Presence Devotion #30

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Waiting Together

Matt Destry – Communications Pastor

Scripture

Acts 2:1

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Insight

Think about the last party you attended. What was it like? What was for? Who was there? Whether it be a birthday, engagement or baby shower, we throw parties to celebrate great things in our lives, because we believe that others should share in our joy as well. Celebrations happen in groups.

The faithful gathered in the upper room were celebrating the ‘Feast of Weeks’ – a Jewish celebration held 50 days after the Passover to thank God for a good harvest and to present the Lord with offerings of new grain. But also, in the days after Jesus’ ascension, they were meeting for another reason:  in obedience to Jesus’ command.

In the previous chapter, Jesus had commanded his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). So they waited. in the midst of fear and uncertain days since Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, they waited in Jerusalem. When Pentecost came, they were found waiting, praying and worshiping together. What followed was the beginning of the early church as the Holy Spirit was poured out ‘on all flesh’.

Waiting on God in worship is not only an individual experience; it’s a communal one. It takes a community to wait on God, it takes a community to worship, it takes a community to praise. When I praise God on my own, I am confined to my own thoughts, feelings, perspectives. When we wait on God together, we become amazed and transformed by the wonder of ‘God with us’.

#15inmychair should not isolate us from the people of God – the chair serves the church.

Reflective Questions

1. How is #15inmychair helping you to be a contributor on Sunday?
2. What could you do differently during the week to prepare to worship with the church on the weekend?
3. How can you encourage those around you to ‘not neglect meeting together’?