Sermon: 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 1.1-14
Mark 6.7-13
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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.”
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
We are now on this side of Easter. Last Sunday marked the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, and, in a way, it marked the end of one chapter of the story of Jesus, and the beginning of another chapter, one that is still going on after all these years.
And as we turn our attention to this new chapter, we take our scripture readings, not from the gospels, but from the book of The Acts of the Apostles.
It turns out that both this book, Acts, and the gospel of Luke, were written by the same author. The scholar, Edward Pillar, says this:
“Acts of the Apostles is the second significant act in Luke’s account of the dramatic mission of God, which began with the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
This much is clear from the opening sentences. The 24 chapters of the Gospel of Luke lays out “all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ...” up to and including his death, resurrection, and ascension. We have within the Gospel the living revelation of the character of God in the relationships, the teaching, the parables, and challenges of the life of Jesus.
But here, in these opening sentences of this second act, the author lays out the direction the narrative will take as the apostles take up the mantle of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and speak of the good news of God throughout the world.”
(From workingpreacher.org)
The word, apostle, means one who is sent.
And even before the Acts of the Apostles,
Jesus send out his disciples on some amazing assignments!
Take for example the ready from Mark for today:
Jesus sends out the disciples with no money,
no extra food or clothing, and what they accomplish
in the name of Jesus is amazing!
And, now, in the Acts of the Apostles, we are going to hear some amazing stories and accounts of what that looks like. The gospel, the good news of Jesus, will be spread throughout the world. The apostles will encounter challenges beyond belief.
And the church, the body of Christ will be formed,
be birthed into what Jesus calls it to be.
But it seems at first, the only places they are sent to
are their rooms:
“While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.””
And then, after Jesus ascends to heaven:
“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying . . . All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer . . .
It kind of feels like we have been sent to our rooms, doesn’t it? For me, as a kid, I have lost count of how many times my mom or dad told me; “Ok, buster, that’s it, you’re grounded. Go to your room!”
Ok, so, is God grounding us?
We at Trinity are followers of Jesus, aren’t we.
And we know our vision statement:
“God’s love our hearts, God’s love our hands”
We take that pretty seriously. We are doers;
we are called not to just follow Jesus but to go where Jesus sends us,
we are called to be apostles.
And it is killing us not to be out there;
or not here in the building; not gathered for worship,
not busy quilting together, not singing together,
not learning about Jesus together, in person, at JAM, or 4g, or Faith Formation, or Sunday School, this list goes on and on of all the ways it might feel like we are grounded.
Well, we are not grounded, not at all:
So many of our people are ‘out there,’ doing what they are doing to keep us safe and well; medical care-givers, firefighters, police, restaurant workers, maintenance folks, the list is long of people who are doing all they can to keep us well during this pandemic.
But, get this, even staying safe at home, we are still following Jesus, we are still being sent to be about all that Jesus calls for us to be about.
Dear friends, I have been able to witness to the powerful ways you have been about serving Jesus even while our building is closed: families learning about God together; people staying in touch, people helping each other financially. We are learning new tools, new ways to reach people with the good news of Jesus. There is so much that you are doing as you are sent, as you remain, as you follow Jesus! Thanks be to God!
I understand how hard all this is; we are worried,
we are hurting, we are fearful.
Maybe, in our work to keep everyone safe,
Jesus calls us to care for each other, to listen for God in ways we have not heard God before. This call is not easy, but it is Jesus who calls us, who is with us.
This pandemic will pass, and we will gradually return to how things were, or will we? Maybe, in this time of waiting and watching, we are being asked to think about what new ways Jesus is calling us to be, in what new ways are we being called to reach out with the good news,
the news that Jesus is alive,
that Jesus has destroyed death,
that we are forgiven and loved more
than we can ever know.
Just as the apostles were sent to their rooms first, to pray, to listen for the Holy Spirit, to rest, to prepare for all to follow, maybe this is what we are about as well.
In the coming weeks, we will hear the powerful story of how Jesus called into being this thing called the church. And we will have the opportunity to think about our calls to follow and to be sent. But in the meantime, this day,
we pray, we breathe, we cry, and we love each other,
and we love God as we are loved in Jesus.
I would like to share a beautiful poem that I feel speaks to our time right now:
John O’Donahue
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”