“Are We almost There Yet?”       2011

Mark 13:1-7 Acts 1:6-14

 

Mark 13:1-7

1As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” 3When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.

 

Acts 1:6-14

6So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But 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.” 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They 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.” 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

 

Later this afternoon, Kathy and I are leaving for vacation,

            and driving to Montana for her brother’s wedding.

We probably won’t even make it out of New Mexico,

            before I start thinking,      ‘I wonder how much further’,

                        ‘when will we arrive’, and ‘are we almost there yet?’

           

Isn’t it typical and normal to focus more on the destination,

            the journey’s end and when we’ll arrive

                        than appreciating the travel and scenery along the way.

 

Naturally, when we are planning a trip,

            of course we want to know when we will reach our destination,

                        but that’s not how it works with the Kingdom of God.

            Yet since the very beginning there have always been

                        those who speculate and claim to have it figured out;

                                                            à and they have always been proven wrong.

 

I assume you heard the media reports

            of recent predictions about the second coming of Christ,

                        set for the week before last, on May 21, 2011.

            And once again, despite careful calculations,

                        Jesus did not return according to that schedule.

 

Just out of curiosity,

            I googled the question, “when will Jesus return”,

                        and it came back with more than 62 million websites,

                                    which claim to have the answer for those who wonder,

                                                “are we almost there yet?”  …

       … clearly focused more on the destination than on the journey.

 

For some reason people have always been fascinated to know when,

            Jesus will return and usher in the Kingdom of God;

                                    yet Jesus is adamant

                                                and very clear in both passages we read today:

Mark 13:4-5

            “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”   Then Jesus said to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.”

 

Acts 1:6-7;

            So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore 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.

 

The disciples’ questions don’t seem so terrible or unreasonable,

            for don’t we too   long for the coming Kingdom of God,

                        when corruption and suffering will be made right,

                                    and when justice and mercy will prevail? ---

 

-- so why did Jesus refuse to answer and resolve the mystery?

 

I think it’s because God loves us and knows us;

            that our attention focused on the date and timing,

                        would distract us away from our relationship with God,

                                    away from living a life of faithful discipleship,

                                                and away from our true mission and call.

      If you fill up on cookies and candy,  you’re less likely to be hungry for a healthy meal.

 

Reading the story about the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1,

            brought back an obscure memory   of a Sunday School lesson à

                        and craft project I recall from my kindergarten days.

 

With crayons, we colored a picture

            of the disciples watching Jesus disappear up into the sky,

                        and then pasted wads of cotton around Him as the clouds.

 

Beyond producing some truly priceless refrigerator art,

            I still remember that lesson,   and that it was about

                        the two messengers from God   telling the disciples

                             to get on with the task of bearing Christian witness,

                                    and stop wasting their time staring off into space.

 

That childhood craft project and Sunday school lesson

            really captures two important points of the ascension story:

 

**  First, that Jesus of Nazareth,

            the man with whom the disciples had traveled for 3 years,

                        would from now on be back in glory with the Father …

 

            … and though Jesus was leaving, He was not abandoning them.           

                        Jesus would always be with them through the Holy Spirit;

                                    by the indwelling of the Spirit after Pentecost,

                                                God is always present,  and with us to guide us.

 

** Second, that the ascension of Jesus Christ

            initiated the age of the Church and Holy Spirit,

                        the time of witness,  until the second coming of Jesus.

 

In Acts, the disciples are with Jesus at the Mount of Olives,

            and they ask Him, “Is this the end, the coming Kingdom?”

                        Jesus tells them, “You don’t need to worry about that…”

                                                            … and instead Jesus commissions them

                                                                        with a promise and a command:  vs. 7-8

            “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.”

 

*  The Promise:

            you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

 

This is a critical truth for us to understand.

            These are the same guys who ran away and abandoned Jesus,

                        along with Peter who denied even knowing the Lord.

It is pretty clear from that history,

            that these guys are not going to accomplish much on their own…

 

            …yet after Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit,

                        everything changes,

                                    and they become bold and faithful witnesses.

 

Our call is not something of our own efforts, work or achievement,

        but grace brings us into a cooperative-intimate relationship

                        in which the Holy Spirit  empowers us, and accomplishes

                                    God’s will and purpose by working through us.

 

God invites us to participate and share in His work and purpose.

            God is always in control, not us;   so we offer our best,

                        and trust God to produce the right results  He desires.

 

* The Command:

            you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, … and to the ends of the earth.

 

Notice that their witnessing,

            begins at home, there in Jerusalem where they already are,

                        and from there,  it spreads out to all of the world.

 

Witnessing is not necessarily a Billy Graham-style  crusade,

            but has to do with living in faithful discipleship,

                        right where we are, who we are, where God has placed us.

 

This faithful discipleship and bearing witness

            is simply the process of God’s grace and presence

                        making a difference by guiding and influencing

                                    every aspect of our ordinary – everyday lives.

 

Also notice, that their part in fulfilling verse 8,

            “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”

            begins with verse 14,

                        “constantly devoting themselves to prayer”

 

“constantly devoting themselves to prayer”

            is something more than a time set aside for prayer each day,

                        or going through a list of requests or suggestions

                                    like a wish-list  or a to-do list for God.

 

This is really a living consciousness of the Holy Spirit

            as an on-going relationship and conversation

                        that changes us and our perspective of life over time…

… it is gradually being sanctified and becoming more Christ-like.

 

Christ-like, does not mean

            that I am trying to do   the same things    that Jesus did.

The question is not,  “What would Jesus do?”,

            but what would Jesus have   me  do or say in situation in life;

 

                        and what does truly being faithful mean

                                    in this particular circumstance that I am facing,

                                                and with the decisions I have to make and live?

 

This is not necessarily a clear choice between good and evil,

            but something far more complicated   and relational,

                that asks:

                                    what is the more loving and self-giving response

                                       that puts someone else’s benefit ahead of my own?

                What is God up to, and how can I best   cooperated with that?

 

Or, if Jesus were me, as He is revealed in Scripture,

     in this situation right now, how would He most likely respond?…

            … which calls me  to stop and listen in prayer, before I react.

 

Those considerations are what it means

            to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and bear witness,

                        to devote ourselves constantly to prayer

                                    as both conversion  and conversation with God.

 

The point of the Christian life,

            is for our everyday lives to bear witness to Jesus Christ

                        wherever we are and whatever is going on around us.

 

            And no, it’s not our place to calculate or speculate

                        on the when or the how  of the second coming of Christ.

                            Rather it is to focus on our relationship with Christ,

                                    and on living a life of faithful and growing discipleship…

 

            … so that our lives and our living do proclaim

                        that Jesus is alive and well, and making a difference

                                    in human lives, our relationships and in our world…

 

            … as Paul wrote into our Communion liturgy,  so that,

                                    “we proclaim the Lord’s death and resurrection                                                            until He comes again.”

 

So, are we almost there yet, and when will Jesus return?

            Jesus said:

                        “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.       And, beware that no one leads you astray.                    

                                   

In 1789, while the Connecticut legislature was in session,

            the sky turned black and ominous – some wanted to adjourn,

                        fearing that it marked the end, the day of judgment.

 

Colonel Davenport, one of the legislators, rose and said:

            "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not.

                        If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment ---

                                    if it is, then I choose to be found doing my duty.”