May 24 From
a Band of Disciples to the Church
St. Luke wrote the two longest books in the New
Testament – first, the gospel that bears his name and second, the Acts of the
Apostles. Today’s first lesson is the
link – the bridge between those two volumes.
Luke divided his writing into two parts because the subject of each is
different. His gospel is primarily about
Jesus – and secondarily about his disciples.
Part two, the Book of Acts, is primarily about
the Holy Spirit, who guides and empowers those disciples to spread the message
about Jesus far and wide. Together,
Luke’s two books tell us how we got the church.
Today’s lesson begins with a brief recap of his
gospel. Luke wrote about all that
Jesus did and said from the beginning, about Christ’s suffering and death
on the cross, and finally the resurrection on Easter. After that Jesus presented
himself alive to his disciples, appearing to them over a period of forty
days, speaking to them about the
On Good Friday, one church put on an outdoor
procession recounting Christ’s journey to the cross. The person selected to portray Jesus would
have to carry a very large, heavy wooden cross.
So they selected a big man who was a construction
worker. Not
“meek and mild” but a bit rough and crude.
The man who played the Roman Centurion really
got into his part. He struck
Jesus, pushed him, and then began to mock Jesus as He carried the
cross. Finally
the man playing Jesus had enough. When
the Roman centurion berated him, Jesus turned to him and growled: “I’ll
be back to get even with you after the resurrection.”
In our lesson Jesus is back, but not for long. He announces the transition, the beginning of
a new phase in their relationship with him:
He will depart from them as a physical and visible presence. From now on Jesus will be with them in
Spirit.
John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.
Acts 1:4,5
But more than just a sense of His
presence, there is the promise of empowerment:
But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in
Having given them the promise and the assignment,
Christ’s departure is described in a single verse
As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
1:9
That first group of disciples, fearful and
bewildered, had no power of its own. And yet, power is given that causes this fragile little community
to have courage and energy – and resources completely disproportional to its
size.
How could they have changed so dramatically – apart
from the inscrutable power of the spirit of God?
From what we know about the limitations of those
first disciples, it’s obvious they never could have
done it on their own. The spread of the
gospel was the work of the Holy Spirit.
The point of telling you that is so, as Paul writes
in our second lesson,
You will understand the incredible greatness of God’s
power for us who believe in Him. Ephesians1:19
The same power that energized those first disciples
is also available to us to enable us to take up whatever task the Lord sets
before us. He gives us His Spirit - His energy - so that we might take up
the work He had begun.
The Holy Spirit can be manifest in subtle ways:
A pastor asked a little girl if she were a
good Christian. "Yes," she answered without the slightest hesitation.
"But you're so small and the devil is so big," he said. "What do
you do when Satan knocks at the door to tempt you?" "That's
easy," the girl replied. "I say to Jesus who lives in my heart,
'Would you please see who's at the door?' And when
Jesus answers the door, Satan says, 'OOPS! Wrong number!'
And he runs off!"
When she spoke of Jesus in her heart, she was
describing the Spirit of Christ. Our
experience of His protection and guidance is an example of the Spirit working
within us.
Worship is an opportunity for nourishment by the
Spirit. At this time of year, Laura
Craig is here several times a week to water the flowers. Like flowers that will not bloom without
regular watering, we disciples dry out without the renewal by the Holy Spirit
in worship. Singing hymns, prayers of
thanksgiving and intercession, reading and studying scripture, the breaking of
bread, communion, keep us in touch with the power of the Spirit of Christ. At worship we listen
again to the story of Jesus - and His call to live as His disciples is renewed.
And we are assured that His spirit goes with us.
When Sir
Edmund Hillary and his native guide made their historic climb up
The same is true in the Church today. There is a bond that
ties us together -- a bond that should lead us to support one another, to reach
out to each other in love -- a bond that seeks to pull each other up. That bond of mutual love is another work of
the Spirit in our lives. For God’s love
has been poured into our hearts by the Spirit He has given us.
So in discussing the Gift of the Holy
Spirit Paul says I pray:
You will understand the incredible
greatness of God’s power for us who believe in Him. 1:19
It is the power that gives us
protection and guidance, perseverance and endurance --
-- the power that unites us
in mutual love and fellowship.
All that is important, but before His ascension Jesus told us about the most important use of that
power:
You will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in
The gift of the Spirit is the power and the
energy to enable us to bear testimony to Jesus and His love.
We are called to witness – to
live our faith in word and deed – trusting that the Spirit can transform what
we do into an outpouring of God’s love.
The very activity of witnessing – of sharing Jesus and His love – will
provide a channel for the Spirit’s power and grace.
You will be my witnesses
The “you’ is directed to disciples of all times –
those who stood before Jesus that day, and also the readers of His words – to
us. We can’t
just close the book and put it down, like a good novel, and return to business
as usual. We also are to be witnesses –
to be participants in the on-going story.
We are to share the story we have heard – and even to be messengers of
forgiveness and reconciliation in Jesus name. We, like the original hearers, are recipients of the
promised power of the Holy Spirit.
And so the ascension is not just about
Jesus, it is about us and our lives. Jesus ascended that He might give us His
Spirit and His mission, empowering us for new life - a
life of love and service in His name.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, His disciples stood
on the hillside staring into space, until they were suddenly
joined by two men in white. Remember the last time
someone showed up dressed in white? It was at the empty tomb. Once
again, a divine visitor tells the disciples what they need to know. "Why
do you stand there staring into space? 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." Acts 1:11
So the disciples of Jesus sat down on the hill and
waited for him to come back? No! Rather, they remembered how Jesus had told
them not to worry about when things beyond their understanding would come to pass. Instead, they got busy witnessing to what they
did understand: that God was at work in Jesus Christ, saving us from our sin
and calling us to new life.
We’re called to be witnesses in
word and deed. Sharing the
love of Jesus with others - our children and the neighbor down
the block - the people we work with and go to school
with. Living our faith so that
others will know we are Christians by our love.
The task of telling and inviting has been given by Jesus to us.
Tell everyone everywhere that the Spirit of Christ
is among us
- and he offers us a share of His mighty power. Spread the Word.
Christ is
risen
He is risen
indeed - Alleluia.
And His Spirit is
among us