Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach 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.”

Sermon Text

We come now to the close of Easter. Soon, except for Baptisms and certain celebrations, we will stow away our Paschal candle and its light will not shine again. The season of resurrection shifts into a new season, one of mission and of commitment to living our faith out in the world fully and properly. Our celebration today looks to Christ’s ascension and the accompanying things it tells us about the world we live in. Like the disciples, we look up, but just like the disciples, we cannot let our eyes remain heavenward for too long.

The Church holds that there are a handful of ways in which we ordinarily meet with God. The celebration of Holy Communion, the prayers which we offer to God, the scripture which stands as a perpetual testimony to God, and the community of the faithful we call the Church. Sometimes these allow us a glimpse of God, sometimes they allow us to see God more completely – our eyes locking onto the divine and the divine looking back toward us. These are, however, mostly modes of faith that move our eyes upward toward heaven. When we come together to worship, to celebrate the sacraments, when we pray privately or in worship… All of these are examples of us creating space to look up from earth toward heaven, even for a moment.

Despite the importance of this time we take to look up, it is never the intent of God that we spend our whole life with our necks nearly broken in an attempt to see God’s movements in the heavens. It is fully possible to be so fixated on seeking God in the places we expect God to be that we miss the important ways God is trying to show up outside the ordinary. When we are constantly looking up, we miss the fact that God is around us, in the world, and not just in the “sacred spaces,” we have often tried to lock the Holy inside of.

Our scripture shows the disciples having followed Jesus for forty days after his resurrection. Having seen the horrors of his death, they now fully appreciate the wonder of his resurrection. Not just raised from the dead, but perfected in his flesh in the way that tells us what we will someday look like. The risen Christ was the same Christ who died on the cross, but without the veil of misunderstandings that kept the disciples from seeing who Christ really, truly, fully was. God and man, now shining in an obvious as well as perfect unity. This is the resurrected Christ.

Amidst further teachings and miracles, the disciples follow Jesus and he promises them that the Holy Spirit will soon be poured out into the world, and that they would be the first to receive the life it gives. Not fully understanding, they think Jesus is planning to end the world shortly, to bring the kingdom of God to fulfillment in one decisive movement. Jesus does not let that linger, however, and gives one final instruction to his disciples. “Forget about figuring out when everything will be finished, look to what there is to do now! I give you the Spirit so you can give it to others. Speak the truth to the Judeans first, then to the Samaritans, then to the entire world! Go and change the world and trust that I’ll settle any scores after that.”

The disciples then watch Jesus disappear into the heavens, not literally the sky above us, but the place where God dwells. In his place, two angels appear and question the disciples lack of movement. “Why do you look up? He’ll be back.” The disciples stop their worshipping, stop their staring, and then go into Jerusalem to await the coming Spirit. The disciples realize that, while looking to Heaven has its merits, their job involves more than just sitting and looking up.

There is a balance in our faith between devotional and missional pursuits. The two are not oppositional, they are not even opposite ends of a spectrum, they just both take time and resources to complete. If you invest time and money into expanding worship and prayer and sacramental access you do not guarantee that the same amount of money and time and resources will go into missional works of mercy, evangelism, and general community support.

I have only seen once successful complete fusion of worship and service. My wife, in her incredible penchant for ministry, planned a system whereby every fifth Sunday was a mission Sunday. The congregation would gather in the fellowship hall, read scripture and pray together, and then they would assemble kits and supplies for local non-profits that they would then go out to deliver. It built community relationships, it got people resources they needed, and it combined the acts of worship and service such that all involved could see in the work they did a different kind of devotion, a way to worship while working.

These were still occasional services though, and each week the congregation still had to find the balance between the two shades of our work on earth. The angels here, helpfully, give us an understanding of how to go about our work. The disciples have done nothing wrong by standing on the mountain and watching Jesus ascend, they were asked to go up and do exactly that. The angels were not their to chastise them, but to redirect them. “The time for this work is ending, the time for another is beginning.” After the disciples return to Jerusalem, they do not immediately get to work, they still gather together and pray in the upper room until the Pentecost comes. The mode of their work changed, but the validity of either type did not.

Among the reasons we meet weekly as a Church is that it assures us the presence of God. We know we can find God in the pews when we gather to pray and worship and proclaim scripture because God promises to be found in these things. What makes the difference for us, both individually and as a Church, is if we can make tangible movement toward mission in the time between our worship gatherings. What are we doing to serve the world? How are we proclaiming our salvation and our scriptures? How are we being God’s people?

My job as a minister, and especially as an Elder, is to provide a place where we can gather and receive God’s Spirit and grace. In gathering like we do this morning, God is offering us the fuel, fire, and perspective we need to go out and do our work outside this room the rest of the week. It is my earnest hope that, as time goes on, I will be able to add more opportunities for us to gather devotionally across the week.

I am called, at the same time, to point us outward. Though we in the United Methodist Church hold that Deacons are the kind of minister who work primarily out in the world, I am not exempt from this requirement either. It is my hope that, with everything we receive in this service on Sunday, we can go into the world and share a bit of it with those around us. The virtues that God builds within us, the insight the scriptures show us, the goodness that is shared between us, we owe the world to show them these truths. The laity of the church are to be equipped by ministers to go forward and do the work of the Church, the minister likewise provides guidance, rest, and sacramental strength to those works.

We are all gathered here, on this blessed day, to look up and remember that Christ is our advocate for all time. When we pray, Christ is seated beside the Father and praying alongside us. When we cry, Christ sits in the presence of God weeping with us. In all things, we have an eternal advocate we can worship and praise with everything we have. That same Christ, however, has asked us to see him not only in bread and wine or choirs or prayers, but in the face of our neighbor, and of those in need. We must be a people who do not spend our time only looking up, because Christ is revealed in more than just our worship. To truly know God, we must serve one another, our neighbors, even our enemies.

Take time then, as we continue our service today, to truly embrace Christ’s presence with us in worship. Take the strength that comes from knowing God is with you in all things and let it prepare you for a week lived out in the world. Once we leave this room though, do not let your rumination lead to stagnation. See Christ in the people around you, worship him with your care. – Amen