News from the Regional Team
Revd Andy Twilley
SEBA Regional Minister
Waiting for the green light
Click here to watch Andy's video reflection
Andy reflects on 'Waiting for the Gift' (Acts 1:4) and asks what stage are you at.
I wonder if any of you have been sat at traffic lights; they’ve turned to green yet the car in front of you hasn’t responded, hasn’t moved? It doesn’t take long for glares to be exchanged and the hooting to start, a less than subtle nudge to get moving! Well, hold that thought.
Any of you who know me well will know that waiting is not one of my strongest points. I’m the sort of person who wants to go for it… act, move, no time for sitting around, let’s not prevaricate. Come on, what are we waiting for! Whether it’s waiting for a bus or train, standing in a shop queue, stuck in a traffic jam or just waiting at traffic lights, I’m definitely not the most patient.
And I am sure that if I had been one of Jesus’ first disciples his instruction to wait (Acts 1: 4) would have been really challenging for me, made worse by the enigmatic comment ‘for the gift.’ What gift Jesus? Can’t you at least tell me what I’m waiting for!?
Let’s remind ourselves of that moment recorded in Acts 1: 4 – 8.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Well, the first disciples took it seriously and notice how they spent the waiting. Acts 1: 14 tells us they prayed constantly. This was intentional waiting. This was expectant waiting; somehow knowing that what Jesus had promised, this mysterious ‘gift,’ would be worth the wait.
And so, come the day of Pentecost, the gift is given. What a gift! A gift that would transform them, and indeed transform the rest of history as they were empowered to continue the work and ministry of Jesus in building the church; building the Kingdom which he had come to bring into being. Because of the waiting, they were ready and open to receive and in receiving, this equipped them with the power they needed for fulfilling the 3rd part of Jesus’ instruction to them to go; go, sharing the transformational news of the Kingdom.
So let’s return to the analogy of the traffic lights. I’m convinced that this sequence of red - a time to wait, amber - a time to receive, and green - a time to go, is somehow an important repeating cycle for us all. We should all prioritise times to simply be still and wait on God. As we do so, we are in the right place to receive a fresh anointing of His Spirit; God renewing and refreshing us for the task ahead.
And we could all too easily get stuck in either of these moments. Yet the moment comes when the light turns green, and then, empowered by His Spirit we go. The time of waiting has passed and now is the time for us to move and go wherever the Lord leads us to share the good news of the Kingdom and to demonstrate the values of the Kingdom.
To go back to our families, into our work places, to the places we have our leisure times, to the supermarket, or the dentist or the hospital appointment. To go with a determination to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus, witnesses to the truth that He is alive, transforming lives today, bringing hope to those in despair, peace to those with troubled minds, welcome to the outcasts, comfort to the grieving and the promise of eternal life for all who believe.
What’s God saying to you today? For some it maybe the challenge to wait. Yet for others, the lights have turned green - it’s time to go!