Waiting

Acts 1:1-11, Luke 24:44-53

May 4, 2008

Today is known as ascension Sunday, that is, the day we remember Jesus’ return to heaven.  You see, after his resurrection on what we now call Easter Sunday, scripture tells us that Jesus showed himself to not only his disciples, but to hundreds of other people as well.  But now it was time for him to return to heaven, and he had one last thing to teach his disciples.  Luke records this both in his gospel and also in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, commonly known as Acts.

In this way we see how Acts 1 overlaps with the last chapter of Luke. So if you have your Bibles with you, let’s go to the last few verses in Luke’s gospel and read this event as it is recorded in Luke 24:50-53: “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany , he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”

What a sight that must have been to watch Jesus ascend into heaven before their very eyes! This is no vision or dream. They are seeing the resurrected Christ with their own eyes, rising up to heaven.  I can only imagine what they must have thought.  Verse 52 says, “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”  I have the feeling that some danced their way back to Jerusalem .

It’s a wonderful thing to have such an encounter with the Risen Christ, to know that you’ve dedicated your life to the One who is the giver of life because he overcame death.  So when they got back, they went straight to the temple to praise God. 

In fact, in your Bibles, underline verse 53, “And the stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”

Now, put a piece of paper or your bulletin in Luke, and turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 1.  Acts is just after the Gospel of John.  Let’s look at the last three verses of our reading from there, chapter 1, verses 9 through 11.  Please follow with me as I read, “9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Underline in verse 11, “Why do you stand there looking into the sky?”  We’ll come back to that and the verse from Luke in a minute.

Now, I submit to you that the one last thing Jesus needed to teach his disciples—and us—is that we have a job to do, and that the Holy Spirit will give us the strength, the courage, and the ability to do it.  In Acts verses 4 and 5, you see Jesus telling the disciples that the promised gift of the Spirit is coming.  He says, “In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  But more than that, he tells us in verse 8 about the Spirit equipping us for a mission, and you may want to underline this as well, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.”

This is important.  You see, God has a job for you and for me—that job is to be his witnesses, that is, to share his love with others.  It’s not hard, it’s “I was that, now I’m this.  The difference is Jesus, who accepted me as I am and loved me.  And he loves you, too.”  Simple, right?

The problem is that we’re not doing our job—we’re holding on to what we think is more important, more valuable that what God has for us.  We’re holding on to our pride and our fears.  Back in Luke, we heard that the disciples went back to the temple with great joy, and then they stayed there.  Now, I know that they were waiting for the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit did come.  But in today’s churches—in our church—the Spirit has already come, but we’re still waiting.  Yeah, we come and we praise God and we sing our songs and nod our heads, but we don’t accept God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to go out beyond these walls to share God’s love with people who so desperately need it! We’re stuck in church.  That’s why I had you underline that verse in Luke, so you’d know what you need to move beyond.  We need to be reaching out to our communities, to our friends, our relatives.  We need to stop waiting and start working.

I mean, look at those last verses in Acts.  Jesus just gave these men a command, a commission, and rises up to heaven in all his glory.  And the guys just stand there with their mouths hanging open, with a “duh” look on their faces. 

Have you ever been just staring off into space, and suddenly you realize that someone is waving their hand in front of your face to try to snap you out of it?  It happens all the time!  They were standing there, waiting for something to happen, but something just DID happen!  Jesus gave them a mission, and said that he would equip them with the Holy Spirit.  It’s time for them to get to work.  Now, to be fair, once the Spirit came on Pentecost, they did get to work, and we’re the evidence of that.  Because from those 12 guys 2,000 years ago, comes this building here today filled with Christ-followers. 

But it sometimes seems that we are still waiting, still hanging out in the church either marking time praising God or staring off into space.  We need to get to work.  Jesus tells us that our mission is to share his love.  The Holy Spirit is here, a gift from God, leading us and empowering us.  So, what are we holding on to?  What are we waiting for?

PEARLS FROM GOD The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. With her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00.  If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere -- Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath, because Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess -- the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She’s my favorite." "That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That’s okay. Sleep well. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?" Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It’s for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

Pastor Jim’s Illustrations Plus.

Jesus has a treasure waiting for us, an opportunity to be his messengers in the world, to share his love with others. So what are you waiting for?  What are you hanging on to?  Pride? Fear? Uncertainty, or a lack of commitment? 

As we come to communion, this is the best place to decide turn your junk-store jewelry over to God, to commit or to recommit your life to follow him, and accept the Pearl of Great price, the gift of eternal life that is offered through Jesus Christ. To not only hang out here and stare into space, but to be on God’s mission, the most exciting adventure of your life.  Because really, what are you waiting for?