A Sermon Delivered by The Rev. John D. Painter at Centenary United Methodist Church Metuchen, New Jersey May 4, 2008 (Ascension Sunday)

Texts: Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-11
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you–that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be ful-filled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repen-tance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jeru-salem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father prom-ised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they wor-shiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God. —Luke 24:44-53, NRSV

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the begin-ning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the king-dom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John bap-tized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will re-store the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is 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 witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to-ward 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.” —Acts 1:1-11, NRSV

Did Jesus say, “Go into all the world and discuss the gospel?”
Did Jesus say, “Go into all the world and program the gospel?”
Did Jesus say, “Go into all the world and do committee work for the gospel?”
Did Jesus say, “Go into all the world and conference about the gospel?”
Jesus said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”
Jesus said: “Go into all the world and teach the gospel.”

Like the preachers, teachers and martyrs of earliest Christianity, there have been wit-nesses in our own time who have stood tall in periods of testing. Being called by God to be a witness to Christ is the Church’s true identity.

In Jewish tradition, testimony for or against another must be confirmed by what is called an “authenticating second” in order to be legally accepted as truth. Jesus upheld that tradition when he sent his disciples out in pairs to proclaim the Good News—to heal and teach. The Holy Spirit continues to uphold that principle by appearing wherever “two or three” are gathered to-gether in Christ’s name.

Luke emphasizes this witness principle in his resurrection narrative. Two heavenly mes-sengers testify to Jesus’ resurrection to three (or more) of the women. Two travelers along the Emmaus road encounter the risen Jesus. It not only takes two to Tango, it takes two to authenti-cate the truth of Jesus the Christ.

How do we come up with two witnesses to Jesus as the Christ when he is ascended into heaven? First, Jesus is still his own star witness, testifying to his genuine Messianic identity. But now he is known to us through the tradition of Scripture and the experience of personal conver-sion.
The second witness—the “authenticating second” to the risen Christ—is the church. The church, in fact, keeps Jesus alive in our midst by becoming the earthly body of Christ. But to be-come that body of Christ takes more than a free Sunday morning, a little enthusiasm and a big sanctuary.

After Jesus appears to all the disciples—“opens their minds” to the truth about his iden-tity and the saving action of his resurrection—and triumphantly proclaims, “You are witnesses of these things,” Jesus gives them one more directive. In verse 49 of Luke’s Gospel he says, “I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” In other words, “Stay put! Don’t do anything yet! Before you take one step, wait for that power from on high.” What is that power? The Holy Spirit.

The disciples, despite all they have experienced, are not yet prepared to be authenticating witnesses to the risen Christ. They need something more. There is no authenticating without anointing.

Jesus knew that his disciples, even with all their enthusiasm and good intentions, were only ordinary human beings. Counting on an unassisted human spirit to embody Christ’s mission on earth simply asks the impossible. To be the second witness, the church needs that anointing from the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that made it possible for a scraggly band of fisher-men and tentmakers to witness about Christ across all of Asia Minor. It is the Holy Spirit that continues to make it possible today for any gathering of disciples—no matter how diverse their interests; no matter how weak their strengths, or how strong their weaknesses—to become the body of Christ on earth.

It is easy to spot the absence of the Holy Spirit. We’ve all sat through some church serv-ices where it feels as if the Spirit’s been sucked right out the doors. We’ve all attended some church meetings where everyone’s individual agenda became so important that the mission of the church was all but forgotten. We’ve all heard the hate spewed forth from some “Christians” who believe their personal prejudices and bigotries are divinely-ordained truths. In the words of Australian art critic Robert Hughes: “With so many crooks queuing up to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, it’s no wonder that the poor creature is looking a bit pale.”

When we try to go off on our own power, our own strengths, our own spirit—we are bound to fail. We cannot present an authentic witness to Jesus Christ without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

Remember: The Holy Spirit does not dwell within us so much as among us. The church is a community of faith, a communion of witnesses, a collective of love. Alone we are incapable of being vital witnesses to God’s redeeming activity through Jesus Christ. But with the Spirit in our midst, we can do the impossible.

Alone, Abraham could not see beyond the boundaries of one small valley. With the Spirit he could envision the promise of a whole new land and a multitude of descendants.

Alone, Moses was confined to chasing his herds in the wilderness. With the Spirit he led the Hebrew people to freedom.

Alone, Joshua felt the new weight of leadership heavy on his shoulders. With the Spirit he used that weight to knock down walls.

Alone, David could not imagine being other than a simple shepherd. With the Spirit he became the king of a united Israel.

Alone, John the Baptist was an outcast and a misfit. With the Spirit he was a prophet and a visionary.
Alone, Mary of Nazareth was insignificant and lowly. With the Spirit she was the bearer of the greatest gift God has ever given.

Alone, Simon Peter hid in the high priest’s courtyard. With the Spirit he stood in the tem-ple, healing and preaching.

Alone, Paul was filled with pride, hatred and rage. With the Spirit he was filled with grace, love and peace.

Although little known in American churches, St. Lawrence has been sculptured, painted and crafted in bronze or stained glass probably more often than almost any other Saint of the Christian Church. In England alone, more than 250 churches are named for him, as are six in Rome.

St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 A.D. But we remember him, not for his martyrdom, but for his being Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred ves-sels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was Archdeacon, the Governor of Rome took Pope Sextus captive and demanded, “Where is the treasure of the church?” The Pope would not tell, and they tortured him to death. He never did tell, but in his agony and pain, Pope Sextus somehow mentioned the name of Archdeacon Lawrence. They took Lawrence captive.

“Where is the treasure of the Church?” they demanded, threatening Lawrence with the same fate that befell the Pope.

Lawrence replied, “Governor, I cannot get it for you instantaneously; but if you give me three days, I will give you the treasure.” The Governor agreed. Lawrence left. Three days later he walked into the Governor’s courtyard followed by a great flood of people. The Governor walked out onto his balcony and said, “Where is the treasure of your church?”

Lawrence stepped forward, and pointed to the crowd that accompanied him—the lame, the blind, the deaf, the veritable nobodies of his society—and said, “Here are the treasures of the Christian Church.”

Are you there with St. Lawrence today? Join the authenticating seconds! Be an authenti-cating second!

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PRAYER
Lord Jesus, it would be delightful to spend our days gazing after you into the heavens, trying to peer beyond the mystery to understand where you have gone and when you will return. Instead, it is time for us to be very down to earth, time to be about the mission you have en-trusted to us. Prepare us with your Spirit’s precious gifts, that through the authenticating second of our witness, our neighbors may experience your love. Equip our Christian fellowship with strong muscles, tough minds and glad hearts which delight in serving people in need. Bless us with vision, that we may discover creative ways to extend your compassion to every land, so that when you return, it will be to a people prepared. Amen.
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