Waiting Out Our Long Winter: A Lesson in Following Christ

Cold winter weather is something that not all Americans usually share, but this year the cold, ice, and snow have even descended upon our southern states, such as Georgia, Alabama, and even Florida. Up here in the northern plains everyone, including people who have lived here their whole lives, admit that this winter is harsher than usual. While there are some enjoyable aspects to winter, the bitter cold and chill are not among them, and the only thing you can do to survive them is passively wait. Nothing we can do will change winter itself. Nothing we say or think will make spring come any sooner, no matter what that groundhog in Pennsylvania may or may not see in a few days. We just have to wait for spring to come. And, even as people in the south of America are finding out, the waiting is the hardest part.
As Christians, though, waiting is part of our calling, and it has been that way for a long time. Matthew begins his Gospel about Jesus with a genealogy that focused on people who had to wait years, even decades, for their children to be born. Matthew then describes Jesus’ birth in which two people had been waiting in the Temple for Messiah to come. Jesus’ family had to spend his first years in Egypt, while they were waiting for Herod to die. Just before Matthew introduces his audience to the grown-up Jesus, he turns his attention to John the Baptist, who makes everyone feel bad within earshot of him. “You people better repent and shape up right now,” John says, “because the one coming after me will be even more fiery than me. Just you wait!” Then Matthew finally introduces us to the grown-up Jesus, but before getting a taste of his teaching he quietly recedes into the wilderness to be tested and tried by the Devil himself. He waited forty days and forty nights to complete his trial.
After his time in the wilderness Jesus relocates to a rival town from the one he grew up in, saying that the people in this town are privileged to have seen a great light—him. And then he begins to preach, saying a familiar message to anyone who would listen, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matt 4:17b). Those were John’s words, but soon Matthew lets us know that Jesus was going to be different from John. Matthew tells us that Jesus recruited followers from the likes of fishermen and that he healed anyone and everyone in his new town, especially people who were waiting months or even years to be healed. His healing touch drew notoriety, so large crowds followed him wherever he went. With all these crowds around him, Matthew has us, his readers, wait no longer to sample Jesus’ teaching. Jesus goes up to a mountainside, sits down, and speaks. The wait is over! Here is what the teacher says:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see GodBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:3-12).
After hearing those words, it seems our wait is not over after all. Even though Matthew already told us that people in Jesus’ day have seen a great light, their blessings—our blessings—call for more waiting. They will be comforted. They will inherit. They will be filled. They will be shown mercy. They will see God. They will be called children of God. They will be rewarded in heaven. When? Some time later. How? Not of our own doing, for these are all things that will happen to the blessed ones. Why? Jesus does not answer this question here, but he hints at an answer by the end of verse 12, “for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” God has a tendency to turn things upside down. God’s people go against the culture around them, and so God’s blessings are reserved for those who do not have things easy today. Instead, they are for people who are waiting.
Waiting is not the same thing as doing nothing. While waiting for the cold weather to pass we bundle up before stepping outside and going about our days. Likewise, there are also things we can do while waiting for God’s blessings to come. These are the flip side of Jesus’ words above: be poor in spirit, mourn, be meek, crave righteousness, show mercy, be pure in heart, make peace, and be a prophet, especially when no one wants to hear what you have to say. Just as surely as spring will follow winter, the kingdom of heaven will follow our lives spent waiting in this fallen world. Wait well brothers and sisters!