Building the Partnership
Text: Acts 1:6-14
My Father-in-law is well known within certain circles in the United Church, particularly out west. He has a no-nonsense approach about getting things done, and doing it well. His organizational abilities show his ability to understand detail, but he also knows to not let those details get in the way. I have to admit that on the latter point, I could certainly learn a number of things from him on that score. Yet what he is most known for, from virtually anybody who has worked with him is the phrase “Get on with it!” In other words, stop messing around with the details and actually get on with the business at hand. For someone like me, who loves to analyze stuff to death, it’s a bit of advice that I need to hear… and need to act on.
I am guessing that it’s something that at some point or another all of us need to hear. I take it as some point of comfort that the disciples did too. As the Easter Season draws to a close, we’re moving from celebrating the resurrection to actually living out God’s call to be Christ’s church in the world. Next week is Pentecost, where we commemorate and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church… We often call it the birthday of the church… but really, the events of next week are set in motion by the stories a week earlier. Today we are making that transition, where those who follow Jesus are in process of transformation from disciple to apostle. Yet it is a transformation that begins with a subtle jab… saying “get on with it!”
The disciples didn’t start this without a bit of prompting to be sure. The story of Acts begins with them following the risen Jesus out to Mount Olivet. At this point in time, the disciples still really don’t get everything that has happened… they’re bewildered, they’re wondering what the future holds. One of them asks Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” After everything that has gone on before, even now it doesn’t seem like they get it. Jesus does a facepalm…
“Look,” he says, “it’s not up to you to know the times or dates that God has set by his own authority.” He then pauses, and says “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 all the ends of the earth.”
You will be my witnesses, he says… to use a less-loaded term, Jesus says “through the Holy Spirit you will be my partners in ministry to the ends of the earth.” Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it.
As the story goes, just as he says this, Jesus disappears into a cloud and is lifted out of their sight. They are left confused as to what to do next… so they just stand there, staring off into the heavens… not wanting this moment to end…
Fortunately, they’re given a bit of help. It’s a funny scene really… the clueless disciples are all staring off into space, when suddenly two men in white robes show up “Yo! Hello? Wake up! Why are you staring off into space? You’ve got work to do… now get on with it!”
It’s a kick in the pants to stop their gawking and actually get to work… but watch what they do first… or rather what they don’t do. They don’t charge off down the hill all in different directions and start proclaiming the good news, beating the bushes, and preaching from every streetcorner…
I need to interrupt the story here, because as a church, this is exactly what we tend to do. I was at a workshop recently where the leader commented that churches tend to take an approach of “ready… fire… aim!” In other words, we’re likely to charge into something before we even know what we’re doing… because we need to be seen to be doing something. We want to “get on with it” before we even know where we’re going. I’ve seen a rather silly poster that says “Jesus is coming!” with the subtitle “Look Busy!” Ready… fire… aim! Before we even realize what God is calling us to… we’re often far too ready to charge off in every direction, looking for that quick fix that will solve all of our problems. The point is not to be busy, but remember that our work is a partnership, where we work together with God and with one another for the glory of God. As a church, we need to believe and trust that God is indeed working powerfully in our midst, right here right now… Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it. As Jesus said, through the power of the Holy Spirit we are partners in ministry… we can’t do this all by ourselves…
So instead, what to the disciples do after they’re given that kick to “get on with it”? They gather together as a community, not just as twelve individuals… They gather together with the larger group, men and women, brothers and sisters… all those who followed Jesus during his lifetime.
As the story goes, they spend time in prayer and contemplation with one another. To an outsider, this would be the exact opposite of getting on with it. They’re not doing anything, but sitting around and doing nothing. They certainly don’t look busy.
Yet think about what they’re doing. They name Matthias as a replacement for Judas… but it was much much more than that. They come together for reconciliation… to heal wounds first… to become a whole community and sharing their experiences with one another. Why? because all of them had fled in fear when Jesus was arrested… nobody was blameless. There were some deep divisions and mistrust. Judas had betrayed Jesus to the authorities, but there were other splits and divisions that were among them that could still drive them apart. Would one of them betray the rest to of them the Romans? After all, Peter himself denied having known Jesus. The women were the only ones who were brave enough to actually be there for the crucifixion... but nobody paid them much mind. Even in the confusion with the early news of resurrection, they didn’t fully know who they could trust. It would not surprise me in the slightest if there wasn’t at least some resentment towards one another.
So their first order of business, of “getting on with it” is becoming a healthy community. It would have been too easy for them to be angry with one another and to blame one another for everything that had happened. Now that Jesus is no longer with them in person, the personal wounds, hurts, and hard feelings that they might have for each other from Good Friday would have the potential to grow into something destructive… One of the major reasons that they would be getting together as a community was so that they could reconcile with one another… to pray about and listen what Jesus was calling them to be… and most of all to trust that God would work even more powerfully in the future. It is in these moments that they begin their transformation from clueless disciples to wise apostles. For once, they began to listen, to learn, to grow in their faith, and to trust that Jesus would still be with them. They knew that what lay ahead was something that they could not do alone, and they needed to trust that God would be there.
If this story comes across as being a license to simply sit together and do nothing, then we’ve missed the point. The disciples understood that something new was coming. They believed it… and wanted to be a part of it. The reconciliation that is taking place amongst them is very much a part of growing in faith. Prayer and discerning God’s plan is very much a part of getting on with it. The preparation that they are doing is getting ready for what is coming, and they are making sure that when God moves, they are right there in partnership. They’re not twiddling their thumbs while waiting for Pentecost… they know that God is up to something, and in order to get ready they need to settle whatever differences they might have.
For us, for you, for me, this is a wake-up call. One of the drawbacks of being the church some two-thousand years later, is that we’ve gotten very comfortable resting on our laurels. We’ve forgotten that as a church, ours is a partnership with God. God’s call for us is to grow in faith, to be reconciled to one another, and to be a part of growing the kingdom of God. We’ve taken the church for granted for so long, that we’ve forgotten what it is to genuinely believe and trust that God is going to move in a way that is both powerful and subtle. Scratch that… God already is moving in a way that is both subtle and powerful, and yet we are in danger of missing the boat.
God is up to something… and is calling us to be part of it. There are subtle things that are already happening in this congregation that give me great hope… whispers of what God is calling us to be. The face of Clarkson is in process of changing, new people are moving into the area, new developments down along the Lakeshore tell me that there are going to be more a few years down the road… they’re all hints at something greater. It tells me that we need to get ready, because God is up to something… but we don’t have the whole picture yet… so we do what we can. Here. Now. If we are going to be part of the growing church of Christ in this place, we need to let ourselves grow in faith… together, as a community… trusting that God is going to move in a very powerful way amongst us. Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it.
Amen.
My Father-in-law is well known within certain circles in the United Church, particularly out west. He has a no-nonsense approach about getting things done, and doing it well. His organizational abilities show his ability to understand detail, but he also knows to not let those details get in the way. I have to admit that on the latter point, I could certainly learn a number of things from him on that score. Yet what he is most known for, from virtually anybody who has worked with him is the phrase “Get on with it!” In other words, stop messing around with the details and actually get on with the business at hand. For someone like me, who loves to analyze stuff to death, it’s a bit of advice that I need to hear… and need to act on.
I am guessing that it’s something that at some point or another all of us need to hear. I take it as some point of comfort that the disciples did too. As the Easter Season draws to a close, we’re moving from celebrating the resurrection to actually living out God’s call to be Christ’s church in the world. Next week is Pentecost, where we commemorate and celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church… We often call it the birthday of the church… but really, the events of next week are set in motion by the stories a week earlier. Today we are making that transition, where those who follow Jesus are in process of transformation from disciple to apostle. Yet it is a transformation that begins with a subtle jab… saying “get on with it!”
The disciples didn’t start this without a bit of prompting to be sure. The story of Acts begins with them following the risen Jesus out to Mount Olivet. At this point in time, the disciples still really don’t get everything that has happened… they’re bewildered, they’re wondering what the future holds. One of them asks Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” After everything that has gone on before, even now it doesn’t seem like they get it. Jesus does a facepalm…
“Look,” he says, “it’s not up to you to know the times or dates that God has set by his own authority.” He then pauses, and says “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 all the ends of the earth.”
You will be my witnesses, he says… to use a less-loaded term, Jesus says “through the Holy Spirit you will be my partners in ministry to the ends of the earth.” Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it.
As the story goes, just as he says this, Jesus disappears into a cloud and is lifted out of their sight. They are left confused as to what to do next… so they just stand there, staring off into the heavens… not wanting this moment to end…
Fortunately, they’re given a bit of help. It’s a funny scene really… the clueless disciples are all staring off into space, when suddenly two men in white robes show up “Yo! Hello? Wake up! Why are you staring off into space? You’ve got work to do… now get on with it!”
It’s a kick in the pants to stop their gawking and actually get to work… but watch what they do first… or rather what they don’t do. They don’t charge off down the hill all in different directions and start proclaiming the good news, beating the bushes, and preaching from every streetcorner…
I need to interrupt the story here, because as a church, this is exactly what we tend to do. I was at a workshop recently where the leader commented that churches tend to take an approach of “ready… fire… aim!” In other words, we’re likely to charge into something before we even know what we’re doing… because we need to be seen to be doing something. We want to “get on with it” before we even know where we’re going. I’ve seen a rather silly poster that says “Jesus is coming!” with the subtitle “Look Busy!” Ready… fire… aim! Before we even realize what God is calling us to… we’re often far too ready to charge off in every direction, looking for that quick fix that will solve all of our problems. The point is not to be busy, but remember that our work is a partnership, where we work together with God and with one another for the glory of God. As a church, we need to believe and trust that God is indeed working powerfully in our midst, right here right now… Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it. As Jesus said, through the power of the Holy Spirit we are partners in ministry… we can’t do this all by ourselves…
So instead, what to the disciples do after they’re given that kick to “get on with it”? They gather together as a community, not just as twelve individuals… They gather together with the larger group, men and women, brothers and sisters… all those who followed Jesus during his lifetime.
As the story goes, they spend time in prayer and contemplation with one another. To an outsider, this would be the exact opposite of getting on with it. They’re not doing anything, but sitting around and doing nothing. They certainly don’t look busy.
Yet think about what they’re doing. They name Matthias as a replacement for Judas… but it was much much more than that. They come together for reconciliation… to heal wounds first… to become a whole community and sharing their experiences with one another. Why? because all of them had fled in fear when Jesus was arrested… nobody was blameless. There were some deep divisions and mistrust. Judas had betrayed Jesus to the authorities, but there were other splits and divisions that were among them that could still drive them apart. Would one of them betray the rest to of them the Romans? After all, Peter himself denied having known Jesus. The women were the only ones who were brave enough to actually be there for the crucifixion... but nobody paid them much mind. Even in the confusion with the early news of resurrection, they didn’t fully know who they could trust. It would not surprise me in the slightest if there wasn’t at least some resentment towards one another.
So their first order of business, of “getting on with it” is becoming a healthy community. It would have been too easy for them to be angry with one another and to blame one another for everything that had happened. Now that Jesus is no longer with them in person, the personal wounds, hurts, and hard feelings that they might have for each other from Good Friday would have the potential to grow into something destructive… One of the major reasons that they would be getting together as a community was so that they could reconcile with one another… to pray about and listen what Jesus was calling them to be… and most of all to trust that God would work even more powerfully in the future. It is in these moments that they begin their transformation from clueless disciples to wise apostles. For once, they began to listen, to learn, to grow in their faith, and to trust that Jesus would still be with them. They knew that what lay ahead was something that they could not do alone, and they needed to trust that God would be there.
If this story comes across as being a license to simply sit together and do nothing, then we’ve missed the point. The disciples understood that something new was coming. They believed it… and wanted to be a part of it. The reconciliation that is taking place amongst them is very much a part of growing in faith. Prayer and discerning God’s plan is very much a part of getting on with it. The preparation that they are doing is getting ready for what is coming, and they are making sure that when God moves, they are right there in partnership. They’re not twiddling their thumbs while waiting for Pentecost… they know that God is up to something, and in order to get ready they need to settle whatever differences they might have.
For us, for you, for me, this is a wake-up call. One of the drawbacks of being the church some two-thousand years later, is that we’ve gotten very comfortable resting on our laurels. We’ve forgotten that as a church, ours is a partnership with God. God’s call for us is to grow in faith, to be reconciled to one another, and to be a part of growing the kingdom of God. We’ve taken the church for granted for so long, that we’ve forgotten what it is to genuinely believe and trust that God is going to move in a way that is both powerful and subtle. Scratch that… God already is moving in a way that is both subtle and powerful, and yet we are in danger of missing the boat.
God is up to something… and is calling us to be part of it. There are subtle things that are already happening in this congregation that give me great hope… whispers of what God is calling us to be. The face of Clarkson is in process of changing, new people are moving into the area, new developments down along the Lakeshore tell me that there are going to be more a few years down the road… they’re all hints at something greater. It tells me that we need to get ready, because God is up to something… but we don’t have the whole picture yet… so we do what we can. Here. Now. If we are going to be part of the growing church of Christ in this place, we need to let ourselves grow in faith… together, as a community… trusting that God is going to move in a very powerful way amongst us. Something new is coming. Believe it… and be a part of it.
Amen.
Comments