6 So when they had come together, they asked him,
“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them, “It is not
for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 And when he had said these things, as they were
looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
11 and said, “Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was 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 And when they had entered, they went up to the
upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James
the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James.
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves
to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
I am not sure if you noticed
but there is something different about the communion table this morning. It is in the same spot as usual. The bread and the
juice are there so it isn’t that. The deacon’s chairs are where they should be. Have you figured it out yet? At
the center of the table there is only one chair where there are normally two. The place where Rick normally sits will be empty
and I will be officiating communion for the first time by myself. I am flying sole, so if I make a mistake or forget a part
of the service Rick will not be there as a safety net. Maybe you have had a time in your life where you had to stand on your
own or take the lead in something and you can remember feeling very excited about it but nervous at the same time. I wonder
if that was what the disciples were feeling like as they stood looking into the sky watching Jesus ascend into heaven.
Some of us had the opportunity
to go to the Shiners circus last weekend. Although there were many exciting acts there was one that captivated me the most.
That was the gymnast that did acrobatic acts on the ropes. Now these weren’t ropes that were hanging 10 or 15 feet off
of the ground. These are ropes that were hanging down from a 50’ ceiling and the acts took place at the fop of the ropes
with no safety net. As I was watching them I remember thinking to myself, wow. How did they find out that they could do that
and what was it like the first time they didn’t have the safety net to catch them if they fell. The only thing I could
think of was that they must have had a mentor who taught them and worked with them. At some point, when the mentor thought
they were ready he must have told them that the next time they would be working without a net. I don’t know for sure
but my sense is that they would have been nervous, regardless of how confident they felt in their abilities. I wonder if that
is why Jesus stayed with the disciples for 40 days after the Resurrection. Was it a time for final preparations helping the
Disciples feel comfortable, getting them ready for the next stage of their journey.
I can remember not too long
ago when my children were learning to ride their bikes. I put the training wheels on and my wife Sara would take them to different
parks so that they could ride around and test out their new born freedom. The nice thing about training wheels is that you
don’t have to stand next to them while they are getting comfortable with the basics of peddling, steering and braking.
Once they mastered that and became more comfortable, I took the training wheels off and Sara and I would walk along side holding
onto their seats, helping them to steady the bike while they built their confidence. Eventually we would let go and they would
be off. They would peddle for a few feet and they were fine until it registered that we weren’t there to catch them
if they started to fall. Panic would set in and over they went. But after a few times they gained confidence and they were
off on their own, wanting to bike everywhere that we went. They realized that they didn’t need Mom and Dad to hold them
up.
In the Gospel of John, during
the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples that “it is to your advantage that I go away.” I wonder if the disciples
actually heard what Jesus said and understood what he meant or if they just brushed it off, not giving it much thought. What
did he mean by that? How could that be advantageous? Did Jesus know that as long as he remained the disciples would continue
to rely on him as a crutch, holding them back from realizing their full potential?
We hear this morning that
after Jesus had ascended the disciples appear to be frozen, looking up into the heavens. I wonder what they were thinking,
what kind of thoughts were they having. If I had to guess I would say they were probably shocked, afraid and wondering what
they were going to do next. Their teacher and mentor had just removed the safety net. Like riding a bike for the first time
they were probably feeling a little unsteady, wondering if they would be able to continue to pedal without him. But like the
mentor that trained the gymnast and the parent that teaches the child to ride a bike, Jesus waits until they are ready, applying
a little pressure at a time allowing them to grow.
This all reminds me about
the story of the women who was observing the airplane mechanic who was testing plane parts to certify their serviceability
He picked up a nut and screwed it to a bolt that protruded from a piece of metal. Then he took the torque wrench, set the
gauge for the necessary pressure, fit the wrench over the nut, and began to turn. Exactly the right pressure was necessary,
he told her. Too little and the nut would come loose: too much and it would crack. When the wrench reached the right torque
he looked at a large pendulum hanging behind the metal. “That’s a torque meter,” he said. “It’s
accurate and reliable – it never changes. It double checks the amount of pressure applied by the wrench.”
Just like the mechanic with
the pressure wrench, God knew how much pressure the disciples needed in order for them to function and for them to reach their
maximum growth potential. How do we know this? Look at what happened after Jesus was gone? Two Angels in white robes came
to give the disciples a little nudge. After that they went back to Jerusalem
where they stayed and devoted themselves to prayer. At first glance that doesn’t seem like any big feet or like there
was anything special happing. But in fact there was. Think about this. In the past when the disciples found themselves alone
after the resurrection they either hid or they went back to what was safe and familiar. To what they did before they met Jesus,
in most cases this was fishing. Not this time. This time they all stayed together and gathered in prayer. No big deal you
say? Well I spent some time going through the Gospel of Luke and what I found was that this was the first time that they actually
prayed on their own without Jesus. Not only were they praying but they were devoted to prayer, praying without ceasing. Now
keep in mind that the last time they tried this they were with Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane and they fell asleep. Not this time, this time they were
ready to take the next step. All of the time and preparation had paid off.
So why couldn’t Jesus
stay with the disciples? He was God so he certainly could have if he chose to. He couldn’t stay because if he did the
disciple never would have reached their full potential. He couldn’t stay because if he did they would have continued
to rely on him. What does this tell us about God? I think it tells us that we have a God that wants to push and challenge
us. Like the mentor teaching the gymnast, like the parent teaching the child to ride a bike and like the mechanic with the
pressure wrench, we have a God that is continually teaching us and guiding us while applying just the right amount of pressure
when we need it. And the good news is that we are not left totally alone. Jesus tells the disciples that they will receive
power from the Holy Spirit. And so it is with us.
