Waiting And Wasting
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "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." (vv. 6-8)
A monument paying tribute to a dog stands overlooking the Burlington Northern Railroad in Fort Benton, Montana. It was erected by the townspeople to tell the story of a collie's love and fidelity.
In the summer of 1936, the dog's master died, and his body was shipped back east for burial. The dog sat at the station and watched as the casket was loaded on the train. The dog followed the train as long as he could, but couldn't catch up. He returned to the depot, dug a spot, and waited for his master to return.
The dog never left the station. Through all kinds of weather year round, he met each train and scanned the passengers searching for his master. Then one January day, in 1942, the dog was struck by a train and killed. The railroad personnel buried the dog high on a hill and marked his grave.
No doubt, the dog was loyal and that is honorable and admirable. But the flip side is that he wasted the last six years of his life. He would have been better off to have spent less time waiting and more time living -- living as his master taught him. He could have traveled far and wide barking to the other dogs about the greatness of his master. But the dog didn't. He just sat in one spot waiting for his master's return.
How many times have we Christians done the same thing? How often have we wasted our time waiting for our Master instead of living how he taught us? Waiting instead of tapping into God's power to be witnesses? It seems every few years there is a new group that has calculated when Jesus will return, and they are inevitably wrong.
Waiting is not our calling. Jesus promises us in verse 8 that we will be witnesses. This is not a command. It is a promise. We will be witnesses because the Holy Spirit will come upon us and empower us to be witnesses.
But we must open ourselves up to the work of Holy Spirit. We close ourselves off when we focus on the timing of Christ's return and we open ourselves up when we focus on living the Christlike life and witnessing as he commanded.
A monument paying tribute to a dog stands overlooking the Burlington Northern Railroad in Fort Benton, Montana. It was erected by the townspeople to tell the story of a collie's love and fidelity.
In the summer of 1936, the dog's master died, and his body was shipped back east for burial. The dog sat at the station and watched as the casket was loaded on the train. The dog followed the train as long as he could, but couldn't catch up. He returned to the depot, dug a spot, and waited for his master to return.
The dog never left the station. Through all kinds of weather year round, he met each train and scanned the passengers searching for his master. Then one January day, in 1942, the dog was struck by a train and killed. The railroad personnel buried the dog high on a hill and marked his grave.
No doubt, the dog was loyal and that is honorable and admirable. But the flip side is that he wasted the last six years of his life. He would have been better off to have spent less time waiting and more time living -- living as his master taught him. He could have traveled far and wide barking to the other dogs about the greatness of his master. But the dog didn't. He just sat in one spot waiting for his master's return.
How many times have we Christians done the same thing? How often have we wasted our time waiting for our Master instead of living how he taught us? Waiting instead of tapping into God's power to be witnesses? It seems every few years there is a new group that has calculated when Jesus will return, and they are inevitably wrong.
Waiting is not our calling. Jesus promises us in verse 8 that we will be witnesses. This is not a command. It is a promise. We will be witnesses because the Holy Spirit will come upon us and empower us to be witnesses.
But we must open ourselves up to the work of Holy Spirit. We close ourselves off when we focus on the timing of Christ's return and we open ourselves up when we focus on living the Christlike life and witnessing as he commanded.
