Sermon for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Dunedin, FL
May 28, 2017
John 17:1-11, Acts 1:6-14
Our readings today speak to the transition from the season of Easter to the season of Pentecost. For the last 6 weeks, we have been basking in the light of the resurrected Christ, celebrating the truth that death has been defeated, and encouraging one another to come and see for yourself that the tomb is empty. Next week we will be sent beyond our own safety zones to live as resurrection people in the world.
But today the tone of our readings changes a little bit, and with the disciples gazing up into heaven after Jesus’ ascension, we are faced with the question of what life will look like now.
Have you ever been in a situation where a beloved mentor, friend or leader is about to leave and tries to give you some final words of advice? Or maybe you have been the one leaving and trying to find the words to say to articulate your hopes and dreams for those staying behind. I would imagine in this season of graduations, there are many parents and teachers giving some final words to students. There’s something really powerful about parting words, but they’re usually not as deeply understood until later.
“oh, so that’s what my mother meant when she warned me about the joy of love and the pain of heartbreak. I didn’t really get it then, but now I do.”
Or
“So that’s what my professor meant when he encouraged me to stay open to new ideas.”
In both the Gospel and the Acts text today, we have some of Jesus’ last words to and about his disciples. In John, we get to ‘listen in’ as Jesus’ prays for his disciples before his death. In Acts, we hear his address to his followers before he ascends into heaven. And there’s more to each story, so please read it again this week.
I think both sets of ‘final words’ are ones we as people of faith are still pondering and trying to understand. They spoke to the relationship at the time, but they take on meaning as we continue to reflect on them. And yet, both sets of final words speak to the mission of the church. Jesus’ hope and prayer for his followers is that they would know the gift of eternal life, and that they would be the visible expression of the unity between Father, Son and Spirit. But that unity wasn’t meant to be for the self-preservation of his followers—become so tightly knit together so that you don’t need anyone and no one can get in. Instead, Jesus’ prayer was that the unity of the community would be compelled by the power of the Spirit to be witnesses to the world.
If you ask me, we are not so different than the disciples. We—like them—look at what is going on in the world around us and hope that Jesus really is the answer. So—like the disciples—we ask Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom?” Is now when you’re going to prove to the empire that we were right to follow you?
Like the disciples, we have seen the resurrected Christ and can witness to the fact that Jesus is no longer dead. Not because we have seen him with our eyes or touched the wounds in his hand and side, but because we have seen the miracle of life in the eyes of a child, we have been through the very real and challenging experiences of grief, loss, depression, tragedy—and we have experienced the power of God as stronger and able to sustain us through even the deepest darkness. We can witness to the resurrection because we know it is only by grace that we have been saved, and that nothing of our own doing makes us right with God. And we can witness to the resurrection because we see and encounter the holiness of God in relationships with one another, in encounters with strangers, in love and mercy when we don’t deserve it, and most notably in the gifts of life and forgiveness through baptism and Communion.
So, yes—like the disciples we have encountered and been transformed by the resurrected Christ. Unfortunately, like the disciples, we often stay huddled together, gazing up into heaven hoping to see Jesus coming back. Unfortunately, like the disciples, we stay together behind closed doors reliving those memories and experiences of Jesus in our midst that feel so distant in light of today’s reality. And like the disciples, we are known to argue about who’s the greatest and who will get the seat of honor at the great banquet.
But remember those words Jesus said to the disciples? Remember that prayer he prayed before he died? We have those words too.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. What did he mean?
In the waters of baptism, we are “marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever.” OH…THAT’S what he meant! When we are invited to the Table we hear, “this is my blood…shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins.” OH…THAT’S what he meant! “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” OH…THAT’S what he meant!
What Jesus said would happen HAS happened. The Holy Spirit has come upon us—at Pentecost which we will celebrate next week and in our baptism, which we remember every morning when we wash our face or when we dip a finger in the font and make a cross on our forehead.
And do you know what that means? If the Holy Spirit has come upon us, then we have received the power to be witnesses! It’s ours! We have it! If the Holy Spirit has come upon us, we have the power to love one another, to declare forgiveness, to welcome the stranger and care for the widow, the orphans, the hungry and the sick. If the Holy Spirit has come upon us, then we have what we need to do the work of the Kingdom to which we have been called.
More frequently than I’d like, I am standing on that hillside with Jesus’ final words “you will receive power to be my witness” ringing in my ears…but unable to take my eyes off the clouds. “I’d rather you just come back and do it yourself. I’m not even sure where to start.”
The disciples saw Jesus go back into heaven, and for a moment were frozen in between what they knew from experience and this mandate they were not yet sure how to live into. I don’t know about you, but I get that. I sympathize with them. More frequently than I’d like, I am standing on that hillside with Jesus’ final words “you will receive power to be my witness” ringing in my ears…but unable to take my eyes off the clouds. “I’d rather you just come back and do it yourself. I’m not even sure where to start.”
But, thanks be to God, the disciples don’t stay there…and neither do we. The angels snap them out of their paralysis and say, “don’t be afraid. You are not alone. Jesus’ promise is true and you will see him again.” And with that reminder that God has not abandoned them and is faithful to God’s promises, the disciples are free to go back to Jerusalem and get to work.
For us that is good news. When we find ourselves unsure of what to do, God reminds us that we are not alone and re-assures us that God is faithful to God’s promises, and we will one day see Christ face to face. And this promise—given to us through baptism and re-given to us with each new day—frees us to go back to work in the world to which we have been called.
But do you notice what the disciples do when they return to Jerusalem? They don’t scatter to the corners of the city to do the work alone. No. They go back to that upper room and devote themselves to prayer. They start their mission with a stronger commitment to one another.
That’s where Jesus’ prayer in John 17 comes back in. Yes, we have received the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to the world. But that witness to the world is grounded in the gift of eternal life and a prayer for unity within the body of Christ. Because we can’t share Christ with the world when we are fighting with each other. We can’t witness to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth if there are divisions among us that leave some people out. As one professor in Scotland said, “The gospel cannot be preached in any congregation which is not a united band of brothers and sisters.”
After worship today, I will be meeting with a team to talk about what intergenerational faith formation and community means and looks like for St. Mark’s. Together we will be prayerfully considering how Jesus’ vision for his disciples informs the ministry of St. Mark’s as this community seeks to claim the power of the Holy Spirit and live into its mission to be witnesses to the world.
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you…Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
- When we are a community where all are welcome and all ages of people grow together in faith, we witness to the unity of God. Oh…THAT’S what Jesus meant!
- When all people in our community are growing in their faith and actively serving those around them, we witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. OH…THAT’S what Jesus meant!
- When we come together for worship, are refreshed and renewed in the waters of baptism and at the Lord’s Table, and then go out into the world and witness to the resurrected Christ, we experience eternal life and we witness to Jesus’ prayer. OH…THAT’S what Jesus meant!
As we move from Easter to Pentecost—from celebrating the resurrection to living as resurrection people through the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray that, with those disciples on that hillside and with the body of Christ all over the world, we will remember that we are not alone, we will claim the promises of God given to us through grace, we will lean into relationship with a God who is and always will be faithful to those promises, and we will be freed from our fear and uncertainty so we can stop cloud-gazing and we can go out into the world to which we have been called. Grounded in a community that is bound together by the mysterious and powerful unity of God who is Father, Son and Spirit, may we rest in the gift of eternal life—and may we witness to that eternal life to Dunedin, Florida and the ends of the earth.
Amen.