What’s Next? – May 29, 2022, Ascension!

Psalm 134, Acts 14, 1-14
May 29, 2022

Today we read this story of the Ascension of Jesus Christ.  As I said, the Ascension is not a Sunday specific event.  But we usually pick a Sunday to celebrate it.  Because it’s an important event!  If you think about it, this is the story of Jesus’ last moments on earth, according to Luke.  I say Luke because it’s pretty much universally understood that Luke was also the author of this book of Acts.

So, both books were written by Luke, and apparently both were also written to the same recipient.  He begins the Book of Acts saying, “In the first book, O Theophilus…”  and then he describes what was in the first book, which was the life and ministry of Jesus.  And I think the way he said it, he was referring to a book Theophilus had already read.

Now, we don’t really know who this man Theophilus was, other than being a colleague of Luke.  And the understanding is that Luke was a physician.  I’m sure you’ve heard that.  So maybe this man Theophilus was a physician, too.  But whoever he was, it appears that Luke had written both of these books to him, though eventually, of course, they were read universally in the Church.  The other thing to keep in mind is that these books, the Gospels and Acts, were written later.  The letters to the churches – Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, etc… were written much earlier.

So, the first four books of the New Testament were the story of Jesus.  Now this next book is about “The Acts of the Apostles.”  It’s about what happened after Jesus left the earth, and how his ministry continued.   And it begins with the Apostles – which they were now called – waiting in Jerusalem for “the promise,” as Jesus instructed them.  And the promise, of course, was the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate on Pentecost.

Now, keep in mind that the assumption here is that the reader, and eventually the readers, had probably heard about these events.  Things that happened in those days were often told from person to person before they were written down.  And this book, like the Gospels, was an attempt to recall and record the events years later.

So then, we have this introduction to Theophilus – which seems like a preface or a prologue.  And then book of Acts formally begins.  And it begins with the departure of Jesus, this event which we now call “The Ascension.”  Jesus left this earth by ascending supernaturally into heaven, right before his people’s eyes!  We often read the story of Elijah on this day, recalling how he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind of fire!

As I read this, I have to wonder, what were those Apostles thinking at that moment – I mean beyond the amazement of this event?!  Were they even Apostles yet?  Luke calls them that now.  But remember this book is recounting of these events.  This is looking back.  So they were certainly Apostles at the time of this writing.  And one could make a case that this was still part of their “commissioning” as Apostles.  We’ve been talking about the last couple of weeks.  In this scene, Jesus was trying to tell them what was next.  Because they still didn’t know.  As I read this, they had no idea what the next few years would hold for them!

Think about it.  Jesus had been crucified, not all that many days before this.  And they were crushed!  And now he had come back to them.  Would it be like it was before – only this time with a resurrected Lord?  In other words, would Jesus continue to lead this ministry?  And where was that ministry leading?  Look at their question.  They asked, “Lord, will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?”  Like many people, they thought that was Jesus’ ultimate mission!  His teachings were all well and good, but if he was the Messiah, that’s what they all expected the Messiah to do.  He would be the Savior who would free them from Rome!

But he said, “No.  That’s not going to happen now.  And I can’t even tell you when it will.  But!”  And that word “but” was the operative word here.  “But you shall receive power.  And you shall be my witnesses.”  And then, he left them!  Those were his last words on earth, according to Luke.  “You shall receive power.  You shall be my witnesses.”  That’s what’s next.  If you think about it, those are like the last words of Matthew’s Gospel, which we read last week.  “All authority in heaven and earth has been given me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

But even as all this happened, I’m sure Jesus left those guys wondering.  Even knowing what he just said about being his witnesses, even as they stood staring into heaven, I’m sure they were thinking, “What’s next?”  I used that as the title of this sermon, because I think that was a huge question in all of their minds!

Of course, the biggest answer to that question “What’s next?” was that Jesus’ ministry would continue, and they would be taking over where he left off!  They would be his leaders.  And they would pass that leadership down through the ages of the church – all the way to us!  You see, we are part of this story, too!

That leadership has come down through the ages, and it has taken on many forms.  For many years of the church, the leaders were the clergy, and there was a hierarchy in place.  Our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters still have that kind of leadership.  We Presbyterians have a shared leadership.  It is shared between clergy and elders, or “presbyters” in the Greek language.  That’s what makes us “Presbyterians.”

Of course, that makes it interesting when different churches with different leadership come together.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to explain to people in the huge Roman Catholic area we live in, that I’m not the one in charge, that we have this shared leadership.  “Well, who is in charge,” they ask?  I tell them, “The janitor, of course!”

The other interesting thing about that is that some people would rather have someone else in charge, as opposed to sharing that leadership, as opposed to having that responsibility themselves.  They’d rather have someone else doing all the work, someone else being the witnesses to God’s grace, someone else living the life God wants for all of us.  Some people feel that, if their pastor is “holy enough,” that covers them!  (I can only say, if that were true, you guys would be in a lot of trouble!)

And I say all that about leadership because, yes, these Disciples/Apostles would be “taking over.”  That was “what was next.”  But!  They would be passing that ministry down through the years, again to us!

So, how does that make you feel?  You are part of the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ that we read about in the Gospels, and now in this book of Acts.  Jesus has departed this world, and left his task of telling the world about God’s kingdom, to us!  Does that feel like a daunting task?  If it doesn’t, it should!  We are all part of this question, “What’s next?”

Look what the Apostles did when they faced that question.  “All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer.”  That’s a good start!  The new leadership of the ministry of Jesus Christ started with prayer.  I hope we realize how important that is to us, too!

Prayer does a lot of things!  It puts things in God’s hands, for one!  It creates a reliance on God for guidance.  Prayer gives the opportunity for us to say to God, “What do you want us to do?”  Because the temptation is to say, as the Apostles said here, “Here’s what we expect you to do.”  In their case, it was, “restore the kingdom.”  The temptation is to say, “God, here’s what we’re going to do.  We hope that’s ok.”

Prayer gives us the opportunity to ask God, “What’s next?”  And that’s good!  Because we don’t know what’s next.  And the uncertainty of what’s next can be difficult for us!  But God knows what’s next!  And that’s the great thing about being part of his kingdom.  Remember the old saying – that I love.  “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know the one who holds the future!”

So, think about these Apostles, gazing into heaven, wondering what was in store for them.  I suspect if they knew, they might have been reluctant to take it all on.  Think about them being called to be Jesus’ witnesses, literally, to the ends of the earth.  And think about how you, too are called to be his witnesses.

We follow a Jesus who said, “You are the light of the world.”  Everything you do and say, and how you live your lives shows that light – or dims that light, as the case may be.  So, make your light shine bright!  Make your witness a positive one!

Prayer

Eternal God, give us the strength we need to be your witnesses.  Help us to keep in mind that we are the light of the world.  Guide us, we ask, for you hold the future.  And help us to know that you are with us, to the close of the age.  For we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.