglicanism.

We have had to wait patiently and to suffer uncertainty. But now I believe that we must recognize the time of our visitation. Just as Israel was challenged to accept the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in their time, I believe that the Lord is coming to us in the guise of CANA.
Our time of waiting and longing for godly, courageous, orthodox leadership is coming to an end. We are about to step over the threshold into a new reality – the reality of being a full fledged member of an exciting ‘Latter Day” movement of God’s Spirit on the Earth.

This does not mean that we our way will be easy or without controversy. In fact, I am confident that we are heading into a time when our membership in CANA will be attacked by those who think they represent the ‘real’ expression of Anglicanism in America. If you haven’t already lost friends over being part of All Saints Anglican Church, I’m sure you will in the future.

But you are also about to be amazed by the new friends God brings our way. And the new thing He will do will surpass exceedingly all that we could have thought or imagined.

Friends, let us welcome the changes that will occur within the next 8-12 weeks. It is Jesus Coming to us here and now.

Let us also recognize that Jesus will come to us again bodily – in the clouds with great Glory in order to set up His kingdom here on earth.
Until he comes again personally, let us resolve to spend ourselves and suffer as need be for His kingdom. I am confident that we will be rewarded richly both here and in the hereafter.
Marana Tha! AMEN