Mother's Day
The in between Times
Happy Mother’s Day. God bless all mothers here today and all women who serve as mothers in our lives. It is not always easy, often terrifying, and it is never ending. The love of mothers for their children never cease. There is hurt in some of our lives for never being able to have the children we wanted or for losing children much too soon. Know that God hears your prayers and the cries of your heart. May today be one of peace and joy for all of our hearts.
Most of you know that I lead and hold a Grief & Loss Support Group here. Group meets for usually 6 weeks at a time - right now we are on a hiatus and we are meeting occasionally until I will restart the group in the Fall. We meet on Thursdays and the group is open to all - it is helpful to have others to share some of life with as we go through various losses. The group has morphed and changed - many have stayed from the initial group - some of the immediacy of their initial shock of grief and loss has begun to morph into something else. What do you do now that your loved one is gone? What does life look like now and how do you move on?
What do you do when life as you have known it has shifted and you do not know what is next?
Psychologists call this time, “liminal space” - a time when one door or direction that you thought your life was heading has ended and you are not quite sure where you are going or what is next. It is a disconcerting time.
Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and spiritual author, describes liminal space this way: “It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer. If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will run… anything to flee this terrible cloud of unknowing.”
I have seen this in my work - people begin to frantically spin and just do anything - trying to relieve and hold their anxiety. Busyness can be a distraction, though it is rarely fulfilling and it burns us out usually.
Rohr in many of his writings encourages us to sit in this unknowing.
In Acts today, we have this strange little story that appears in the time of unknowing. Jesus has ascended into heaven and there are 10 days between Jesus’ ascension into heaven (after his 40 days on earth following the resurrection) and Pentecost.
Jesus’ last words to his disciples before his ascension was that they were to wait in Jerusalem and wait for something special to happen - for them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I am sure they had no idea what this really meant for them, but they were told to wait. For 10 days nothing was happening and so… Peter.
Peter. Oh Peter. Peter has to do something. So Peter stands up among the crowd and decides that since Judas had not worked out and had fallen away and betrayed Christ, that he should be replaced. There is no command that there have to be 12 apostles - that this was the magic number and that they needed to get another. Peter decides this on his own. He gives a speech and they decide to come up with two, and they decide to vote on them.
It is an interesting scenario - one that we see played out in churches and organizations the world over. When change occurs - we are going to “do” something. We will form committees and take action. We can’t just sit still and wait. In this case, Peter couldn’t even wait 10 days to see what was next. He decided they need another apostle, so they propose two - Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed and they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was added to the eleven apostles.
We don’t know anything about Matthias. This is all we know. We don’t know what happened to him - how he participated in the ministry after this or what role he had. I am sure it was fine that they added him. But the question remains, did they need to?
Or was this just an example of anxiety getting the best of Peter and the others and then moving forward so they could feel better that they were “doing something”.
Sitting and waiting in the “in-between times” - sitting and waiting in the “liminal spaces” can be some of the hardest work we can do. Nobody likes to live in the land of uncertainty. We want to know what is next when we lose something and we want to know right now what is next!
Rarely do we have the advantage of moving right into what is next right away - life unfolds and sometimes we need time and space for it to unfold. Maybe for our hearts and minds to heal some, maybe to just be able to take a breath.
Wait on the Lord we are told, and He will renew our strength.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 Wait on the Lord.
Our response to this passage in Acts today is from Psalm 1 - “they are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper.” v. 3
Those who walk with God, those who meditate on his law - will be strengthened. Like trees, standing upright, not withering.
Meditation - Waiting - Being still - strengthens us.
Jesus is no longer in the world. Ascension day was Thursday (the official 40 days after resurrection), but we are in the world (John 17). And though he is no longer in the world - we are - and Jesus told us to speak these things in the world so that we may have joy made complete in ourselves 17: 13 The New International Version says, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Here is that word again- joy from last week. He is speaking these things - Jesus is telling us how to be - so that we may have the full measure of his joy within us.
We are here for the purpose of being sent into the world and if we do these things, we will find joy. Within ourselves we are told.
We are in the world. So we will experience things that everyone else experiences - But we are not of the world. We will have times of uncertainty in our lives. And times of trials and hardships, but in the midst of these things- hope. Joy. We won’t have all the answers but we may have peace that does indeed pass all understanding.
In those times, sit with your uncertainty. Meditate. Pray.
With Pentecost, God’s plan for the future of the Church—rather than Peter’s—began to unfold—and it was like nothing anyone could have predicted; it was like nothing that had ever happened before; it was far different than anything even Peter could have ever imagined.
The Spirit moved the Church with new power and new direction and new insight into completely new directions. The twelve, as a group, a body—including poor Matthias,—the twelve vanish from the records.
The early church was organized and moves forward without them - they just sort of vanish from the records. All of Peter’s anxiety was for nothing - the Holy Spirit and God seemed to just move on without him.
It is important to know our place in things. Maybe it can help calm us and we can wait for things to unfold. Doing what we know we are to do - which all amount to matters of being and not matters of doing.
If you find yourself in this “in-between” land, consider jus sitting there. There are times when we do need to act and do something - make some changes we may need to make, but other times we may just need to “be”. A time to trust and expect God to be faithful.
Who knows what may happen?
Amen
Most of you know that I lead and hold a Grief & Loss Support Group here. Group meets for usually 6 weeks at a time - right now we are on a hiatus and we are meeting occasionally until I will restart the group in the Fall. We meet on Thursdays and the group is open to all - it is helpful to have others to share some of life with as we go through various losses. The group has morphed and changed - many have stayed from the initial group - some of the immediacy of their initial shock of grief and loss has begun to morph into something else. What do you do now that your loved one is gone? What does life look like now and how do you move on?
What do you do when life as you have known it has shifted and you do not know what is next?
Psychologists call this time, “liminal space” - a time when one door or direction that you thought your life was heading has ended and you are not quite sure where you are going or what is next. It is a disconcerting time.
Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and spiritual author, describes liminal space this way: “It is when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer. If you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will run… anything to flee this terrible cloud of unknowing.”
I have seen this in my work - people begin to frantically spin and just do anything - trying to relieve and hold their anxiety. Busyness can be a distraction, though it is rarely fulfilling and it burns us out usually.
Rohr in many of his writings encourages us to sit in this unknowing.
In Acts today, we have this strange little story that appears in the time of unknowing. Jesus has ascended into heaven and there are 10 days between Jesus’ ascension into heaven (after his 40 days on earth following the resurrection) and Pentecost.
Jesus’ last words to his disciples before his ascension was that they were to wait in Jerusalem and wait for something special to happen - for them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I am sure they had no idea what this really meant for them, but they were told to wait. For 10 days nothing was happening and so… Peter.
Peter. Oh Peter. Peter has to do something. So Peter stands up among the crowd and decides that since Judas had not worked out and had fallen away and betrayed Christ, that he should be replaced. There is no command that there have to be 12 apostles - that this was the magic number and that they needed to get another. Peter decides this on his own. He gives a speech and they decide to come up with two, and they decide to vote on them.
It is an interesting scenario - one that we see played out in churches and organizations the world over. When change occurs - we are going to “do” something. We will form committees and take action. We can’t just sit still and wait. In this case, Peter couldn’t even wait 10 days to see what was next. He decided they need another apostle, so they propose two - Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed and they cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was added to the eleven apostles.
We don’t know anything about Matthias. This is all we know. We don’t know what happened to him - how he participated in the ministry after this or what role he had. I am sure it was fine that they added him. But the question remains, did they need to?
Or was this just an example of anxiety getting the best of Peter and the others and then moving forward so they could feel better that they were “doing something”.
Sitting and waiting in the “in-between times” - sitting and waiting in the “liminal spaces” can be some of the hardest work we can do. Nobody likes to live in the land of uncertainty. We want to know what is next when we lose something and we want to know right now what is next!
Rarely do we have the advantage of moving right into what is next right away - life unfolds and sometimes we need time and space for it to unfold. Maybe for our hearts and minds to heal some, maybe to just be able to take a breath.
Wait on the Lord we are told, and He will renew our strength.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 Wait on the Lord.
Our response to this passage in Acts today is from Psalm 1 - “they are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper.” v. 3
Those who walk with God, those who meditate on his law - will be strengthened. Like trees, standing upright, not withering.
Meditation - Waiting - Being still - strengthens us.
Jesus is no longer in the world. Ascension day was Thursday (the official 40 days after resurrection), but we are in the world (John 17). And though he is no longer in the world - we are - and Jesus told us to speak these things in the world so that we may have joy made complete in ourselves 17: 13 The New International Version says, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
Here is that word again- joy from last week. He is speaking these things - Jesus is telling us how to be - so that we may have the full measure of his joy within us.
We are here for the purpose of being sent into the world and if we do these things, we will find joy. Within ourselves we are told.
We are in the world. So we will experience things that everyone else experiences - But we are not of the world. We will have times of uncertainty in our lives. And times of trials and hardships, but in the midst of these things- hope. Joy. We won’t have all the answers but we may have peace that does indeed pass all understanding.
In those times, sit with your uncertainty. Meditate. Pray.
With Pentecost, God’s plan for the future of the Church—rather than Peter’s—began to unfold—and it was like nothing anyone could have predicted; it was like nothing that had ever happened before; it was far different than anything even Peter could have ever imagined.
The Spirit moved the Church with new power and new direction and new insight into completely new directions. The twelve, as a group, a body—including poor Matthias,—the twelve vanish from the records.
The early church was organized and moves forward without them - they just sort of vanish from the records. All of Peter’s anxiety was for nothing - the Holy Spirit and God seemed to just move on without him.
It is important to know our place in things. Maybe it can help calm us and we can wait for things to unfold. Doing what we know we are to do - which all amount to matters of being and not matters of doing.
If you find yourself in this “in-between” land, consider jus sitting there. There are times when we do need to act and do something - make some changes we may need to make, but other times we may just need to “be”. A time to trust and expect God to be faithful.
Who knows what may happen?
Amen