“The Power to be a Witness”

Seventh Sunday in Easter A 2008

Acts 1:6-14

              I wonder what the disciples felt as they watched Jesus be lifted up before them into heaven.  It must have been a wonderful and bewildering experience.  Even though Jesus told them that he must leave them in order for him to be with them forever, it still must have left them with mixed feelings and emotions.  They had already experienced a wide spectrum of emotions in a very short time.  They went from the horror of his crucifixion and the devastation of his death to the unbelievable joy and happiness of his resurrection.  The one who was dead was alive.  The risen Lord Jesus was present with them.  But now, they had to experience the feelings of separation again as Jesus was lifted up into heaven, leaving them behind to carry on with his work, to be a witness of God’s love in a hostile world.

              It must be something like when someone leaves home for the first time.  There are feelings of excitement and anticipation about the new experiences and opportunities that await them, and, yet, there are the feelings of apprehension and nervousness about the unknown future and what may come.  There is no longer the safety and security of family near by.  You may have to contend with loneliness as you leave old friends behind.  As one leaves to explore new horizons, there is no one who will go to bat for you, no one who you can rely upon to get you out of tough spots.  I can still picture in my mind the day I left for college.  My dad and I drove to my friend’s house as I was going to ride with Dean and his dad up to Concordia College in Moorhead.  After shaking my dad’s hand and giving him a hug, I sat in the back seat waving to my dad as we backed out of the driveway and began our journey.  It really was a sickening feeling.  Those were the days before cell phones and email.  You couldn’t just flip open your phone and give them a call.  The only thing that I had to provide some strength and consolation were the final words of my dad before I left: “We’ll be thinking of you.  We will see you soon.”  There was strength in those words, hope in their promise.  I was not all alone after all.

              It was the same thing for the disciples, I think.  How could they go on without Jesus?  It was in the strength and hope of the promise Jesus made with them just before he left them.  “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.”  Jesus was not going to let the disciples go it alone.  He was going to be with them in a very special way forever, through the presence and power of his Holy Spirit.  It was a promise that would transform not only the disciples, but the entire world.  As witnesses, they will tell the world the truth about the gospel, that Jesus, the Son of God, lived on this earth teaching and preaching and healing the sick.  He was put on trial by those who hated him, falsely accusing him so that he would be sentenced to death.  He was nailed to a cross, suffered and died for the sins of the world.  After being buried for three days, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God, defeating sin and death, once and for all.  The promise of the resurrection is this: because Jesus lives, we will also live.  As he ascended into heaven, we, too, will be ascended on the last day to live in the presence and glory of Jesus and God his Father in heaven, forever.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God gives new life now, as we live, and eternal life for when we die.  Salvation has come to you and to me, and to all who believe in him.  Jesus is the Savior of the world.

              The ascension of Jesus into heaven marks the end of his physical walk on this earth, but as it was an ending for Jesus, it became a new beginning for his disciples and for all of us.  For all the things that we have seen and heard concerning Jesus, we are now his witnesses.  Just as Jesus went to be with his Father, we, too, must go, go to be witnesses “in Red Wing, in Goodhue and Cannon Falls, in Hager City and Ellsworth.”  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we continue to do the work of Jesus, calling people to faith, sharing with them the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, serving and caring for those in need, inviting friends and strangers to worship.

              Nancy Curtis is an attorney in Lexington, Kentucky.  This is her story of being a witness.  As an attorney, I was appointed to represent a young woman I will call Darlene.  A singe mother, she was poor, had been abused as a youngster, had serious mental problems, and was brought to me facing the loss of her only child.

              Of course, there is ordinarily no place in an attorney-client relationship for speaking of God.  Yet, one day, when Darlene and I were drinking coffee together during trial preparations, I thought of how very alone she was and how much she needed to know the love of Jesus.  But I didn’t dare say that.  Instead I asked about her weekend plans.

              “I don’t know,” she said sadly.  “There’s nothing much to do without the baby.”

              God gave me the strength to risk at that moment.  “Would you like to go to church with me, Darlene?” I said.

              To my surprise, she immediately said, “Sure.  I always wanted to go to church.  No one ever asked me before.”

              I used to feel that all I had to do was to act in love in order to witness to Christ.  But I have learned that only if my actions point to the cross do I witness fully.  If I do for someone a loving act, they may benefit; but if I show them the Way, God’s grace showers on them forever, whether the act I did was “successful” or not.

              So it was with Darlene.  I knelt in church that Sunday with a street person who still had a knife in her sock “just in case.”  Darlene subsequently lost her child, a pain I will always carry as she does.  But she was baptized into the church on Christmas Day that year and joined another congregation after she left our city.

              God does call and empower ordinary people – you and me, regardless of how we measure success of failure.  God works through our life and our witness for the sake of all the Darlenes of the world who need to know God’s eternal love in Christ.

              Jesus says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.”  That’s right!  You will be my witnesses.  We are not on our own.  We are not alone. The promised Holy Spirit will give us the power and presence of God.  The startling thing to realize is that the power God gives for witness is the same power God used in raising Jesus from the dead.  The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will be given to us in order that we might proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior to all.  Now that is real power.  That is what gives life.

              After Jesus was ascended into heaven, the disciples didn’t just stand around all day gazing up into the sky.  They went back to the upper room and prayed.  They waited and prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit, for that day of Pentecost was soon to come.  Next Sunday is Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  For us, the Spirit comes.  It comes as we worship and pray.  Through our worship, the Spirit comes through Word and Sacrament to empower us to go out into the world to be his witnesses.  The Holy Spirit, which he gives to us all, will empower and sustain us until that day Jesus comes again.  Let us pray:  Come, Holy Spirit.  We pray for your presence and power to come upon us so that we can be your witnesses “to the ends of the earth.”  Amen.