Watch, Write, and Wait

by Janet Peifer

Habakkuk 2:1-4; Isaiah 40:31

Sermon at the Ordination of Marilyn L. Ebersole
Sunday, February 11, 2001; Messiah Village Chapel 

Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NRSV)

I will stand at my watch-post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.  Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Marilyn, family members, special friends, and the Messiah Village congregation--it is with a deep sense of joy and celebration that I share this ordination sermon today. This day has been a long time coming. This is one of those occasions that has been in the Lord’s datebook long since, but he had some work to do to get all the subjects and events lined up so that his will could be done on earth as it is in heaven. Ordination is after all, the people of God saying "Yes" to what God has already said "Yes" to.

Several weeks ago, I asked Marilyn what verse or passage she wished for me include in this message and she told me her choice was Isaiah 40:31. She shared that during her years of overseas mission work when God was prodding her to answer a call to ministry, that it was God who needed to do some of the waiting. Marilyn was saying to God, "but how can I do that?" As she stepped forward in faith to follow God’s call she learned about waiting on God for strength to make it through a Master of Divinity program at Ashland Seminary during her mid-life years. She learned how to rise above circumstances, to keep moving ahead, to walk through hard places while she waited for a pastoral assignment that would adequately use the gifts with which God had blessed her.

Yes, this concept, this place of waiting! The scriptures have numerous passages which speak of waiting on the Lord for fulfillment of promises, for answers to prayer, for comfort, and all manner of daily needs. I went on a biblical search for a passage to complement Isaiah 40:31. My heart skipped a beat when I came upon these several verses in chapter 2 of Habakkuk. It is not unusual, I’ve discovered through the years, for persons whom God has called to preach or prophesy to experience serendipity moments in their identity with the writings of the Old Testament Prophets.

The serendipity was enhanced by reading these 4 short verses in fourteen translations. In all 14 I found these three action-packed words: WATCH, WRITE the Vision, and WAIT. These verses follow Habakkuk’s first chapter of questions to God. "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you, "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble?" That’s the beginning of his many questions as he laments the condition of the world he was in. We would be naïve not to acknowledge that Habakkuk’s situation and times were very different from ours. However, when we can’t see how God’s truth is marching on, and we feel oppression and see injustices which profoundly affect the manner in which we and others can respond to God’s call on our lives, do we not also cry out, "Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?"

Not only should we voice those wrenching, soul-depth questions to God, but we then need to take our place, stand at our watch-post and keep attentive to see how God will respond to our laments. The Bible in the Basic English translation renders verse 1 thus: "I will take my position and be on watch, placing myself on my tower, looking out to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my protest." It takes fortitude to stand fast and watch—looking for and expecting God to respond. Few of us it seems are exempt from living in the midst of unanswered questions and lack of understanding about why things are the way they are. Marilyn, as well as other clergywomen here today at this celebration, have struggled with understanding what was happening inside us when we felt "strangely warmed" by our participation in ministry heretofore led by clergymen or male church leaders only. We took our places at the watch-post, scanning the horizon to see if it was indeed the Lord who was guiding these new pathways.

The Lord rewarded the prophet Habakkuk for his faithful watching with a clear response. We can expect the same. The period of looking, watching intently and hoping in God results frequently in an inner assurance, a "yes" within us that is our spirit and God’s spirit approving, coming together as one. One commentator said the "watch-post" is the withdrawal of the whole soul from the earthly, and fixing on the heavenly. God’s response to Habakkuk was forthright and in two parts, "Write the vision and wait for its fulfillment—there may be a time of tarrying, but it will come to pass."

Write the vision and wait! Writing what one senses is an injunction or call of the Lord has the benefit of allowing one to see the vision in a concrete form—an important stepping stone in owning the call of God as one’s own. Then beyond the personal acceptance of the vision is the important piece of making it public in a clear and understandable form. This is needed so that the current population may know, and to preserve the message for the generations to come. In Habakkuk’s day, visions and messages were written on large stone tablets or large pieces of wood. These large ancient-day billboards were then elevated in public places so that those going past—even if they were running—could not miss the important message.

Well today, Marilyn, and all of us gathered here--at this ordination service we are writing the vision, not only for ourselves, but a clear message for future generations. We are writing in large letters, we are raising high a banner boldly declaring, "God calls women to pastoral ministry." Some may choose not to read the "fine print", that is--to study the scriptures in order to understand the biblical basis for God’s call to women. But this is an object lesson, a clear illustration that in these days, God is calling women to join with men who also are called of God, to fulfill the mission of the church here on earth. This bold billboard cannot be missed!

This particular vision--that God also calls women to serve in pastoral and leadership roles--has had many starts and stops over the centuries. One of the major starts came with the ministry of Jesus and with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. But the written "Vision" got lost in church and religious institutionalism time and again till the present day. Hearing God’s call, seeing the vision, and waiting, waiting, and more waiting has been the reality of too many women of faith. We rejoice, however, for each one who has been empowered by the church and the Lord to follow her calling into church and pastoral ministry.
In the early part of the 20th century, one of our Brethren in Christ sisters submitted this written vision to the Evangelical Visitor. In an article printed in June, 1916 titled, "The Vision of Woman," Anne E. Kipe wrote:

The doors of opportunity are being opened on every hand. There never was an age in which the call for the pure, true noble woman rang so clearly. Now we stand in an open space with no bounds or limits to the work which might and can and should be done by the devoted and God-fearing woman…As the vision of future possibilities and opportunities looms up, let us strive to realize them. There may be difficulties and obstacles but nothing which cannot be overcome..

Despite the public acknowledgment of such thinking, three years later the church took a different and an official position on women as preachers. The 1919 General Conference minutes include this resolution, "Resolved, that we do not consider it the right of the woman to stand on equality with the man as a preacher."

That was not the last word on the matter however, and at the 1982 General Conference the recommendation passed that the Brethren in Christ Church affirms the ministry of women in the life and programs of the church. Marilyn, today you are the 11th woman to be ordained in the Brethren in Christ Church since 1987. In this sacred trust you are joining Lynda Kelly, Martha Lady, Mary Jane Davis, Martha Lockwood, Kathleen Leadley, Martha Starr, Doris Barr, Lynda Gephart, Dixie Yoder, and me. Along with our ordained brothers in the church, numerous licensed women and men, and a host of faithful lay persons, let us strive to serve the Lord by empowering each other, by learning from those whom we serve, and by sharing the gifts God has given us to his glory alone and to the furtherance of the Kingdom.

And Marilyn, I bless you to be a testimony to your younger family members who celebrate with you today—that they will at a young age choose to be obedient to the call of God on their lives. I rejoice with you that missionary friends, your mother, and other significant people helped you to hear God’s call, to write the vision, and to move ahead in obedience to the Lord. As your co-worker and a sister in the Lord, I commission you to do the same for others, especially women, who may be struggling to define God’s call.

May you continue to serve the Lord faithfully, ever aware of the awesome privilege of serving a Holy God who called you and equipped you. May your strength be renewed day by day as you wait on the Lord, so that in your continuing ministry you can climb the heights, run the distance, and not be faint or weary. Amen.

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