“I wish I had a magic wand”. I don’t know
how many times I’ve said that in the course of my ministry to people facing
sorrows and troubles that feel overwhelming to them. I’d love to be able just to
make it all better for them. But I can’t bring back the loved one they’re
mourning. I can’t cure their illness. I can’t rebuild the relationship they’re
struggling with. I can’t stop their business going bust. I can listen, and
pray. It’s a huge privilege to do so, and it often seems to help. But there’s
almost never anything I can do materially to change their situation.
I’ve come to the conclusion
that that’s probably just as well, though. Trying to “fix” things for people usually
fails, and often makes the situation worse. It’s what I call “anxious activism”,
that frantic desire to do something – anything – whether it’s the right thing
or not - in the face of trouble. When I find I am feeling like that, I usually
have to ask myself who I’m trying to help. Is it the person in front of me, or is
it myself? Am I trying to meet their genuine need, or just my
need to be needed?
I’ve sensed quite a lot of
that “anxious activism” in people at the moment, the desire to Do Something –
capital D, capital S - in the face of the coronavirus. “What did you do in the war, Daddy?” said that famous World War one
poster. Perhaps for us it’s “What did you
do in the coronavirus epidemic?” We
wonder how we’ll feel about ourselves, how we’ll be judged at the end of all
this, especially if we aren’t one of those key workers whose jobs are demanding
so much courage of them anyway.
Many people I talk to feel
frustrated that they haven’t been able to help as much as they’d like. Over 750,000
signed up for the government volunteering scheme, but apparently most haven’t
been called on, and I think some have felt quite put out about this. There are
probably all sorts of reasons for the apparent low level of call out. The bulk
of the volunteers may not be in the same place as the bulk of the people who
need help. People may not know how to
ask for help, or prefer to cobble something together unofficially. In many
cases, people need professional help from people with the training and
experience. Their needs are beyond the scope of volunteers to respond to, no
matter how willing. And some things need structural change, political change,
to sort out. For most of us, the help we can offer is always going to be
undramatic, small scale, unseen by everyone except those directly involved. Added together those small actions are just as
important as the big things, but they feel like a drop in the ocean,
insignificant in the face of this worldwide challenge.
The Bible story we
heard today features some people who probably felt equally helpless. When Jesus
led them out to Mount Olivet, to the East of Jerusalem, overlooking the city,
they thought they knew what was coming next. Tradition said that this was where
the Messiah would appear before he entered Jerusalem to announce the Kingdom of
God. That’s why they’d got so excited when Jesus rode into Jerusalem from this
same place on Palm Sunday. They thought the moment had come when God would
intervene in history, throw out their Roman oppressors, restore Israel’s
self-government. All it had led to then was a cross, but perhaps now things
will be different. “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the
kingdom to Israel?”
I can
imagine Jesus heaving a heavy sigh. Have they still not understood? They’re
still expecting him to produce that magic wand for them. “Lord is this the time when YOU will restore the kingdom to Israel” they’ve
asked, but actually it’s they who are going to be doing the work now. “No” says Jesus,”You will be my witnesses” says Jesus. It is their work in
living out his Gospel message of love that will matter now, in Jerusalem and
Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Just at
that moment, when they are trying to get their heads around all this, a cloud
comes down, and Jesus is gone. No wonder they stand gawping up into the empty air
… What are they going to do now? How will they go about this daunting,
demanding task? Normally, they’d have asked Jesus, but he’s not here–
definitely not here – nowhere to be seen, however they strain their eyes into
the distant heavens.
But what
they do next shows that they have learned at least something from being with
him. Because instead of rushing into that “anxious activism”, I talked about
earlier, they stop, and remember that Jesus didn’t just tell them about the
work they would be doing, but also about the power that would be given to them
to do it. He didn’t just say, “you will
be my witnesses”. Before that he said,
“you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes upon you”. Then, and only then, will they know what to do, and
have the ability to do it. Before they act, they must wait.
And
that’s what they do. They don’t start flapping around making action plans or
arguing about who is working hardest or being most heroic. They wait, and while
they wait they “constantly devote
themselves to prayer”. They pay
attention to their own inner lives. They spend time with themselves and with
each other in the presence of God. They listen for what God is saying to them.
They recall what Jesus has taught them. They give themselves time and space to acknowledge
that they don’t know what to do, or how to do it, that this work can’t be done
in their strength, but only in God’s. They listen for his call, which will be
different for each of them. Some will be called to work in their own backyard –
in Jerusalem and Judea, in their own home towns and villages. That may not feel
dramatic, but there’s a real challenge in living out our faith among the people
who know us best. Some will be called
to Samaria, a place they’d normally try to avoid. Samaritans and Jews didn’t
get along. The challenge there will be to overcome their prejudices. And some
will be called to go to the ends of the earth, to strange places they have no experience
of at all. One calling isn’t better, or worse, than another. All are needed.
This
time between Ascension Day and Pentecost was a time of waiting for the
disciples, and it’s good if it is for us too. I’ve created a series of
reflective podcasts you can use to help you spend time with yourself and with
God - links are on the church website – but it doesn’t matter how we do it, so
long as we do. It’s not time wasted. It’s not self-indulgence. It’s the way we
guard against anxious activism, and make sure we are listening for God’s call,
the call that is right for us, the call we were made for. That might be
a call to do great things, but for most it will be a call to do small things
with great love, to be faithful in supporting others, to be patient with those
around us, and patient with ourselves, to be content with what we have and who
we are, and trust that God will do the rest.
Amen
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