2nd Friday of Lent (March 6). Not yet

Prepare to Listen.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
 
Prayerfully Read John 7:1-9
After this Jesus went about in Galilee.  He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him.  2Now the Jewish Festival of Booths was near.  3So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing, 4for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret.  If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”  5(For not even his brothers believed in him.)  6Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.  7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil.  8Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.”  9After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
The Jewish Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles) was a seven-day festival and one of the most popular.  Crowds went up in Jerusalem to celebrate and Jesus’ brothers thought he should be there to promote himself; let more people see what he could do.  Since they didn’t believe in him, were they merely mocking him?  I wonder.
 
Jesus disagreed.  No doubt his brothers were confused when he said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.”  In other words, not yet, not on your schedule.  Their time was limited to the present, the short-term moment.  Jesus’ time was long-term, transcending time and space.  It was kairos time, a dramatic moment of importance, such as his death, resurrection and ascension.  Thus, it was not yet.  Jesus was resolved to wait on God’s timing.
 
God still tells us not yet.  Wait for that kairos moment.  I’ll confess, I don’t like God’s timing!  It rarely coincides with mine.  I’ve often begged God to act urgently, deal with a situation that was destroying lives, messing with God’s glory, etc.  I want God to act now.  But God says, not yet.  God, not you and I, and not governing politicians, controls the world and what happens in it.
 
Sometimes, maybe more often than we like, the bad continues because the right time is not yet.  As we wait, we must practice patience and a deeper trust in God’s control of all things.
 
How do you respond when God’s answer to your urgent request is not yet?
 
Prayerfully Respond
For all those waiting for you to act against the hardship they’re living today, to you, oh Lord, I pray.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Not yet means practicing patient trust.