What Are You Looking At?
How many times have you been tied up in traffic, inching along for miles bumper-to-bumper, only to discover, when you arrive at the place where the traffic jam began, that there is nothing to see? Whatever was there… whatever caused the traffic to slow down to begin with… that person… that object… that amazing sight… is gone… and all that is left is people who are trying to get to wherever they are trying to go. Sometimes, it has been a fender-bender… but the cars have long left the scene. Sometimes, it has been a fire… but there is nothing left except black traces… and a lone fire truck. Sometimes, it has been the crowd leaving a ballgame… or a concert… or fireworks that ended long before… and nothing remains… but tired parking attendants. Sometimes, it has been a celebrity… or a politician… but their cavalcade has disappeared from sight. But, no matter what caused the “gapers’ block” in the flow of traffic… or how long ago it disappeared… there always seem to be a few “die-hards” that are still standing around… as if waiting for the next event to begin.
This story from Acts always reminds me of that. How many times… frustrated with the delay in my own life from this traffic jam… have I wanted to roll down my car window and ask those who remain: “Why are you standing here? The show is over. What are you looking at? What are you waiting for? Quit gawking… and get on with your lives.” Is that what the angels… the two men in white that we last met at Jesus’ empty tomb… were doing? Did they want to say to the disciples, “Hey, guys! There won’t be an instant replay this time… no encore performance… no extra innings. We’re done here. That was it.”
At the same time, I can understand why they stood there, looking up. After all, they thought Jesus was gone for good the last time… and he came back. Was he really gone this time? Why don’t we wait awhile and see? Or then, again, how often have I stood in railway stations or airline terminals, staring after someone who has just left, trying to imprint their image on my mind so that I would not ever forget them? Maybe that is why the disciples continued to stand there and stare into the sky. Or was it another case of “What do I do now?” coming on the heels of these forty days of resurrection appearances… each one a supernatural phenomenon filled with Jesus teaching the disciples and trying to fill in the gaps of their understanding of his work and his mission in the world. And, as they watch him disappear in the cloud, each one might have been saying, “Wow! I can’t do that. What can I do?”
Yes, they have their commission… the one we also adopted as our mission statement… “Go and make disciples”… but then… “Not yet”… for they were supposed to wait for something. They weren’t sure what it was, but Jesus said they would know when the power came upon them. How long were they supposed to wait? Hours… days? And where in the city… exactly? It was kind of awkward for them, I think, being in this in-between place… with no leader… no plan… no idea of what they were supposed to do. Why did Jesus leave again? He said he had to… so that the Holy Spirit could come… whatever that meant. It was all so nebulous… so uncertain. They had tried to ask questions… “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He obviously had not done it before his death. But Jesus told them that it was not for them to know that. Was he really gone this time?
It was easy for the disciples to become focused on irrelevant issues… theological or otherwise. It gave them something concrete to think about. The disciples were still interested in the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Little did they know that the political state of Israel was about to succumb to the power of Rome… and they really did not need to focus on that. And Jesus did not want them to focus on matters of churchmanship… denominational doctrines… social justice issues… church growth… church/state relations... and so on, because he wanted their focus to be on a far greater purpose. “You are to be my witnesses…” to give testimony of what you have seen… of what you have heard… of what we have done together. For Jesus, that greater purpose is witnessing. His disciples are witnesses of his life… death… resurrection… and now, his ascension.
The gospels… Matthew, Mark, Luke and John… are examples of this witness, but they were written many years after this. They tell the story of the Christ. They proclaim him savior and Lord. And they offer the good news of God's free and complete acceptance, which is available through Christ to all who ask. This was the task that Jesus gave to his disciples: the honor of carrying this message of redemption and hope to a broken world. It is the same task that confronts us as Christians today during this in-between-time between the birth of the church on Pentecost and the return of Jesus in the End Times. Most of the time, we will do it one-on-one, with those we have developed a relationship of trust and friendship. But, many times, we will do it in the many ways that we support our local church and its outreach programs… parachurch organizations and missionary societies… the Bible Society, Wycliff translators, and the like. We are called to share the good news and we must be ready, willing and able to speak for Jesus, and work to support others in this task.
It is important to add that the disciples were not left to undertake this task in their own power. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you", then "you will be my witnesses." Of course, it is easy for us to assume that, because the apostles received the gifts of preaching and teaching through the Holy Spirit, that all believers will be empowered in that way. I believe that each person’s gifts are unique… and, yet, we can share the story of Jesus with us through the gift of empowerment that the Spirit provides. Some of us till the ground… some sow the seed… some water and nourish the young crop… some pull weeds… and some gather the harvest. It is not productivity that God measures, it is faithfulness to the commission that we have been given and use of the gifts that have been bestowed upon us to God’s glory.
“Why do you stand looking up to heaven? What are you looking at,” the two angels ask. There is little productivity in staring into space. There is still work to be done. But we have been told to wait for some particular blessing from God before we begin. That is the power that comes to us through the Holy Spirit. Why did Jesus go away? Didn’t he promise he would be with us always? St. Augustine answers the question in this way: "And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find him. For he departed, and behold, he is here." Jesus has promised to never, ever leave us, but the place where he may be found is not in the flesh-and-blood human being he was during his thirty-odd years on this earth. He is even closer to us now, for he is in our hearts and we carry him with us wherever we go.
So, what did the disciples do in this in-between-time… this time of waiting? The gospel of John… that Michelle Kimple read for us this morning… says that they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy… not fear, as they had after the resurrection… but joy… and they were continually in the temple, blessing God… and waiting for God’s gift. Next Sunday, we will celebrate the birth of the church on Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit that is given to all believers. We will reach out in joy to embrace our Confirmation Class and celebrate all their gifts. In the meantime, what better thing can we do than to be in the house of the Lord… blessing God and rejoicing that Jesus has returned to his rightful place on the throne… for in his departure from us, we will receive all that he has promised… all that we need to do the work that he has commissioned us to do. Amen.
Acts 1:1-11