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We are in the third week of the Lent season. Lent is a time to prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus. By way of preparation, we are invited to put into practice some form of self-denial in an effort to identify with the testing of Jesus in the wilderness.
Last week we looked at the idea of lament, which is the expression of pain and distress to God. Lament is an important part of our relationship with God.
If we do not learn how to lament, our praises will flow out of our entitlement to security and comfort rather than in response to God’s intervention in his act of salvation. We cry out to God because he is near and will meet us in our needs.
Today, we will look at the topic of waiting. I could have used patience as the topic, but there is a difference between waiting and patience that I want to make sure we understand.
Patience is an adjective, a characteristic that describes someone. In Biblical terms, it is a fruit of the Spirit. It is a virtue. We are called to be patient.
Waiting is a verb, it is an activity. We wait, not always patiently, for things we long for. This is what I want to get at today. This is about our desires and the recognition that where we are and what we have is not what ought to be. And so we wait for it to be made right.
With that distinction in place, I will use the word patience in this message because patience is the best way in which we wait.
So, waiting is the topic, but what are we waiting for? Ultimately, we are waiting for God. Waiting for the return of Jesus, who will bring our salvation to completion.
This is what God’s people have been waiting for all throughout history. When Abraham was called by God to go to a new place and have a family that will outnumber the stars in the sky, Abraham waited.
When the Israelites were enslaved under Pharaoh for 400 years, they waited for God’s rescue. When they made their way through the wilderness, they waited for God to move them further along in the journey.
I want to read a Psalm that speaks of waiting. It is what’s called a Psalm of Ascent. These are some of my favourite Psalms.
The Psalms of Ascent were songs for a journey. As people made their way up to Jerusalem for festivals, they sang songs that reminded them of God’s goodness and faithfulness. This is one of those Psalms.
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
I mentioned already that it has been the case for God’s people all throughout history, we are waiting for salvation, to be rescued. But, we will not wait well unless we understand the necessity of our salvation.
This Psalm may not describe how you feel about life. But, it does describe the human condition. We are hopeless without the rescue of God.
But, if we do not see ourselves in need of being rescued, we will dismiss any notion of waiting on God. This is the struggle most people have with the Christian faith. It doesn’t seem to solve a real problem for those who don’t see themselves as needing saving.
We want to save ourselves. We don’t want to owe anyone anything. So, what is the purpose of waiting on God?
Why do we wait?
Tomas Halik, in his book Patience with God, identifies the main difference between faith and atheism as patience.
A common sentiment among atheists is a sense of God’s absence from the world. If there really is a God, and if he really is good, why is there so much evil in the world?
I have shared this sentiment. I have asked the same questions and I caution against providing answers too quickly.
I suppose what is really behind this question is a matter of proof of God’s existence. If God would show us that he is here, it would make it a lot easier to believe in him, wouldn’t it?
Even if he would give us some sort of sign of his presence, some evidence that he’s still around and paying attention to us, we would have an easier time believing in him.
How many of you would have a more determined faith if God would give you clear evidence of his presence here? How would it change you if God suddenly did something right now in this room that provided irrefutable proof that he’s alive and is who he says he is?
There is a flaw in this way of thinking. Tomas Halik suggests that if our relationship with God were based solely on a conviction of his existence, which can be acquired painlessly through some rational or tangible experience, it would not be faith at all.
What did belief in God look like for the nation of Israel when they had a pillar of fire and smoke guiding them through the wilderness?
Sure, they had no doubt that God was with them, but what was their relationship with God like? God showed up and they asked for more. They complained. They wanted out because God did things his way.
What about the 5000 who saw the instantaneous multiplication of food right in front of them at the hands of Jesus? They wanted more food. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35)
Here’s the lesson: when we get from God what we are asking for, we don’t get what he’s truly offering.
Again, from Tomas Halik, “the experience of God’s silence and God’s hiddenness in this world is the starting point and one of the basic factors of faith itself.”
The goal of life is not to get what we want, but to receive what God is offering, trusting that he knows better than us.
And so, the difference between atheists and those who have faith in God is patience. An unwillingness to have a relationship with God on his terms rather than our own terms.
Think about it, though. Do we really want a God who gives in to our limited understanding of what is good and right? Isn’t a God worth worshipping a God who sets the terms of the relationship?
Isn’t it good that we have a God who doesn’t give in to doing things our way?
Psalm 130 says that if the Lord kept a record of sins, no one could stand. But, it goes on, with God there is forgiveness.
There are two options in life. We can do it our way, and face God without his forgiveness. Or, we can do it his way, and face God with his forgiveness.
If you decide to receive God’s forgiveness, it means you have put your trust in him, which also means waiting on him to complete the work of bringing you to full restoration, which will happen when Christ returns.
If you consider yourself as one who is skeptical about what I’ve shared, or something is missing that you need to understand further, let’s talk.
For those who are willing to wait on God, let’s consider how best we can wait.
How do we wait?
Psalm 130 in verse 5 and 6 – wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.
We wait with our whole being, putting all our hope in his promises.
There is an analogy here related to this occupation of a watchman that we don’t have any direct comparison to in our day, so I’d like to give some background.
The watchman was responsible to be on the lookout from a high vantage point. His most burdensome responsibility was to protect ancient towns or military compounds from surprise attack or disaster by sounding a trumpet.
Ezekiel 33 provides a detailed description of this responsibility and what would happen if he failed.
“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ (v. 2-6)
The comparison in this passage is between the watchman in a city and the responsibility that God has placed on Ezekiel and other prophets to be a watchman for the people of Israel.
There are other images that come to mind with the word watchmen. Keeping watch was an important element of ancient civilization in which darkness was truly dark and dangerous.
With no artificial lights to illuminate the night, the watchman had to be keenly aware of anything remotely unfamiliar outside the city walls. The night watch was likely a dreaded experience.
This verse also speaks to perseverance. A watchman could escape the darkness by lighting a lamp or going to sleep so that the hours would pass more quickly.
And, night after night, the watchmen would go out and fulfill their duty, each night waiting for the morning to come.
Most nights would have been uneventful and repetitive. It would be easy to become neglectful, thinking there is nothing out there.
This is a good analogy for the act of waiting on God. Over the centuries, it is easy to become neglectful of our waiting and watching. We occupy ourselves and begin to trust more in what we can see than what we cannot see.
We need constant reminders about what it is we are waiting for, and discipline to not allow our hearts to yearn for something other than God’s salvation.
This is what the church is for, and why we gather together. This is why we sing songs and pray prayers. Why we listen to sermons and learn from one another in small groups, Bible studies, or in our own devotional times.
It is why we come to this table we call communion. To be reminded and remind one another, and to proclaim that we are still waiting and we will keep waiting. And while we are waiting we will show people who Jesus is, keeping watch with one another so that we will not become neglectful of our faith.
Communion
In Luke 22, we read about this practice of communion that Jesus instructed his followers to continue.
I want to read an extended passage which includes the wider context of this night on which Jesus was betrayed, as it is connected to the theme of waiting and keeping watch. I’ll start at verse 14.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That’s enough!” he replied.
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
The disciples had an idea about how things were going to take place. But, God had a different way, a better way. He asked them to keep watch with him, to pray in the midst of the waiting so that they would not fall into temptation.
Would those serving communion please come forward.
As we prepare to receive the bread and the cup, take a moment to renew your commitment to wait and watch for God.
If you have never trusted God in this way, and you want to. Please take the bread and cup as your first act of obedience to Christ. And then tell someone. You can tell me, or even just tell the person next to you that this was the first time you’ve taken communion.
This is for all who say yes and amen to the words of Psalm 130: put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
We will pass the bread around first and then the juice. Please hold on to both until everyone has been served, then we will take them together.
Scripture References
Psalm 130
Ezekiel 33:2-6
Luke 22:14-46
Other Resources
Patience with God, Tomas Halik