Sit Tight & Wait Here // Rev. Matt Kennedy // May 4 2025

There was a motto that used to circulate among tech moguls back at the dawn of the 21st century. To spur innovation and accelerate growth, developers and entrepreneurs were encouraged to, ‘move fast and break things." When you think of the ways technology has transformed the world over the last 25 years, it's tempting to see the appeal of the method. But is what worked for Google good for the church? It's hard to square that motto with the wisdom of the New Testament. More often scripture calls us to not to move fast, but to be patient, seek peace, and "make it your ambition to lead a quiet life" (1 Thessalonians 4:11).Sometime after the resurrection of Jesus but before the launch of the mission of the church, the Apostles were spending some final moments with the resurrected Jesus and eagerly asked him, "Is now the time you'll restore the kingdom?" (Acts 1:5). Jesus’s instruction to them: don't go yet, wait for a gift (1:4). Sometimes the Biblical admonitions for peace and patience can feel like a waste of time. It's too passive, not aggressive enough. Let me suggest that maybe stillness and waiting is more active than you think. Active waiting is not passive despair. Active waiting is a commitment of prayer, community, service, humility, and gratitude-- the Christian church can practice the kind of revolution that doesn't break the breakers, but repairs the broken.