Great Expectations
/As I look at the scripture readings for the coming Sunday and reflect on the readings for this past Sunday, it occurs to me that we are in waiting. While the lectionary has been jumping around a bit (accounts from before and after Pentecost, during Jesus’ ministry and after His death and resurrection), it has still primarily been in some way about anticipation of something new and exciting, of some gift of God to inhabit and guide the faithful, the Spirit which will represent Christ in us once He has gone back to heaven.
I’m sure the disciples had great expectations, as well as a fair bit of anxiety, about how this new way of living and believing would go after Jesus left. Christ tried to explain a bit of what it would be like, warning them to expect suffering for doing good and being faithful. In the wake of a not so easy present, they were to be given the gift of the Holy Spirit, something that they could not understand. Some of them even struggled after Pentecost to understand what God had done and what it all meant. We can struggle too.
This time in between the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension was a time of letting go of the old and anticipating a new reality which could not be imagined. The way of being a follower was about to change dramatically. There would be no more hands on teaching from the Master Himself, but a vague idea that God would be with them. A lot of trust was involved here.
Looking at some of Jesus’ pep talks just prior to His death and after His resurrection, we see that God had great expectations of the disciples. They needed to be strong, and ready to defend Jesus and their faith despite great opposition. They needed to anticipate persecution and suffering for their beliefs. They needed to know that this was no easy ride, but that it would demand commitment, integrity and courage. They needed to remember who and Whose they were, and that God would be with them.
The more I think about this time, the more I feel it speaks to the church and our educational ministries today. We are no longer, for the most part, in thriving Sunday schools and mid-week groups. Something new is perhaps being asked of us, and we need to both listen carefully to that gift of the Spirit, but also recognize that no one said that being church would be easy. At the same time, the expectations we place on ourselves in terms of what constitutes success can be inordinately high. The expectations parents and other church members place on programs can also be unrealistic, not to mention the expectations of participants.
As we wait for Christ’s return, we are asked to rise to the challenge of being faithful in our time, which is not the same as successful. Do we expect God to show up in our churches, and are we open to that not looking like we imagine and are used to? Are we ready to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit? Are we ready to give sacrificially of ourselves, knowing that God is with us? Are we able to trust more in God than in ourselves?
Last Sunday in worship I had everyone choose a rock from a basket and during the sermon challenged them to think about being a living stone (see 1 Peter 2), called to build a holy temple together and to honour God with sacrifices. I asked them to reflect on what that has looked like in their history as a congregation. I also asked them if they really owned that they were chosen by God, a royal priesthood, God’s own people called to proclaim how they had been drawn into His “marvelous light”.
I pray that we can live 1 Peter 2 every day – that we can see how important it is to hunger for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to come together to create something beautiful with all of our living stones, to recognize our need for each other as we build what God is asking of us, and to offer sacrifices pleasing to God in how we live and carry out our ministries. In doing this, I also pray that we remember that we have been chosen, part of a long succession of royalty as God’s people, and that our stories of God’s grace matter and need to be shared, even in a culture that can seem bent on dismissing us.
As we trust in God, we will see a new way forward, different than what we could have ever imagined. May we have great expectations of how God will continue to be faithful to us, and may we rise to meet God’s expectations of us.