Fourth Sunday of Easter - Jubilate (22 April, 2018)

We Wait...

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.  Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:25-31

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."  The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.  Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; let him put his mouth in the dust-- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.  For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.  Lamentations 3:22-33

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.  The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.  Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!  He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.  He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.  His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.  Psalm 147:1-11

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.  Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.  Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.  For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.  For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.  1 Peter 2:11-20

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.  1 John 3:1-3

"A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me."  So some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I am going to the Father'?"  So they were saying, "What does He mean by 'a little while'? We do not know what He is talking about."  Jesus knew that they wanted to ask Him, so he said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'?  Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.  When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."  John 16:16-22

It seems I keep being drawn back to the image of those resistance groups in the 1940s when thinking about the Church on earth.

We live in enemy controlled territory while awaiting the rightful King's return.  We gather around the radio, which we are not allowed to have, and listen to the broadcasts, hoping one will be the announcement not just of "stand firm, I'll be back soon" but "He's here."  We peer out of our windows, hoping to see one of the messengers run up the streets shouting "the King is near!"  We go about our lives, communicating the news that the war is over and the King will return.

Soon.

Just before His death, Jesus told the disciples that He would be "going away" but then would return.  God had promised such returns before.  As the people of Israel were marched across the desert to exile in Babylon, Isaiah brought a message of hope.  Not immediate hope, but hope for the future.  Hope that God would not abandon them.

Peter reminded the Church that we are like sojourners and exile.  We should not pine for comfort where we are now, but look for our Lord's return.  And while we wait, we serve our neighbors as a comfort to them trapped in a fallen world, and as a witness to the hope we have.

Christ told us that He would return.  First was His return from death.  The second is the one we now wait for: His return to bring about Judgement Day.  On that day, there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more sin.  There will be the New Kingdom.  It is that promise we wait for.

So take heart, our wait will be over soon.