May 24, 2020
Get Ready to Witness
- Acts 1:1-14
- Rev. Carol McDonald
When I was in 9th grade, our Sunday School class read through the entire Book of Acts. Led by the incomparable Edna Bennet, we started with the first words … “In the first book, Theophilus,” and finished with the last words … the apostle Paul “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” It took us the whole school year to plow through the stories and the sermons and the journeys narrated in its chapters. By the end, I was sick of it and really never wanted ever again to read anything from the Book of Acts.
But then I went to seminary and started serving the church and the reality hit me square in the face: if I were going to be a preacher – even if not an every Sunday preacher – I’d better steel myself to deal with the book of the Bible that had driven me crazy as a 9th grader. For those who compiled the common lectionary thought it necessary to include a series of passages from the Book of Acts during the season of Eastertide not just for one, but for each of the 3 years of the cycle. We’ve heard a couple of those stories this Eastertide.
Today we find ourselves at the very beginning of Acts – a book I have finally come to believe is quite remarkable. The first 5 verses of today’s reading are a segue – offered by the evangelist Luke as a means of getting us from the account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to what comes next. It reminds us that the transition from then to not yet involved waiting. The disciples were told by Jesus to “stay put” - no leaving Jerusalem – no travel … stay quiet, avoid crowds and limit your social interactions … wait for the promise: you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days from now.
Eastertide 2020 feels eerily similar to the Eastertide of the first century. We are waiting … staying put … not traveling, doing our best to avoid crowds and to limit our social interactions. We’re waiting for the promise of once again visiting our favorite restaurants, sharing meals with our extended families and circles of friends. We’re waiting for the promise of fearless trips to the grocery store and we’re awaiting the promise of transitional leadership for this congregation we love. Once again, 2000 years later, we are awaiting the intervention of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus promises his disciples nothing less than the Holy Spirit, but after he makes that promise, what they ask him is almost laughable: “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Is it now you will return us to what we know and love and remember? Will we be able to return to our homes and our families and the lives we yearn to recover?
Aren’t we asking the same questions in our own waiting? When will life as we have known it be restored? When can we resume all the activities we love? When can we get on with school., and work, and travel, and vacations, and even what were once daily routines? When can we gather again for worship in this sanctuary?
Jesus is pretty clear with the disciples – it’s not for them to know the times or periods that God sets by God’s own authority. It’s not for them to know what’s going to happen and when and how it will unfold. And because I believe scripture always speaks to our current context, I think Jesus is pretty clear with us as well. We do not know what’s next – nor how things will unfold – nor when we might be able to gather in these pews – and we certainly don’t know when we can, once again, lift our voices together in hymns of praise to God.
The disciples are waiting … and so are we! The disciples had no idea of what was to unfold – and neither do we! But the disciples were given a promise – the promise of the Holy Spirit … and we, in the midst of a pandemic, are given that same promise. Pentecost is coming – not many days from now!
Jesus does offer the disciples a glimpse into the future that will follow the promise. Hear his words: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Your waiting is almost over; your work is about to begin … to teach and preach and baptize and heal not only in this city, not only in the surrounding towns and villages, but as far as your travels can take you.
Again, if scripture is speaking to our current context, I believe Jesus’ words are a glimpse into our future, too. If nothing else, this pandemic of unimaginable proportions has pointed out the desperate need for witnesses to the power and love of God for the whole world. Our social isolation has reminded us of the frail and vulnerable and hurting who are not just down the street or across town, but across oceans and on the other side of mountains. Our economic picture illuminates the inequality of income, of access to health care, of how persons of different colors and nationalities are perceived and treated. Social media offers blatant battles between science and fantasy, between what’s real and what is simply passing fancy. What some accept as truth, others dismiss as fiction; what to many is clarity, to others is lies.
I believe it is no coincidence that this passage from Acts 1 lands in our lectionary inboxes just as states and cities are moving towards ‘re-opening,’ just as families and groups of friends are pondering how best to resume social interaction. The challenge offered by Jesus to his disciples is offered to us this very day … as we slowly move into the next stages of community life, we are called to be witnesses – to the love, grace, and mercy of God … in whatever way we can. Some of us can work in food pantries and soup kitchens. Some of us can send cards and notes to the frail and homebound. Some of us can write checks. Some of us can even march in demonstrations for human and civil rights. We can all vote for leaders whose values and opinions we believe reflect a love for all of God’s children. And all of us can pray that God’s kingdom will be visible even “to the least of these.”
My friend Patrick Day, is pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Roswell, Georgia, and he says it this way, “The only thing I know is this, and it’s what I have held fast to for years. I need to think about more than what works for me. I need to think about what is good for the lady down the street, the guy in the next state, and the family on the other side of the world. For we are like lines on a geometry sheet – connected in some way. It’s called loving my neighbor. Not always easy, but always right.”
Note that the disciples don’t immediately absorb Jesus’ words – they don’t jump to their feet and begin to travel the world proclaiming the gospel – no… what they do is stand and watch – mouths hanging open, as Jesus ascends into heaven. They stood gaping long enough that two men in white robes were suddenly next to them, “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” the disciples are asked. Reading between the lines, I hear, “don’t just stand there … do something! Witness!”
But they stayed several more days in Jerusalem – continuing to social distance … devoting themselves to prayer. They pondered what it meant that, “not many days from now,” the Holy Spirit would give them power to witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. They were getting ready.
Friends, “not many days from now” is approaching … Pentecost is on the horizon. The promise is as clear as it was more than 2.000 years ago – we will receive power. And the challenge to witness is needed as never before. So… it’s time for us to devote ourselves to prayer … its time for us 21st century disciples to get ready …
Get ready … for now the challenge is ours. And we have witnessing to do – witnessing that will, in the final words of the Book of Acts -- “proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” May it be so. And to God be the glory! Amen.
Resource:
“What I Miss” by Patrick Day – blog post of April 23, 2020, in “Reflections on Life and Faith”