Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after the Ascension) (Acts 1:6-14)  6/01/2014

“As they were watching, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?'” (Acts 1:9-11) These three short verses of Scripture from the Book of Acts are among my favorite verses in the Bible, for many reasons. Just prior to this description of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, we are told of the many post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the final lessons he hoped to give to his followers, teaching them how to spread the Good News of Christ. But now the time has come for Jesus to leave them, and leave them he does…and they are left standing by themselves, filled with awe and more than just a little worry in their hearts. Suddenly, two heavenly beings burst into this dramatic moment with a question: “Why are you standing there looking up to heaven?” I really love this question because it is so simple, yet so challenging at the same time. I feel some kinship with the disciples as they gaze to the heavens with their mouths hanging open, the universal sign of “my goodness, what’s next?” The Ascension of Christ marks the 40th day of Eastertide, and in those forty days Jesus continually prepared his disciples for the next chapter of their ministry in the world. And we have heard throughout these past weeks that the disciples often did not really understand Jesus’ lessons to them; again, I feel some kinship with these earliest followers of Christ! And now, Jesus has departed from their midst; their great rabbi, their teacher, has ascended and left them to carry on…a bit overwhelming! What should we think of this story; what can we say about our first class of Christians? Should we understand the Ascension as a graduation story or something else entirely?

The season of spring brings big decisions for graduates, whether high school or college or any program of study; there are big decisions to be made. We might stand still, staring into the heavens as we consider the big questions: what will I do, where will I go, and do I really know enough to start the next chapter of my life? For people so accustomed to gaining knowledge and making grades and striving to do a good job, the change of the next chapter in life brings about uncertainty and anxiety…and we know a little bit about change in this place, right? You may feel a lot like the disciples, standing in place, gazing toward the heavens thinking, “now what?” So if the Christian life calls us to fill our heads with godly knowledge and go out into the world as holy graduates, well, we have some big shoes to fill, don’t we. This type of thinking brings about great anxiety as we consider taking part in new ministries. As a teacher in Christian education, will I know all the Bible stories if someone asks; if I join the Altar Guild, will I remember the funny names of all those linens in the sacristy, and there seems to be no end to the unknown questions that might be put before us. But Jesus never asked his followers to know all the answers and he does not ask this from us.

Jesus said to his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) The disciples were called as witnesses to Christ’s love in the world. They were not called to be scholars and specialists of the sacred mysteries. They were called, and we are called, to be witnesses of Christ in the world. The 20th century theologian, Karl Barth wrote that the life of a Christian is the life of being a witness; “whether strong or weak, willing or unwilling, successful or unsuccessful, the Christian is a witness…In all circumstances and with their whole existence they are a responsible witness of the Word of God…And as such they are set at the side of God in the world.”^[i] Barth further explained that as we are set at the side of God in the world, we are also placed as people living in contrast to the world. We live in contrast to the world every time we love those who live without love, every time we forgive those who seek to be forgiven, every time we serve with compassion to those in great need. Given the charge to be a witness releases us from the burden of becoming scholars and specialists of the sacred mysteries. Witnesses are filled with the courageous understanding that God is with them, and witnesses are busy thriving in the world, testifying to God’s love in many ways. As the story of the early Christians continues to Pentecost and beyond, we learn the disciples finally understood Christ’s message and followed his invitation to spread the Good News, serving God’s children in the world. And this is Christ’s invitation to us as well.

So if we are called to be witnesses of Christ in the world and not specialists of all the sacred mysteries, how do we live our lives as witnesses to Christ? After all, the world appears to be a pretty busy place these days. We are all going here and there, constantly connected, seemingly always over-scheduled and out of time. Many of us feel challenged to find room in our busy lives to fit one more commitment on the list. Perhaps we have an opportunity to stand at the side of God and provide some contrast in the world by our very presence, our unhurried and thoughtful presence as a faithful expression of our witness to Christ’s presence to others. Timothy Sedgwick, professor of Christian Ethics, speaks of this expression of the faithful Christian life. “Christian faith is a life lived in which a person is opened to the world-at-hand, drawn out and connected to a world beyond oneself. This is a life of turning, of conversion, from life given and defined by particular and often [personal] desires for fulfillment to a new life given as a member of a people who live life in the embrace of others.”^[ii] This thought capture the essence of the life of Christian witness: we are asked to leave our personal concerns behind for a moment and enter into the broad community of Christ. And there are many wonderful opportunities for ministry in this community; so teach without worry of all the sacred mysteries, join the Altar Guild without worry of the linens and their funny names, or become involved in one of the many ministries of community service. The witness of Christ’s love embraces the broad vision of God’s mission, for it is God’s mission that turns us outward and opens our hearts. As Christians, we are called to take our place as witnesses to the work of God in this place and in the world. AMEN.

^[i] Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, Vol. IV.3.2, The Doctrine of Reconciliation, G.W. Bromiley and T.F. Torrence, eds., trans. by G.W. Bromiley, (London: T&T Clark Int’l, 2004), Section 71, 609.

^[ii] Timothy Sedgwick, The Christian Moral Life: practices of piety, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999), xi.