Onward and Upward
“Then Jesus came
to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to
obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)
And
surely he is with us today, asking us to obey all he has commanded and
commissioned us to do.
Our
Easter celebration is coming to an end but the triumph and joy of living the
new life in Christ is still just beginning!
What does that mean? In a lesson
from Acts and from the Gospel, Christ gives us some direction for living in
this new age. He says to us in the Gospel, "You
are witnesses of these things." He is referring to his own suffering
and death, to his resurrection, and to the preaching of the church following
that.
In
other words, we are being reminded the Christian Gospel is something more than a
collection of wise teachings or good advice. The Gospel is more than a story
about a brave man who was misunderstood.
The
Christian Gospel is the result of God being active in history, in a specific
time and place. "In the days of Tiberius Caesar."
"Crucified
under Pontius Pilate." We have a Gospel, rooted in history, not some
belief based on philosophy or myth.
Do
we treat Gods word like truth or myth?
We are called to bear witness. We
can’t simply sit and think about the truth of the Gospel. It’s not a
philosophical story to be pondered. If we are truly living in the truth of our
faith then there is action required. We are commissioned to bring Gods Word to
the ends of the earth, starting with our little corner of it.
We’re
baptized in real water and we eat real bread and drink real wine (well, real grape juice), because we
are bearing witness to the real truth.
God
loves to work through creation, through the processes of history, through
persons just like you and I.
If our proclamation, is datable in history as an event
that actually occurred, it is also dateless because it is not restricted to
that particular time and place. Gods Word doesn’t need to be updated or
amended. It was, is and always will be.
Jesus says to the disciples in the lesson from Acts, "You shall be my witnesses ... to the
end of the earth." In other words, the Gospel to which we bear witness
is not simply an event in the past; it is a redeeming word for our world today.
The risen Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is
present here and now to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of
those to whom we witness.
In the face of the entire world's grief and sorrow and need,
it seems a hopeless task doesn’t it?
On our own, it would be. But we have the promise of our
Heavenly Father.
A few days from now we will be celebrating that gift of the
power from on high at Pentecost. It is a power made possible by the risen and
ascended Lord.
The good news of this Ascension festival is that Christ sees
the whole world and he has overcome it. And now in this timeless movement of
faith he calls us to serve in his name.
Do we take Gods Word that seriously? Do we believe Gods Word
is the same yesterday, today and forever? Do we believe that Jesus came not to
abolish Gods Law but to uphold it? Do we believe that the power of the Holy
Spirit truly lives in us?
As you sit with these questions this Day of Ascension, prayerfully
ask God to help you live the good news of the gospel through your life. Ask
Jesus to give you the strength you need to stand strong in his word and his
way.
Remember he has not left us. He is with us always to the very
end of the age.
The question is..are we with him?
-Pastor Patti
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