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A Congregation Of The "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." - Gracie Allen |
From May 04, 2008 The place was San Francisco International Airport. The year: 1988. My friend Jeff was leaving for an open-ended stay in France; his favorite aunt and I were there seeing him off. Excitement overtook us at the gate. (Remember, this was before 9/11.) But as excited as we were, auntie and I also knew it might be a very long time before we saw Jeff again, so a few tears hid behind our laughter. Time to go. Jeff hugged his aunt long and hard, then walked to the gate, showed his boarding pass, and disappeared down the jetway. His aunt and I found a place by the window and kept watch. The plane pulled slowly from the terminal, taxied to the runway and took off in a wild roar, soaring into the sky, becoming small, smaller, smallest. Then it disappeared altogether. We stood motionless by the window for the longest time, eyes still fixed on the spot where Jeff's plane had disappeared from sight, trying to absorb his fresh absence and the unknown of his return. This is where Jesus' disciples find themselves today. Not by the window at an airport, of course, but peering into the heavens having just watched the one they so deeply love be drawn up, up, and away from them. There's no telling how long they might have remained there had heavenly help not come along. "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who had been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven." Our author doesn't say this but I imagine one of those white-robed angel-men pointing a finger or giving a helpful nudge in the direction of Jerusalem. Just before Jesus had been taken up, he had told them to go there to wait for the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So Jerusalem it is and wait they do, even though what they're waiting for is something they have no way to understand. The only thing they know for sure is what they aren't waiting for: the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Before he ascended, Jesus made it clear this wasn't happening anytime soon. Change was indeed coming, Jesus had assured them, just not the political kind. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Wait, Jesus had instructed them. Wait for the Spirit and its power. Raise your hand if you like waiting. You already know I don't. During Advent I confessed to having been a first-class Christmas present peeker when I was a kid. On Wednesday, I'll have plenty of waiting to do; I have long layovers on my way to California. But the waiting the disciples do is different. It's not a twiddle-your-thumbs waiting, a how-can-I-kill time waiting. Their waiting is more like the kind we get to practice in Advent, a purposeful and active waiting, full of grateful awareness that God is in charge helping carry God's future into our present. Back in Jerusalem, the eleven disciples begin actively waiting; they circle up and pray. Women who were close to Jesus join them in this, as do Jesus' mother and brothers. Now when they pray, these folks don't pray a little bit. They pray a lot. Constantly, says today's scripture. With great devotion. Even though they had needed Jesus to tell them to go to Jerusalem and wait, I like thinking his inner circle knew on their own to pray, that by his example Jesus had taught them this much. He had, after all, gone off regularly to enter into the presence of his Heavenly Father, so that he could hear the loving whispers and caring instruction that only Abba God could provide. Their past gone, God's future not yet come, the disciples wait and pray, pray and wait. God depends on them for this as the disciples find themselves depending on God's timing. Some Sundays our scripture reading and our lives don't seem all that related. Today isn't one of those days, however. Where the disciples are and where we seem to be as a congregation overlap so well that it's hard to imagine this is mere coincidence. As promised at the close of last Sunday's sermon, I sent a letter Thursday to members and friends of the church. In response to concerns about worship attendance and weekly giving, I offered two suggestions that may help us proceed faithfully rather than fearfully. (If you did not receive a letter, copies are available at Information Central in the Fellowship Hall.) What I propose is that after Pentecost we take up two practices, two ministries if you will: pray together and study together in small, intentional groups. Both suggestions grow out of my own prayers and waiting for the Spirit's instruction and timing. Before saying more about what I am proposing, it might be helpful to listen together to NT Wright, the Bishop of Durham, England. In one chapter of his book, Simply Christian, Bishop Wright addresses today's scripture and the role the Spirit plays in the life of the church. He writes: "The Holy Spirit and the task of the church. The two walk together, hand in hand. We can't talk about them apart….God doesn't give people the Holy Spirit in order to let them enjoy the spiritual equivalent of a day at Disneyland. Of course, if you're downcast and gloomy, the fresh wind of God's Spirit can and often does give you a new perspective…and above all grants a sense of God's presence, love, comfort, and even joy. But the point of the Spirit is to enable those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen. Wright continues: "[T]he task of the church can't be attempted without the Spirit. I have sometimes heard Christian people talk as though God, having done what he's done in Jesus, now wants us to do our part by getting on with things under our own steam. But that is a tragic misunderstanding. It leads to arrogance, burnout, or both. Without God's Spirit, there is nothing we can do that will count for God's kingdom. Without God's Spirit, the church simply can't be the church." (Simply Christian, p. 122-123.) Please do not misunderstand. I am not implying we do not have the Spirit. What I am wondering, though, is if along the way we might have unintentionally let go of the Spirit's hand, that is underestimated the Spirit's power, and ever so gradually come to rely less on it and more on our own energies and ideas. If this is true, we certainly have plenty of company, especially within this denomination of exceedingly capable, committed believers. This is why, ever since I heard the phrase "God is still speaking," I have smiled to myself. Only the Spirit could give us such a potent affirmation to share with the world, while at the very same time point us toward the spiritual work that can enrich us personally and build up this expression of the body of Christ. We UCCers are doers and goers, we are make-it-happen people. But we aren't all that practiced at listening to and waiting on the God who is ever speaking and whose Spirit is forever on the move. This is why, everywhere I've served, I have gathered folks together to pray with intention for the congregation as a whole, for its ministries and faithful endeavors. One of the first things I did after I settled in here was to invite you to join me in weekly prayer for the prospering of the church. I was confident the Spirit would move and speak and touch us just as the Spirit has in the other churches I've served. When there were no takers, though, I found myself wondering if maybe I had relied more on my own timing than the Spirit's. So I offer this idea again, aware that those who are feeling anxious concern about our church's future may now sense the nudge of the Spirit, active in our midst, saying "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Choose me! I have energy and power and wisdom to share! Let me in! Let me lead you! Let me show you what can happen!" So, prayer and the lovely, lively ministry that flows from it. I am also suggesting we read together a book by Paul Nixon, a pastor with considerable experience in church growth. I'm recommending his book not because it has all the answers (it's too short for that!) but because it is a helpful place to begin learning and talking about what helps churches grow in number and faithful witness. Although I make these two suggestions, please know they are offered without expectation. I trust the Spirit's timing and the Spirit's power in our midst. And I trust you to recognize and respond to the Spirit's leading. You and I already know that what those disciples were waiting for, what they were praying for: Pentecost. God's Spirit swept into their midst and transformed them from an assortment of believers into the church, the living body of Christ. In our waiting and praying, in our learning, growing, and listening, certainly we can count on the Spirit to be every bit as wonderful and wild as the Spirit was then. After all, the Spirit loves to move. More to the point, the Spirit loves us. Amen. © Rev. Karen Winkel |
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