Acts 1:6-14
Intro
This past Thursday, at least on the church calendar, recognized the Ascension of Jesus, which is when the Scriptures tell us that Jesus resurrected body was lifted into the heavenly realm. Our passage this morning gives us one account of this event.
There are several things that I find wonderfully intriguing about these verses. The first is that the disciples, who have been spending time with a man who was dead for three days are still caught up in their own way of thinking, as opposed to allowing their thoughts to become more aligned with that of their Master and his Divine Father. The question that is asked by the disciples prior to Jesus ascending is, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" This is a very temporal and earthly desire. It’s like when a child knows that they are going to have a special treat and they just keep asking the question, "can I have it now? How about now? Is it time yet?" And of course what happens, "No, it’s not time yet. When it’s time I will give it to you." That’s what we would say as parents and that is what Jesus says to his disciples: no, not yet.
The second thing that catches my attention is what the angels say to the disciples who are watching Jesus ascend through the clouds. They say, "why do you stand looking up at heaven?" To which I think the answer is a gigantic, "Duh. What’s going on here is not something that we see every day. It might be normal for angels…not so much for humans." So there’s the second thing.
The last thing that caught my attention is what the disciples do once they get over the whole looking up at the sky thing and actually begin to deal with the reality that they have been told, "No, not yet." Their actions model for us the example of what we should do when we get that divine answer of, "no, not yet." The scripture reads this way.
Acts 1:6-14
6
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 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."12
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers."Getting Ready For What’s Next"
I need to admit that I needed some help on today’s sermon (because I could not think of an illustration that fit perfectly) so I called in the big guns: my wife. As always, she hit the mark.
She remembered a story that she heard several years before that spoke to a couple who longed to have a child, but due to infertility problems was unable to conceive. However, they prayed and prayed and prayed some more and believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would have a child. They even moved so that the school district that they lived in would be perfect for the child that they would raise. Still, they were unable to conceive. They prayed, but God kept saying no, or at least not yet.
A few years later, they received a call from the police informing them that the wife’s brother and sister-in-law had been tragically killed in a car accident. The reason for the call? They needed to take care of their niece and nephew. This connection remained, as did the couple’s state of infertility. God said no to their prayers to have a child of their own. However, just because God said no did not mean that the Spirit of God was not continuing to move. The couple had done everything they needed to do to set up a situation to raise a child. Ultimately they realized that in the midst of tragedy, God needed them to serve that role for their niece and nephew.
Regardless of who we are, whether we are considered to be a person of the strongest faith, or just beginning our journey of faith, we have had moments when we’ve thought, "why has God not answered my prayers?" or even, "why has God said no to my prayers? I am praying earnestly. Why doesn’t God respond with an affirmative?" We’ve all asked that question. I’m sure the disciples were asking that question in regards to when the kingdom of Israel might be restored. They, and so many of their fellow Israelites had been offering up that prayer for generations. Why is God saying, "no, not yet?"
Jesus answer to the disciples and, also to us, of, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority" is not exactly the most fulfilling,…but that doesn’t make it any less true. Who are we to question God’s wisdom? We all do it, but that doesn’t mean that God is any less in charge.
The thing that we pick up for our passage is that we have a choice as to how we respond to that "no, not yet." We can either sit and stew about how unfair God is (something that can be cathartic if skillfully directed, but if left unfocused ultimately makes you feel worse), or we can get ready for what’s next: get ready for the way that the Spirit of God is going to move, get ready for the door that is going to open, get ready for the way that your prayer is answered, just not in the way that you expected.
That is exactly what the disciples did. We hear that after they got the "no" to ‘when is this when the Kingdom is going to be restored’, the disciples, "together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers", "devot[ed] themselves to prayer." They got ready for what was going to come next. Did they know that Pentecost, which we will celebrate next week, did they know that Pentecost was coming? At the very least they didn’t know how the Spirit was going to come, but more than likely, no, they didn’t have a clue as to what was coming next, as to how God was going to move. They didn’t know what was next, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t get ready for it. They trusted that God will move in some way, and whatever way that may be, well, they’re going to be as ready for it as they could possibly be.
So when God responds to your prayers with a ‘no’ or a ‘not yet’, how do you respond? Do you sulk and bemoan the fact that you didn’t get what you wanted (something that all of us have done from time to time), or do you get ready for what’s next? Do you start to pray, and pray with others, asking that God’s will might be done? Because here’s the thing, when you do that, when you pray that the will of God might be done, it in turn opens your heart, mind, and soul to having the Spirit move through you so that whatever is to come next is able to flow all that much easier.
But you’ve got to get ready. You have to move beyond the very comfortable place of wishing for what could have been (but what was never to be) and instead start to get ready for what is to come.
This program year has been a difficult one. As a congregation we’ve had to deal with Erik no longer being our organist, Bev needing to step back from the Health Ministry, the Building and Research committee seeking out a decision that would have brought consensus to the whole ‘what to do with the parsonage’ question, and now the Pre-School being unable to open next fall. It’s a lot of transition. I’m sure to many it would feel like a whole lot of prayers that have been answered in the ‘no’ or ‘not yet’ category. I absolutely understand that feeling.
However, instead of wondering why we’ve heard so many ‘not yet’s’, let’s instead start to prepare for what is to come. We’ve already started to see some of those revelations as Jane has stepped into the organist role and brought a wonderful level of musicianship that has helped to lead the congregation in worship. Jane was just supposed to be here through December. She’s still here! We had to get ready for what was yet to come; we had to get ready for how the Spirit of God was going to move. We’ve seen Jackie Feneroli step into the organizational side of the Health Ministry and, just from this one person’s perspective, I’m excited about the energy and talents that she is bringing to the position because ultimately she will help to grow that ministry in ways that we did not expect. We had to get ready for what was yet to come; we had to get ready for how the Spirit of God was going to move.
As for the BRC and the Pre-School we need to get ready for what is yet to come. Just because you get the answer of no does not mean that God has given up on you. God hasn’t given up on us either! But what we do need to do is get ready for what is yet to come. Each of us, as individuals, and in whatever groups you may be a part of in this church, we need to start asking for the Spirit of God to move in such a way that the will of God is able to come to fruition. We need to get ready for what’s next. And remember, as we say in the prayer that we offer up every week, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Not our kingdom; not our will. God’s kingdom and God’s will: that is what we are praying to breathe in and through this community and communities of faith throughout the world.
So start praying! Start praying and allow yourself to become open to what is to come. The disciples did that and Pentecost came. I’m looking forward to seeing how God is about reveal Himself in our world in the here and now, at St. John’s. It’s time to get ready for how God is yet to come!
After Sermon Prayer
Holy and gracious God, so very often it feels as if Your answer to our prayers is a no or a not yet. God, if this is Your answer, help us to not only accept Your will, but also prepare ourselves for what is to come next, for how Your Spirit will move in the near future. God, help us to get ready so that Your will might be done. It is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.