I have this way of beginning sermons by saying, "This is one of my favorite passages." I mean it, but given the number of times I've said it, I have a lot of favorite passages. So I probably need to do some remedial work on what favorite means. Moving forward however, this coming Sunday, June 1, the lectionary takes us to Acts 1:1-11.
It's one of my favorite passages.
This favorite passage is found in Acts which may be my favorite book in Scripture. It's dynamic, absolutely full of energy and risk and adventure. The early church is birthed and then it is off and growing, here, there and everywhere. And it all begins with these first verses of the first chapter. Jesus makes his farewell remarks to the disciples and then he is off - ascended to heaven. Picture that however you will. I'm always caught with an image of the now eleven disciples looking skyward kind of wistfully. They know they should probably do something, go somewhere, move along, but, for sure you would want to stand there and linger in that moment another moment or several. But there are these two men in white robes (hospital orderlies? angels?) who pose this question to them: "Why are you standing here, looking toward heaven?"
On the one hand there is an easy answer. They are there staring at heaven because Jesus just now went that way and after everything they had been through in the past three years, shoot,in the past three months, excuse them if they want to have a good long look before moving on.
On the other hand there is the reality they know they've been gotcha'd again. It's almost like Jesus is still right there. He leaves them to carry out his work and they stand frozen in time watching the skies, maybe hoping that Jesus will come back into view...and then this voice is poking into their reality - "Why are you standing here, looking toward heaven?" Will we ever get this right? Perhaps that was the thought running through their minds as they left that spot behind.
Two things.
First, it may be a bit counterintuitive to make this the point, but I feel like we could stand some time looking at the sky. We have this belief that Christ will return. What will that look like? I have not a clue, but I believe it. Christ will come again. And in some way I have to think there is a value in a spiritual discipline of occasionally looking expectantly at the sky. You can really go and look at the sky or do it in some figurative way, but our hope is built around that whole coming again notion and being expectant might help us feel a little less like we have been left to hash this thing out on our own. If anyone has ever felt that way.
Second, this is a great story about getting moving. We can't stay in the comfortable, safe, secure, easy place forever. Maybe we can never stay there. The thing is we have to get off the hill and get busy. The disciples figured that out - in a big way. Our calling is not to faithfully gather weekly on the hill to see if anything has happened and check in with each other. Our calling is to move along. Move into the world. Wherever our world takes us, wherever the Spirit leads us, there we are to go. And all that dynamic energy stuff that comes in the rest of the book of Acts - that's the life we are called to - vibrant, breathtaking service sharing the good news that death didn't win, that life abundant is possible.
Move along say the men in the white robes...move along.
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