Richard Davenport

May 18, 2023 – Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11

            An exciting time for the disciples, but also one filled, I’m sure with trepidation.  Matthew’s account of Jesus’ last moments tells us that some of the disciples doubted, unsure of what to make of everything that was going on.  He is saying his goodbye, in a manner of speaking. Obviously, Jesus hasn’t truly left us. He is still present in his church through the preaching of his word and through his body and blood. 

            He hasn’t left them with nothing to do.  I mean, for the moment they’re in a bit of a holding pattern.  “Wait for the Holy Spirit,” he says.  “You will be my witnesses,” he says.  The disciples will soon become apostles, ones who are sent.  Sent to do what?  Be witnesses. When we use the term, “witness,” these days, we often think of it in terms of the legal system.  If there’s been a crime, you need witnesses. Witnesses can corroborate the evidence. You need someone who saw it happen. It’s that “seeing” part that we usually focus on, but it isn’t really what witnessing is about.  To be a witness is more about speaking.  What are you speaking about?  What you saw.  A witness is someone who has seen something important and now goes to tell others about it. That could be in a legal sense, as someone who tells others about a crime, but it could be just about anything.

            In this case, the disciples will be Jesus’ witnesses. They will go out and share the story of what they have seen.  What have they seen?  Everything from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry up until now.  His miracles, his teaching, his work comforting and consoling people, his declarations of forgiveness, his death, his resurrection, his body glorified, and now, finally, his ascension.  Jesus didn’t really get around all that much, so most of the world hasn’t even heard of Jesus, much less seen him.  If they are ever going to learn about the forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus died and rose again to bring, someone is going to have to tell them.

            So they hang out in Jerusalem and they wait. Wait for what?  Well, the Holy Spirit.  Once he arrived it was go time.  The Twelve are out there witnessing to everything they had seen and heard.  They’re doing a great job of it too.  Thousands come to faith and are baptized on the day of Pentecost.  It’s all going according to plan.  They followed Jesus’ directions and, lo and behold, it all worked just the way it was supposed to.

            It’s good they did, because without the help of the Spirit, they would never have seen the kind of response.  The disciples would never have had the ability to speak to all of the foreigners in their own language.  They wouldn’t have to share the Gospel message effectively.  It would just have been a very different beginning for the church.

            But, then, what are we to make of Christ’s command to us? “Go and make disciples,” Jesus says. “Teach and baptize,” he says.  A more generalized command, perhaps, but still a command, and one that demands action.  Not only that, but it’s a command he gives to the whole church. Every disciple is commanded to make more disciples. 

That’s straightforward enough, I suppose.  But, when, exactly, are we supposed to do it?  I mean, look at the disciples.  If they had jumped the starting gun, it would have all been a disaster.  I don’t want to go out there doing stuff before I’m supposed to.  That won’t end any better.  So, what’s the sign telling me to go?  What sign tells you it’s time to drive when you’re at an intersection? Well, the green light.  So there must be some similar kind of sign, some kind of clear indication it’s time to get to work.  The disciples obviously had one.  “Wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit,” Jesus says.  What do they get?  The rushing wind, the little flames on their heads, the ability to talk to anyone, no matter the language.  Pretty clear indication it was time to get to work, I’d say.  It’s not quite the same as a green light, but it’s pretty persuasive.

You haven’t told me what the sign is supposed to be.  Does that mean you want me to ask for it, to set something up so you can prove yourself?  I guess Gideon did it when you told him he had work to do.  “Lord, I’m going to put this fleece on the floor.  Make the fleece wet and the rest of the ground dry and I’ll know it’s time to get to work,” and it happened.  But, Gideon wasn’t 100% sure, so he did it again. “Lord, make the fleece dry and the ground wet in the morning,” and it happened again.  Gideon couldn’t really deny it at that point.  He got to work and Israel ended up saved from its enemies.

What’s the sign you’re looking for?  Are you waiting for God to tell you to get to work?  The order has been given.  We are all to make disciples, teaching and baptizing.  So what’s your cue to start doing that?  Are you waiting for God to give you a sign?  If so, what does he have to do to convince you that it’s time to get moving? 

For most of us, none of those questions are really relevant at all.  We aren’t looking for a sign.  We don’t actually want a sign.  We like our comfy little lives.  We like our comfy little hobbies and circles of friends and we aren’t looking for anything that might shake all of that up.  We certainly aren’t interested in causing the kind of stir the disciples did.  Sure, getting thousands of people to come to faith would be pretty cool, but we all know that almost never happens.  Even when it does, it’s all the other stuff that’s really the problem.  There’s all the grief you get from people who want nothing to do with the faith.  There’s all of the people out there who hate the church, everything it stands for and everything it does.  No one wants to deal with people like that.  There are all of the failures.  All of the wasted effort.  All of the times we might try and put ourselves out there and share our faith in some way, try and teaching someone, only to get insulted in return.  It just isn’t worth it.  If God bangs that gong loud enough, then yeah, I suppose I’ll have to go do something just to get him to be quiet again and let me settle back into my life.  Until then, I’m just going to keep my head down and not really worry about it.

For those of you who are truly waiting for the Holy Spirit to tap you on the shoulder and tell you it’s time to get to work, I’ll tell you that time has already come.  When you were baptized, the Holy Spirit came to you.  He made you a priest in the service of God, lifting up the prayers of the world to him.  He made you a prophet, to go and share his Word with the world.  He made you a king or queen over creation, restoring order and bringing justice and mercy wherever you can.  He sent you as an apostle to go and make disciples.

The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were joined together when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan.  You are baptized in water and the Spirit, baptized into the life of Christ, baptized and claimed by the Father as his treasured possession.  Do you get trumpets and spot lights announcing all of this?  No, probably not.  It may not be big and flashy, but it’s a vital gift from God nonetheless, a gift he gives you not so you’ll sit on it, but so that you’ll put what you’ve been given into action.

Your baptism isn’t something to get and feel some warm fuzzies about every once in a while when it comes to mind.  It isn’t just something to check off your salvation “to-do” list.  It’s the place where the Triune God is claiming you as his own, calling you as his disciple, and sending you to make more disciples.  He sends you to share what you have received yourself. 

So the whole, “God hasn’t given me a sign yet,” is an excuse and it doesn’t get you very far.  Sitting around and avoiding the work God has sent you to do is also avoiding having to share the gift that has brought salvation to so many.  Thousands were saved on the day of Pentecost because the apostles went out and proclaimed the glory of the risen Lord.  People throughout history have been given the same signs and have gone out to make disciples by teaching and baptizing, even those who proclaimed the Gospel to you, so that you would hear of God’s grace, come to faith, and be claimed by him in baptism. 

God has given many signs and proofs to people throughout history, all pointing to his power and his grace.  He gave a sign to some shepherds in a field, telling them they would find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  The savior had come in the flesh to save his fallen children.  The shepherds found the savior, just as they had been told, and immediately went out praising God.  Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room after his resurrection, and John notes in his gospel, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

These signs, these proofs that Jesus gives show us who he is, the messiah who brings salvation, the one who has saved us from our sins, even when the sin is our unwillingness to follow his commands.  He proves his triumph over death to the disciples and then, soon afterward, he takes them up on a mountain.  He blesses them and gives them this direction, to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes.  He ascends into heaven and it might outwardly look like it has all come to an end.

But it hasn’t.  Not at all. The disciples aren’t done, they’re just waiting.  They’re waiting for the sign.  But this sign isn’t like the light at the intersection.  It isn’t a matter of sitting there at the red light, mindlessly looking around, humming along with the radio while you wait for the light to turn green, and then casually driving off to take care of your errands or make your appointment.  No, this sign is more like the start of the Indy 500.  The racecars round the bend and approach the starting line.  They are anything but bored.  They are focused.  They are ready for action.  They are about to unleash all of the power they have under the hood.  The only thing holding them back is that they haven’t seen the green flag wave yet.  As soon as it does, they are off.

Making disciples isn’t a competition, but it’s also anything but boring. God has waved the green flag.  He has brought you to the font and baptized you, given you everything you need to get started.  You’ll have more learning to do, that’s part of being a disciple. Still, wherever you’re at with your walk with Christ, you have already experienced to power of sins forgiven through Christ’s death, and the power of eternal life given through Christ’s triumphant resurrection.  Just like on the day of Pentecost, there’s much to do.  It’s an exciting time.  God has given you that same special task and has given you the sign.  It’s time to go!