Acts 1:1-8
As children, so many of us participated
in those neighborhood footraces. Someone would say, “Hey, let’s race to Richard’s
house!” Then someone would yell, “Line on the sidewalk is the starting line!”
After everyone was there, someone else would say those important words: "On your
mark. Get set. Go!" Of course, that person would have a foot in motion as he was
saying ‘Go!,’ and we’d all take off flying down the sidewalk. We did not know
at that time the importance of those steps of finding the mark, getting set,
and then going. Our reading today helps us see their importance.
On your mark. Get your toe on the
line, make sure you’re facing the right direction, make sure you’re starting in
the right place. For the disciples, Jerusalem is the right place. Jesus has
them all in the right place. In fact, when they gather here, Jesus tells them where
the finish line is: the ends of the earth, the whole world. They are on their
mark.
Get set. This is more than being in
the right place. This is about getting our form, setting in, tensing the right
muscles, leaning the body forward to add momentum to the start. This is about
making sure your body is able to start this race well. The Holy Spirit was what
the disciples need to get set. Jesus says that the Spirit will give them
power. In the Greek that Luke writes this in, the word is dunamis, a
word that indicates conveying ability. The Holy Spirit will get the disciples
ready, make them able, for something that has never happened before, for a task no one has had
before. By God’s Spirit, they’ll be set.
Now would be the time to say, Go!, but
the disciples have to wait. Wait. Wait. We despise waiting in this world. I used
to hate it, but then I went to Venezuela where I had to wait in line to pay the
water bill, the power bill, the cell phone bill, the cable bill, to make a bank
deposit. Lines were everywhere—a way of life. Most of the time, I would be in line
from one to two hours at each place I had to do business. In the beginning, I
was incredulous. Then, I watched the people around me. They talked with one
another. They took care of other business on their phones. Some would read
magazines and a very few books. I learned to make the most of the wait…and I
have a feeling that our 1st Century disciples did the same. In fact,
when we see how they spread throughout the known world after Pentecost, I’m
guessing they used their waiting time to plan how they would reach “the finish
line.”
Perhaps you are in a time of waiting—you
feel called to something, you have sensed God nudging you towards something,
but you feel the need to wait. You may even be frustrated. If you are in the
waiting season, you have heard the “On your mark” and the “Get set!,” and all
you need is the “Go!,” use this waiting time to plan, pray, prepare. You’ll
know when it’s time to go…and you’ll have God’s Spirit making you able to do it
all.
On your mark. Get set. Wait….
Sunday, May 25, 2025
“On your Mark. Get set. Go!”
Watch/Listen: HERE
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