I hate to wait.

Whether I’m standing in line at the DMV, being put on hold by customer service, or sitting at a red light, I have a tough time remaining relaxed until my turn finally comes around.  I don’t think there is anything slower than the digital timer on the traffic light in the center of Fairfax City, counting down the seconds until the light changes color … 50 … 49 … 48 … 47 ….

Well, there’s nothing that can be done about DMVs and customer service lines.  But red light delays are now being shortened by a high tech tool.

A dashboard device has been put on the market that changes traffic lights from red to green at the touch of a button.  According to The Washington Post, fire and rescue vehicles have had access to such equipment for years, but only recently have the devices become available to ordinary motorists. 

I have got to get my hands on one of these.  I can see myself on Main Street, running late for an appointment – as usual – and the light in front of me turns from yellow to red.  Instead of having to sit around and suck exhaust fumes, I simply punch a little button and give myself permission to go.  Thanks to advances in technology, I no longer have to feel hate … while I wait.  

Unfortunately, such traffic light switchers are really a terrible idea.  Interfering with traffic in an intersection is illegal in most states, and the random switching of signals is bound to create significant safety problems.  “Every driver I know would like to have that power,” says Sally Greenberg of Consumers Union, “but these devices could create serious safety hazards.”  (Greg Schneider, “Traffic Light Switcher Makes Critics See Red,” The Washington Post, November 4, 2003, A1)  

Oh well.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  

The people of Jerusalem were feeling equally anxious during the time of the prophet Jeremiah.  The army of the king of Babylon – an Iraqi army, no less! -- was surrounding the city of Jerusalem, and the people within the walls were desperate for relief.  Some wanted God to remove the army, some wanted to take up arms and fight, while still others wanted to find a way to escape.  The army of Babylon was a huge, glaring red light -- and it didn’t look like it was ever going to change.

Finally, the word of the Lord comes to the prophet Jeremiah, but it doesn’t tell him how to build a traffic light switcher.  Instead, God orders Jeremiah to buy a field in Anathoth, the town of his birth, outside the city of Jerusalem.  The Lord promises Jeremiah that the light is going to change, but not for a long, long time.  God wants the prophet to wait patiently for the green light, wait through the conquest of Jerusalem and the devastation of Anathoth, wait until that time when the exile in Babylon is over and people will be able to return and repopulate the land.  “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,” reports Jeremiah: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (Jeremiah 32:15).  

What a strange command this is: To buy a piece of land in a town that is about to be destroyed by an invading army.  The traffic light may be red, but God tells Jeremiah that he doesn’t have to feel stuck – he can use that time of captivity to take an action that shows his complete faith in God.  The message of this passage is that the Lord never lets us languish, even when the world around us is full of red lights.  God gives us a way to go, even when the world says, “Stop!”  

So Jeremiah buys the field, and carefully weighs out the money – seventeen shekels of silver.  He signs the deed, seals it, gets the proper witnesses, and then orders that the papers be put in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long, long time (vv. 9-14).  Jeremiah is prepared to wait for the light to change, wait as long as it takes.  He trusts that God is going to create a better future for his people, but it’s not going to happen as quickly as the people would like.

When God is controlling the lights, there is no such thing as a traffic light switcher.  

So what are we supposed to do when life give us a red light?  What are the actions that we can take when we are feeling stuck in our jobs, our schools, our communities, our social circles, our  relationships?  Each of us is going to feel trapped from time to time, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot make a move toward a better future.  A great deal of good can be done while we are sitting at life’s traffic light.

First, we can make a down payment on the future, as Jeremiah does when he buys the field in Anathoth.  There are times when our faithfulness to God doesn’t appear to be a good investment, but it always is.  Despite the fact that Anathoth is about to be burnt and destroyed, Jeremiah puts his hard-earned money into it.  He trusts that God will restore the fortunes of his chosen people, and will make their land valuable once again.

For us, this down payment could mean attending today’s Festival of Ministries and signing up for an activity in the year to come.  It could mean enrolling your children in church school, volunteering to play in a bell choir, or joining a small group for spiritual development.  It could mean working in one of our mission outreach ministries to the community, such as becoming a study buddy at the Lamb Center, or volunteering to become an usher in our worship services or a provider of snacks to our Christian Education program.  In all these ways, you make an investment in this community of faith, and turn it into a more valuable place.   

We can also trust God to turn impossibilities into possibilities, and wait with patience for God to work his purposes out.  After buying the field, Jeremiah prays to the Lord, saying: “Ah Lord God!  It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too hard for you” (v. 17).  

Nothing is too hard for God – nothing is too hard for the Lord who brings hope out of despair and life out of death.  When we feel overwhelmed by the problems of the world, and obsessed with the dangers of the day, God comes in and creates new possibilities for us.  He changes our focus and gives us a new horizon to look at.  God did it for the Israelites in Jerusalem, and he can do it for us as well.  

For me, this life-giving change of focus has come through my involvement in the Midlife Men on a Mission.  For many young people, including my own, it has come through participation in our church’s youth programs.  For others, it has come through commitment to the Companions in Christ program, a Presbyterian Women’s Circle, or the Family Seekers group.  None of these activities provide a quick-fix, traffic-light-switcher, instant-solution to the problems we face.  But they do give us a new focus and a new horizon beyond the difficulties of the day.  

Finally, we can believe that the Lord is always working to turn evil into good, and death into new life.  Over the course of our lives, we will certainly experience pain and suffering, but punishment and defeat are never the last words in our story.  “I will rejoice in doing good to them,” God promises as he looks to the future, “and I will plant them in this land” (v. 41).  

It is natural for us to want to control our destinies, which is why a high-tech traffic light switcher is bound to be so attractive.  But as people of faith, we are challenged to allow God to shape our futures with us, and this requires waiting for God’s guidance with open hearts and receptive minds.  “To wait open-endedly is an enormously radical attitude toward life,” said the Christian writer Henri Nouwen.  “The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment, trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our own imagination, fantasy, or prediction.  That, indeed, is a very radical stance toward life in a world preoccupied with control.”  

The challenge before us is to find a way to live with red lights.  This means turning off our traffic light switchers, and letting go of our craving for control.  Once our hands are off the switchers, we can invest in what God is doing, move ahead with faith, and gain a clearer picture of the future that is being prepared for us.  

When you travel in this direction, the light is always green.  Amen.   

Link to Sermon Index page

FPC Home | Welcome | Worship | Christian Ed | Preschool |Music | Mission
Fellowship | Inside FPC | Spiritual Spa | Youth | Committees |Site Map

Fairfax Presbyterian Church - Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-6985
(703) 273-5300 - FAX (703) 591-4246
fpc@fairfaxpresby.com
Contact Web Team with comments and updates.