This sermon was preached at Bridlington Priory Church by Rev K. F. Godfrey.
Shall we pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight - Oh Lord, our rock and redeemer. Amen.
Shall we begin our meditation, by turning our attention to the reading, from the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter-40, we see the prophet urging the Israelites to wait for the Lord. He says, those who wait for the Lord will mount like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Friends, Is it possible to wait for God at all? The Psalmist says, If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there . How do we wait for the Lord who is present everywhere? Waiting for the Lord is not something passive but it is active. Waiting for God is not like waiting for a train. It is to be more active than that. Waiting for the Lord is attempting to see the invisible; it is endeavouring to hear the tender voice of God; it is opening our hearts and our whole being to feel his presence with us. It requires us to be active with our mind, body and spirit. Like those who study painting see better at an art exhibition, when our spiritual eyes and ears are well developed we more readily enjoy God. Waiting on God is what theological inquiry is all about.
The intensity and the utmost necessity of this advice of Isaiah, to the Israelites, will be clear if we understand the text in its context. Isaiah chapters 40 and 41 were written in a situation of suffering and pain. It was written around 547 B.C., during the period while the Israelites were in exile in Babylon. Obviously, living as slaves in a foreign country is not easy. The Israelites were humiliated and demoralised by the Babylonians. Psalm 137 talks about the situation of the Israelites in Babylon. V.1 says, By the rivers of Babylon, as we sat down, we wept when we remembered Zion. As the days passed, their pain was increasing. It is in this context that Isaiah says to his audience who were weary, faint and trembling…Wait for the Lord…for those who wait for the Lord will fly like eagles, they will run and walk. Precisely, it is a call to the Israelites to get ready and work towards deliverance and freedom. Isaiah brings hope and comfort by saying that doors will open for those who wait for the Lord.
Interestingly, while Israelites generally understood that sin causes suffering, Isaiah here focuses on what they could learn from the exilic situation rather than its causes. He speaks as if God had permitted Israelites to be in exile, so that they will turn to God more faithfully and wait for him. This, however, does not mean that they intentionally should take suffering upon them. The point is that, for Isaiah, the suffering in Babylon is a test – a period of trial. It is a means through which the Israelites will understand the glory of God once again. It is similar to Jesus saying, in John 9:3; about the blind man who was healed…this happened so that the glory of God might be revealed in his life.
What can the words, Wait for the Lord mean to us today? There are at least three ways in which these words can help us even today… Firstly, these words of Isaiah are words of comfort and encouragement even to us in situations of pain and hopelessness. Although we are politically free - we are not free from suffering and anxiety. Regarding our own situation, we suffer while we or our dear ones are ill, we do suffer when we face failures, we suffer due to moral guilt and sometimes we suffer due to others mistakes as well. For Isaiah, in any situation, people who wait for the Lord will not be ashamed. Isaiah 49:23 says, They shall not be ashamed that wait for God.
Simone Weil, a French philosopher has a book entitled - waiting on God. She writes, from her experience, Affliction makes God appear to be absent for a time. A kind of horror submerges the whole soul. During this absence there is nothing to love. The soul has to go on loving in the emptiness, or at least to go on wanting to love, though it may only be with a minute part of itself. Then, one day, God will come to show himself to this soul and to reveal the beauty of the world to it, as in the case of Job….. It is true that throughout history, for people who waited for the Lord, He has remained the rock of peace, the unfailing comforter and the trustworthy companion. Sometimes we want to know God very quickly. But, often the more we are able to wait for God - the greater the reward is. The more we love God the more we can wait for him. The more we wait the more reliable we become for God.
A few years ago, when I was ill for sometime, a story used to help me and I will share it with you very briefly. A king wanted to reward the best person of his country. Many tests were conducted and finally three were selected. Those three began to do equally well in all further tests. At last the king decided to have a running race. On the day before the race, the king sent his minister to all three of them, separately, to say - before you start running - wait for a secret signal from the king. On the next day, when the start whistle was given, one began to run. Tempted by that the second one also ran. They reached the finish line at the same time. The third one was very attentively looking at the king for the signal. Then the king said to him…I know that you would have run equally well. But I did not know that you can wait for me. The king rewarded him.
Although waiting on God may be something that requires our complete attention, at times, we may not find it easy to wait. But, the ability to wait comes from understanding who God is. Waiting for God requires the realisation of God’s omnipotence and human frailty. It requires acknowledging our dependence on God. It requires our willingness to wait. Above all, waiting for the Lord requires our absolute faith in God. It requires the ability to believe that God is reliable, God will not fail and God knows better. Waiting on God is exercising confidence in God's timing and help during difficult times. It requires offering a refreshing way out of ourselves.
Secondly, waiting for the Lord is something we should practise regularly rather than seeking his help only during difficult situations. In our second reading, St. Paul says - that those who wait for Christ - will be rewarded. We know that Paul had specific times when he waited to hear from Christ. At times, he prays for the blessings and guidance of Christ. It is when we give time to Christ - He directs and guides our life. Our time with God alone can help us check if we are in the right track. The church father, John Chrysostom, writes, “He who waits for Jesus' coming will perform works worthy of His joy.” He is also careful to say that we need to wait for Christ's coming to us now in a particular sense and not just in the general sense of his coming at the end. We do wait for trains and planes. It is an everyday experience that we wait for the traffic light. May we ask ourselves: do we have the practice of waiting for God? Do we spend at least sometime to listen to God every day? Waiting for God is a gateway to understanding God. Where God’s grace and human effort coincides – victory and happiness are sure to prevail.
In II Timothy 4: 8, Paul writes that Christ will reward him and not only him, but all those who wait, with love, for Christ to appear. This can also mean that, according to Paul, our entire life is meant for waiting on Christ. As we know, Paul was an educated man who learned under Gamaliel, a great scholar of his time. He was also a tent maker. Paul used his knowledge as well as his skills for his ministry. He preached to various churches and his writings find a remarkable place in the New Testament. What is important for us to note is that, for Paul, all what he does is an expression of his waiting for Christ. For him, waiting for Christ is a life-long process in which one witnesses Christ in all what one does. Realising that waiting for Christ is the most joyful experience, and it has the worthiest reward, Paul encourages Timothy, to wait for Christ in and through all what he does and receive the same reward.
We are involved in various kinds of works and we have many responsibilities at home, at church and in the society. A few days ago, someone asked me - I can wait on Christ when I pray. But how do I wait on Christ when I get into my daily routine and work. Paul’s words help us here. When we have the practise of waiting for Christ, He begins to abide with us. We begin to have the assurance and confidence that Christ is with us in all that we do. All good things that we do, whether we realize it or not, will be an expression of our waiting on Christ. It is in this sense, Paul writes to the Ephesians, no matter if we are called to be apostles, or prophets or teachers and here we may add the different works we are involved in, what matters is that our entire life should manifest that we have Christ with us. But the irony is that many times we see others doing better works than us. Here, as Christians, the message of Paul challenges us. Waiting on Christ should change our lives.
Thirdly and finally, in Revelation 3: 20, the story is turned upside down. When Isaiah and Paul say- wait for the Lord, Jesus says I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me. Is there a contradiction here? There is no contradiction here if we understand that waiting for Christ is actively opening our ears to hear him knocking at the doors of our hearts. However busy we are, and however capable we are, we are reminded to listen to Christ knocking and waiting at the doors of our hearts. Even today we have different types of exiles of our times. People suffer from chattel slavery, Debt bondage, forced labour, sex slavery and human trafficking even today. May opening our hearts to Christ also motivate us to see Christ suffering with those who suffer and extent our hand to open doors for all whom we can. As we wait for Christ may we also remember that Christ is already waiting for us.
Those who wait for the Lord will mount like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. May God bless us even as we actively wait for him.
Amen.