The Gospels end with Jesus saying to his disciples “Go!”. Go out into all the world; baptize people everywhere, and make them my disciples.

The Acts of the Apostles starts with Jesus saying to his disciples “Wait!”. Wait in Jerusalem until I send the Holy Spirit upon you.

Of course these two instructions are all part of the same story. The disciples had spent three years with Jesus, observing what he did, listening to what he said, and taking part in their own way in His ministry – a sort of apprenticeship placement. He had trained them up; He had taught them well; He completed His Father’s task on Good Friday; and then the disciples lived for forty days in Jesus’ presence and company after He rose to new life on Easter Day.

Eventually came Ascension Day and Jesus left the earth to return to heaven, whilst the disciples were told to Wait!; wait for 10 days more, doing nothing except pray; wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit which will come upon you and finally make you ready to Go!

We, today’s disciples, today’s followers of Jesus, today’s Church, we are in those forty and fifty days. Easter Day has been celebrated with shouts of Alleluia! Now we hear of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus and his final  instructions to his friends; soon we shall be in the ten days of waiting rather than doing.

Our world today tends to be a busy world; everyone rushes everywhere. Quick, quick! Not much time! Waiting for ten whole days doing nothing would be hard for us. Even holidays are accompanied by the dreaded mobile phone or the laptop so we can “keep in touch”.

We are blessed with a very strange dog, Saffey, who is a great sitter and watcher. “Sometimes I sits and thinks; and sometimes I just sits” might well be her motto.

W H Davies wrote in 1911

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Christians might do well to add to “stand and stare” the words “listen and pray”. Days that are not full of busy-ness are not wasted days but rather give our minds and our souls a chance to calm down, wind down, and open up, so that maybe, just maybe, we will hear God’s voice, as soft as a dove, whispering in our ear.