Remember the early ‘90’s? Remember a little thing called ‘Mad Cow’ disease? It caused quite a stir in farming communities – and with good reason. The market for beef cows was thrown into chaos. Borders were closed and trade restricted. Not a happy time.

It was in the middle of that chaos that a dear friend of mine offered the opinion that ‘surely Jesus’ return can’t be far away. The end of time must finally be here.’

She had family in the beef business. Times were tough…and uncertain for them, and this lovely and very faithful Christian woman was longing for Jesus to return to put things right.

Her prayer was (essentially) “I hope this is the time, Lord.”

It wasn’t.

There has been an unfortunate parade of catastrophic events down the years, and as each one unfolds, there is usually someone whose prayer echoes that of my friend. Maybe this time, Lord?

That the kingdom might come is a prayer we offer every week. The kingdom of God -the kingdom of peace and light and life. And we are always more eager for that kingdom when things aren’t going so well for us. So perhaps we have some sympathy for the disciples of Jesus on this pivotal day.

They have been through a lot – from their first experience of Jesus – to the wild events of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion – to this day. They imagined that finally there would be triumph.

Jesus is Risen, and all MUST be well…right?

And the teaching continues, and there’s all this talk of the kingdom…this MUST BE the time. And Jesus says – It’s not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set. Only God gets to know.

Life with Jesus, as it happens, is not a path to certainty – especially where God’s timing is concerned.

Jesus last words to his disciples – go and wait. Be my witnesses. Wait for the gift. Wait for the secrets to be slowly revealed in the passage of time.

Wait and witness.

The kingdom is the thing that we say we are waiting for. And we wait – though we’ve been fooled into thinking that we can only get to God’s promise by way of some horrible event or experience. Jesus was tortured, killed and buried. Surely his resurrection is the signal for the kingdom to come.  Forgetting (of course) that Jesus has already suggested that the kingdom was very near to us.

There are those who still imagine that the kingdom of God must be instituted like any other earthly realm. They imagine institutions and leadership structure – a hierarchy of faithfulness – will be a sign of this righteous kingdom. There are those who imagine that God will choose a leader for such a kingdom to thrive. That sacred promises will be lived out in very particular ways. These people play for God’s favour in the political arenas of the world…with fatal consequences for any who dare to get in the way.

There are those who, tired of waiting, would declare that they have special insight – or that they have been granted power through such a time as this so that the fortunate, favourite people might finally enjoy the promises of God.

Folks who think and act like this have never heard Jesus’ words. It’s not for you to know the times – certainly it is not our job to choose the times. God’s kingdom, God’s rules.

If only Jesus had asked us to do anything but wait. Wait for the Spirit – wait for the kingdom. Wait for God to reveal Gods-self or Gods plans. Waiting is the natural posture of those who would follow the risen Christ. But we’re not naturally suited to waiting.

Everything we experience makes our waiting seem like wasted time.

Every tragedy urges us to act – life is full of opportunities to declare ‘this is it, the time has come.’ We want God to overwhelm us and settle the question. We wait for the final act. And in doing so, we miss the point entirely.

We are wrong when we decide to force the issue (I know the secret – this is what the kingdom shall be) and we are wrong when we stand idly by, waiting for God to do what we hope God will do

God’s kingdom has always been very close – and that it’s just possible that we wait for something (or try too hard to create something)- that is not of God, not God’s kingdom. We shape human realms of revenge or false righteousness. We twist Scripture to suit our selfish desires. We claim religious motivation for conflict and chaos.

We would rather get what we want that wait on God.

That immanent kingdom – the one that Jesus preached about and represented – the thing that we are waiting for – is here waiting to be discovered. The gospels are full of examples of the presence of God’s kingdom.

Every time Jesus welcomes a stranger, or breaks a Sabbath tradition, or offers hospitality, or leads someone to wholeness. Each one of those episodes in the life of Jesus is evidence of God’s kingdom on earth. A kingdom, not ruled from a throne room or a boardroom – a kingdom of love and companionship, a kingdom of grace and gratitude. A kingdom of the here and now, not for some distant, imaginary future.

And our waiting is meant to be active, engaged waiting. Wait for the power of the Holy Spirit, says Jesus to that curious crowd of disciples. Wait with a purpose, and let the Spirit guide you.

We wait, sure of what we will find. We wait, informed by the Spirit. We wait as a compassionate community, eager to help – ready to respond in faith and in love to whatever happens next. We wait in the kingdom for the kingdom, for God is among us – Christ is with us.

The time is now. What are we waiting for?