“Where You Goin’, Jesus?”
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Debbie: Well, good morning everyone. It is good to be together. If I look a little squinty eyed, because it's kind of been one of those weeks. I think my team might be a little worried as I rushed in this morning going, I need some time. I need some time. But I am here and I am trusting that the message today is speaking to me as much as it is speaking to you because it is about the movement of the Holy Spirit. Right now, Holy Spirit come because I need you.
We are, it is Ascension Sunday. For those of you who are familiar with the church calendar, this is the day we celebrate Jesus ascending into heaven. Patti Kratzer texted Maggie yesterday and said, I think we should call it, “Where you going, Jesus?” I liked that. But this text and we’ll be in Acts today starts with a mountaintop moment.
So it got me thinking about mountaintop moments. And a week ago last Friday, baby Bobby, our number eight grandson was born to our daughter Annie and her husband Jake. But it was a particularly momentous mountaintop moment. Because early on in her pregnancy around 18 weeks, right the day before Christmas she went in for an appointment and found out that that little baby boy didn't want to stay inside. So the day after Christmas, Annie headed over to have a surgery. Our daughter-in-law, Jennie, joined her as her husband was at home with kids with fevers.
And we got a call that morning saying can you get down here because it looks like after the procedure Annie's water broke. So Jake and I jumped in the car. Steve lovingly ran over to watch the kids with fevers. And for about two hours the doctors, the specialists, they all thought her water broke. And we thought we were going to say goodbye. We were talking about naming the baby and all those things. That kind of surreal moment. Well, it wasn't her water that broke and she had a more in-depth surgery the week after. And afterwards the specialist said I don't know. We don't know. This is unchartered territory. We don't know if this will work.
So Annie took a leave from her brand new job. We did a lot of praying that season no matter where you are waiting of uncertainty. And at 37 weeks baby Bobby was born. And it was one of those mountaintop moments because of that. And it was one of those moments and I'll show you Sara you can flip to. So Bobby's big brother Tommy came for a visit. He walked in and I think he described it just perfectly. He walked in and said, looked at his mom and dad, looked at the baby, looked back and forth and he said “I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!”
And it sort of summed out how all of us were feeling because it felt surreal. Now on the other hand I didn't have the heart to tell them that when we checked in at the front desk at the hospital and he got that yellow sticker. He looked down and looked at the lady at the front desk and said “I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!” A lot of mountaintop moments for Tommy Schmiesing. Maybe we should all live life that way.
But we've all experienced those moments. Those moments that take us out of our ordinary routines, the worries of life and they remind us that God is near. Right? That God is near and that we still have hope. And like I said Acts chapter 1 opens with these mountaintop moments. The disciples are standing with the risen Christ on the Mount of Olives. They've been together for 40 days. Jesus has been teaching them about what it means to bring the kingdom to earth.
And I imagine what those days must have felt like for them. After the fear, the uncertainty, the grief of a crucified Christ. I imagine that every meal felt meaningful. That every conversation was sacred. That every word was important. But suddenly everything changes. And I'm not sure if you're familiar with that. We're in Acts 1:6-14:
So when they came together, they asked him, Lord, is this the time when you restore the kingdom to Israel? He replied, it's not for you to know the times or periods that the father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witness in Jerusalem and all of Judea and all of the other people of the world. And when he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
And they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying. Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Elphaeus and Simon the Zella and Judas, son of James. And all of these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus as well as his brothers.”
Jesus is lifted up before them and a cloud takes him out of their sight. One minute he's standing there and the next he's gone. There's silence in this empty space where he once stood. Luke describes it so simply, but I have to imagine that it didn't feel simple. I imagine that beyond awe and feeling of this is not happening. I imagine there was feelings of being overwhelmed. That all of a sudden there was this gap between where they were and what was next. That they were now standing in this space and looking toward what is unknown, this space of uncertainty. The not knowing.
I imagine there's not a person in this room who can't relate to that. Because the ascension becomes a turning point and I think we've all had those turning point moments in our life. Because the reality is this mountaintop experience also marks the valley that the disciples are walking to, the valley of ministry. Because what they're about to discover is what it means to follow Jesus, to do the work of Jesus without Jesus actually beside them.
You know, Patti I started with said she loved to name it “Where you going, Jesus?” But I actually thought of another story that reminded me of sort of this imagined feeling I have that the disciples must have had.
My husband and I had some neighbors that lived across the street from us, Jeff and Missy. Jeff was an ER doc, Missy was a nurse. Jeff, I would describe him as very matter-of-fact kind of guy. Missy was running a marathon and Jeff packed up their toddler and preschooler and brought them down to the finish line to cheer her on as she was going to come over that finish line. First wave comes and expecting her in the second middle part of that. That wave comes, no Missy. Then those last stragglers come running over, no Missy. And then, and I'm going to make sure you know I'm not saying this in the words of Jeff, then came the “meat wagon,” which I assume he meant was the medical van. No Missy.
And Jeff calmly packs up the kids, “Hey, boys, we're coming home.” Puts them in the car. And while they're driving back to Chanhassen, little Ryan, three years old, from his car seat, speaks up and he goes, “Daddy, what are we going to do without a mommy?”
But I imagine that's the way that…now Missy did show up and she came back, okay, everybody? 20 years later they're doing great. But the point of the story is I imagine that's how the disciples felt. “What are we going to do without Jesus here?” The Messiah, our leader, our prophet, our teacher, our guide, our coach, our mentor. I imagine what that is what they were feeling.
Like I said, we've all had moments like that. We know what it's like when life changes suddenly and we're left wondering what comes next. We know what it feels like to stand in that space between what was and what is. You know, I thought about you on that space. You come to Gino 2.0. But it's that space of not knowing.
And there's always anxiety and uncertainty and a longing for clarity because we all want clarity in our lives. What's next? And I think that longing is what is at the heart of the disciples' question to Jesus. They ask him, Lord, is this the time when you restore the kingdom of Israel?
And underneath that question is the hope that Jesus is going to do the restoring, that he's going to make everything right, that Jesus is going to fix it. This longing that they've had for restoration, for freedom, for justice, for peace, for renewal. They're thinking Jesus has got this. Jesus is going to fix it. And I think that is something that we feel as we live our lives in this world. And it's close to home right now.
We feel those questions, right, when we look around in our own lives and in our city, in our neighborhoods, in our country. We've talked about it all year, the pain, the tension, the loneliness, the exhaustion, the division that's all around us. The world is aching for restoration. And I think we do wish God would simply fix it. This is off script, but I want to say that, you know, this is no new news, friends. We've been talking about it all year.
But I think we have to be reminded all the time that this is still our mission. While we may not be in this crisis moment, this is still our mission. And we still have to ask the question, whose job is it to restore?
The disciples, they expected Jesus to restore the kingdom himself. But instead of giving them a direct answer, a time table, he puts the focus back on them. And he says, you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. And it's you who will be my witness. There's no waiting for someone else to do it. There's no waiting for God to just do it on his own. Hoping that all restoration will happen someday.
I remember when I was in seminary, I had a professor, I loved him so much, first year of seminary. And he would talk about the people who were so at peace with going, “hey, I'm just going to pray about it, because someday I'll be in heaven and we'll be good and we don't have to worry about anything else.” And he said, I don't understand that. Jesus was not just talking about a heavenly home somewhere out there. He's talking about bringing a heavenly home here.
But that's our role in partnering with God and his work in the world.
So there's no waiting.
The ministry of Jesus is going to continue through those disciples, through us, by the power of the Spirit, and that changes everything. The restoration that we all long for, that happens through ordinary people who are willing to live their lives differently. And what we know is that the kingdom of God doesn't come through domination or fear or oppression or power of control. Sort of the way we see it in our world right now. But the kingdom that Jesus speaks about is founded in love. It's characterized by compassion and mercy and justice and peace.
And the reality is, is the reign of God is going to come riding on, riding in on the shoulders of ordinary people who are willing to love their neighbors and welcome the strangers and heal the sick, care for the hurting, to stand by those who are suffering. Kingdom work moves through our hands.
We see it through the courage of the choices that we make. We see it in the willingness of our feet to go where love is needed. Sometimes that's not easy. But that is what it means to follow Jesus.
Those two men in the white robes asking those disciples, why do you stand up, stand there, looking up toward heaven? I don't think it's a criticism. I think it's actually a redirection. It's as though they are saying, don't spend all your time gazing upward toward heaven when God is calling you outward.
Because eventually faith must move beyond simply gazing toward heaven. Eventually faith has to be action. You know every Sunday we pray that kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven and that means something. Those aren't just words that we say. While they are beautiful words, they are actually game changing words. They are a call to action because they ask us to participate in that answer, in the answer to that prayer.
So I think the question is, what would it actually look like? If God's kingdom became more visible here on earth, what would it look like in Minneapolis, what would it look like in our neighborhoods, in our homes, in our schools, in our public health. We have friends who work at HCMC, I think about that. There is so much I think about the homeless, the hungry. Because like I said earlier, it feels like the crisis is over, doesn't it? I feel that. And I think before we kind of break for the summer, we need to be reminded, our job is not done. It will never be done. Our partnering with God in this mission of loving the world, of bringing Jesus, the good news to people is never, ever done.
We had, I had an email from Bekah Phenow a couple days ago. She's the co-director at Park Place, which we partnered with and have partnered with and dug in deep with, built relationship with. I think pretty much everyone in this community has been involved with that, especially during the Metro surge. Becca was on, as soon as Metro surge started in January, she ended up having twin babies and she just came back last week from her leave and she sent this email. And I wanted to share it with you all:
“I swung by the center yesterday for the first time since coming back to work and was shocked to find another check from the table. I cannot tell you how grateful we have been for the partnership of the table during the season. As I meet with families, we are still reeling from Metro surge and I know we will be for quite some time. It brings me and so many families immense comfort, knowing the table is in it with us. We are so grateful for the table leading the charge of this partnership.”
Bringing the kingdom to earth. It can be that simple. It should be that simple. It should be a daily part of our life. Because the kingdom isn't some abstract reality. The kingdom becomes visible every time love takes on flesh in our lives. Not a future destination. It's not something we wait for. It breaks into the present every time people live in the ways of Jesus.
So I think the question for us in this passage today is not so much, Lord, when will you restore the kingdom? I think we need to ask ourselves, who will restore the kingdom? Are we willing? Are we willing to be part of restoring the kingdom? Because we continue to live in a world that longs for hope and peace and justice and belonging.
The prophet Isaiah once said this, you shall be called the repairer of the breach. The restorer of the streets to live in. And I love that image. Because it reminds us that it's not only God's work above us. It's also God's work through us. You know those disciples eventually stopped staring at the sky. They turned back toward Jerusalem together. They prayed together. They waited together. And when the Holy Spirit came, the world was never the same. Beginning of the church, my friends.
A handful of you have seen this already because it was too cute not to pass on. But truly, I think it sums up what it means to bring the kingdom here. From the words of a child, please listen. Need a little volume. Well, you can see your mouth moving. You think we can get it Sara or should we move? It's one of those awkward moments. How do we feel it? Except looking at this six-year-old with no teeth. Sara, you give me the heads up and we'll try to play it or I can try to describe it. Sorry. It's really dear. I'll try it another time.
But basically our little Sammy Schmiesing gives us a little daily teaching. And in this teaching what she says is, today's teaching is why does God want us to love our neighbor? God wants us to love our neighbor because it's kind and it's the right thing to do. So let's all make sure we stand up for those who are hurt. We stand with those who are sad. And when people are unkind to them, we love those people. And I think in the words of a child, that's what it means to be kingdom people and to bring the kingdom to earth. I think that spirit that's in so many of our little ones is calling us today not to simply wait for the kingdom but to help reveal it. And the way that we live, the way that we love, and the way that we belong to one another.
Let's pray: Holy and gracious God, we are so grateful for who you are, your ministry on earth, the way you revealed God, the way that we are to love one another. The way that we are to stand with those on the margins. The way that we are called to be with those that are hungry and hurting. We are on the margins who need healing. God give us the courage to be those people. Those people that don't just sit because it's pretty comfortable to do so. But actually take a step forward to have the next conversation, to enter those uncomfortable spaces even when we're not quite sure what's ahead. What we can trust is your promise that you will be with us always. You have left the Holy Spirit, that spirit that works in us and through us, the spirit that guides us, the spirit that speaks to us, your truth, your love, your faithfulness. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Justin: As Debbie was mentioning in her sermon, Jesus was taken up to heaven and the disciples were left looking out at the sky and the angels asked, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? And I think that we can be guilty of that. There's that famous quote that we can be so heavenly minded that we're no earthly good. We could stand around looking up at the sky, but we would miss such an amazing opportunity right here on this earth to go be the hands and feet of Jesus, to live out love and selflessness together and for our neighbors.
So the communion table can remind us today to stay grounded. We remember that the love of God will never be overcome by the schemes of empire. We remember that this is a love that unites us as one and calls us forward into the world to selflessly love.
And so as you come forward or backward today to take communion, may the body and blood of Christ ground you today, not only in the goodness of heavenly things, but in the goodness of earthly things as well. And may you be empowered at this table by the spirit to restore the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
On the night when Christ was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. And he said, this is my body given for you. Take and eat in remembrance of me. And in the same way, after the supper, he took the cup and said, this is the blood of my new covenant poured out for you as often as you drink of it. Drink in remembrance of me.
So as we prepare to take communion together today, just a few logistics and reminders. If you are seated in front of the orange tape lines, then you will come down to the front station. If you are seated behind the orange tape line, you will go to the station in the back. And if you are in the balcony, you will also join the assembly line at the back station as well. All of our elements are gluten-free bread and grape juice, and we have an open table, which means everyone, members, nonmembers, children, everyone is welcome to this table.
So at this time, either in body or in spirit, let's stand. And we'll pray together as Jesus taught us.