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Viewpoint from Rev Rosie Bunn 12/04/2024
 Rev Rosie Bunn
Rector of All Saints Church, Belton
and
St Peter & St Paul Church, Burgh Castle
How good are you at waiting?
I suppose it depends upon the context, whether it is something good that is anticipated, or a difficult, challenging or painful experience of waiting for an undesired outcome. Waiting for Christmas, for children, is much anticipated and enjoyed; the journey through Lent for adults who have given up something important to them, such as alcohol, chocolate, cake/biscuits, or social media, might seem a long time in coming to an end
 The disciples of Jesus don’t seem, on occasions, to have been good at waiting. Just before Jesus was arrested, when he went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. Instructing them to pray, he returned to find them fast asleep!
The watching and waiting of an Easter vigil can make time seem to pass slowly; thoughts of knowing that the sunrise is coming and the celebration of the risen Christ bringing an end to the solemnity of the days previous, provide the encouragement to stay in that waiting mode
The account of Jesus walking along the Emmaus Road, talking with two of his disciples who hadn’t recognised him, intrigues me. How could they have failed to recognise him? In their grief, they wouldn’t have been expecting to see him; so far as they were concerned Jesus was dead and buried! It was a slow walk home! But after it had dawned on them that it was Jesus they had walked home with, their journey back to Jerusalem seems not to have taken too long, as they likely couldn’t wait to tell the others that Jesus was alive
 I sometimes wonder how Thomas might have felt, having missed out on Jesus’ appearance to his fellow disciples. He must have wondered if he was going to get an opportunity to see for himself the risen Jesus Christ. He wouldn’t have known that Jesus would appear, and speak to him personally about his desire to see and touch Jesus himself; so waiting wouldn’t have been an issue for Thomas!
Gone Fishing! Peter and some of the disciples must have got fed up waiting in Jerusalem, as they are recorded as having gone fishing in Galilee. Waiting, as fishermen, seems to have been part of their experience, but waiting all night to catch fish, and catching none, is not so good. Meeting Jesus on the beach, and Jesus telling them to cast their nets again, brings an enormous haul. No waiting around then, it was all hands on deck. But Peter, realising it is Jesus, doesn’t hang around; he can’t wait to see Jesus face to face. He’s in the water and splashing towards Jesus
Now Jesus had taught his disciples about what was going to happen to him (before he was arrested, tried and crucified), but they didn’t’ really understand fully what Jesus had meant. After he had risen from the dead he spent some time explaining what the Hebrew teachings about him meant, and giving instructions to them for the future
Again, the disciples had to wait in Jerusalem for the promised gift of Holy Spirit. This time they waited and used that time to meet together and pray
How good are you at waiting? Sometimes, it can be good to wait, however hard that might be. Prayers often seem not to be answered and we have to wait. It is in the waiting often that we are blessed
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