Day 54 of the End to End in 2019 I crossed the Lune Aqueduct on the Lancaster Canal and I was quite literally up in the air as it’s graceful stone arches transported me across the River Lune at a height of 19 metres. It was completed in 1797 and is now Grade 1 listed. The Lune Aqueduct is one of the jewels of our canal system and definitely worth a visit. When you can look down on the birds in flight then things are looking up.
Due to the patterns of the Christian Year, this day in 2019 was Ascension Day so being up in the air was fitting in that way too. I was doing a bit of RB in my head as I walked along. Those who followed Jesus all that way wanted to know ‘Is it time yet?’ much like small children on a long car journey.
We all want an answer to the unanswerable question: ‘Is it time yet?’. As a response to the uncertainty of the times they were living with, they went on to elect someone else to the group of 12: Matthias. Not all that revolutionary as he was a bloke, if a fairly ordinary one, but they were just getting on with getting on, building up a team, being God’s people on the ground.
Back in 2019 I was getting on with walking LEJOG. I still had 63 days to go and was not yet half way. Forward to 2020 and we’ve been in lock down 10 weeks, which is already 10 weeks too many for some, and the country is even more divided than it was when all this started. Not just Brexit, as if that weren’t enough, but now all sorts of anger about the pandemic and whose lives matter most. So things are still up in the air and the question ‘Is it time yet?’ is still timely.
When Matthias was elected to the 12, Justus wasn’t (in fact this chap seems to have had 3 names: Joseph, who was called Barsabbas, also known as Justus). I wonder what happened to Justus? Did he breathe a sigh of relief and get on with his life, go off in a sulk or start a Fresh Expression?
Most things have a sell by date these days. But some thing don’t. Following the Way has no ‘to do by’ date. Things may be up in the air, but our feet are on the ground and here we stay. It is time for us to be God’s people today.
From the remembered bible in Acts 1
Is it time yet?
This prayer is from LEJOG 2019:
Timeless God, we who are obsessed with time need your calm reassurance.
Help us to wait expectantly,
Neither anxious or too laid back.
Your promises are reliable
And you will not restrict the potential of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
JAL: 30.05.2020 in Longdendale.