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So here we are. We've come
full-circle. Six weeks ago it was Easter
and it seemed that Jesus was gone
for good. The disciples we found either
cowering behind closed doors or scurrying
to get as far out of town as they could but then, the resurrection
happened and eventually the ascension
of the Christ. And so for the last six weeks
we have been walking beside the disciples as they have learned
what it means to be a faith community in transition.
We heard Peter's very
first sermon and we saw that it converted
thousands of people as they heard the good news from Peter's lips.
We listened in as Paul
articulated how the unknown God becomes
known in the person of Jesus. We saw the
disciples at their very best
and they gathered sharing all things
in common, and breaking bread together
to sustain their faith. And we watched in dispair
and with horror as Stephen was
*** to death for his conversion...
for his... for his confession of Jesus
as Lord. But how did it get all started?
We didn't get to hear that piece
until today.
Jesus after the resurrection walked with the disciples.
He encouraged them, he taught them, he broke bread together with them,
He eased their fears. He told them to wait,
to wait for the Holy Spirit before embarking on the witness and the
ministry
that would be their task in the days ahead.
And this morning we find them at that very moment in time when Jesus ascends
upward to Heaven, and they are told
specifically to wait.
Taking one final glance
at the heavens where Jesus ascended they turned and they went back
to Jerusalem, back to the Mount of Olives,
back to the upper room. Not a very big room but then again it wasn't
a very big group of people. Just Peter, and John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas,
Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, and that other
Judas. There were a couple of women with them,
and Jesus's brothers.
And they devoted themselves to waiting,
and to praying. They entered a
time of discernment where they looked
to God for guidance and leadership. They waited
until they had listened enough, and it was
apparent to what... what God was calling
them. You know Luke
generally is my favorite Gospel.
Well, Luke and Matthew. Or Luke and Mark. Matthew
not so much.
But in the case of the ending of Luke, and the beginning of Acts,
I really much prefer Matthew. I'm not
one for sitting around and waiting.
I'm like Matthew's "Go! Make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them, teaching them! Get out there and do it! You know what to do! Grab some
water, get a book! Get to work!"
Luke on the other hand says "Go back.
Wait. Pray. Discern."
It's a good practice.
As much as maybe some of you are like me and would rather just get
up and go. It is good
to sit and to pray. It is good
to read scripture together and ponder its
meaning. It is good to discern
exactly what it is that God is calling
us to in the world. It is good to
sit and listen and wait.
Two weeks ago I got word that there was some pretty serious
flooding in Penn Yan. I immediately picked up the phone, called
Michelle Fisher at St. Paul's, said "What can we do?"
I was ready to get John on the phone, get his little crew of service people
moving that day. I wanted to do something, anything,
be on the ground helping somebody, and Michelle
said "Wait. Wait.
What we need are your prayers.
There are people here assessing needs and damages.
Too many people will be in the way. Nothing
will be accomplished if everybody descends on our little village."
And so I waited. And I prayed. And
many of you waited and prayed.
And apparently those prayers were answered.
Homes are being restored, businesses are getting up
and running, and Penn Yan was not where God was calling
us to be. Waiting.
Praying. It's a good discipline.
I've looked over the Synod Assembly. Maybe some of you don't know, but our Synod
meets
starting this afternoon, and I've looked over the agenda for the next few days.
I'm very excited about the Bishop's
election. I am ready to get over there
and to cast my vote. I want to get it done.
I want to know who is gonna be my next Bishop.
Our next Bishop! But the process
is one of discernment.
it started months ago with prayer and invitation and waiting and it continues
to be a discernment process
even on the floor of the assembly.
because I've noticed on the agenda that before
each ballot is a time of waiting,
and a time of prayer. A time to discern the
Spirit's movement within our church body. There's a time
of stillness, when everyone in that room will together
bow their heads and listen
for God. Not once,
not twice, but at every
decisive moment.
It's a good discipline. I receive
weekly email articles from the Alban Institute and oddly enough this week's
topic was on discernment and prayer for congregations.
I think it's helpful to ponder a few key notes
from that article as we think about our own church
community. For discernment is an active process
involving each and every one of us. It does not mean sitting around and
twiddling one's
thumbs until God smacks you upside the head.
Discernment involves setting
aside the voices, the competing voices
in our heads and listening for the still,
small voice of the Spirit that
speaks to us sometimes boldly through one
another.
It was suggested that there are three voices in our heads
that we need to set aside before we can truly hear the voice of God,
and I imagine each one of these ran through the heads of at least
one disciple in that room. The first is the voice of judgment.
A voice that protects us from ideas
other than our own. It might have sounded something like this:
"Well, Peter couldn't even say that he knew Jesus in those five hours. Who is he
to stand up and speak for all of us?"
Have you ever heard that voice?
The second, the voice of cynicism, enables us to be
emotionally distant and protects us from being open and vulnerable. To the
disciples it might have sounded
something like this: "[laugh]. they killed Jesus.
Now they're gonna try to kill us. This ministry is never
gonna get off the ground, ever. Nothing's ever going to change."
Did you ever hear that voice?
And finally the voice of fear. It protects
us from insecurity and being ostracized. Maybe
maybe the disciples heard it something like this: "Well everyone in
this room is just trying
to look out for themselves. If I don't look out for number one heavens knows
James and John certainly aren't going to help take care of me,"
That one sound familiar?
We're back at the beginning. We're back
at the beginning today with the disciples who were most likely
fearful and floundering and before they could hear the voice
of God calling them, they had to set aside
their own voices. They had to turn
to Holy Scripture. They had to learn to listen
to one another with open-hearts and open minds.
That's a difficult task but it is the task
of being Church. It's what we're called
to do; to slow down and listen
and wait, and pray.
I'd invite all of you as you sit in committees or fellowship groups or Bible
studies or
even around your own dinner table to practice together the
art of discernment. To put away the smart
phones, or the agendas, to hold the hand of the person next to you or
fold your hands together, and wait, and pray, before you make decisions.
Hear how God is speaking to and through each
of you. Where the Spirit might be calling you
or calling us. And as we've learned from the disciples' adventure
could be a frightening and it could be scary but it could also be
amazing and wonderful. Today we go back to the beginning
to a small group of people
who wanted desperately to remain
focused on Jesus. His healing, his teaching, his ministry,
his life, his death, and his resurrection.
They wanted desperately to continue serving Christ
and making his name known throughout the world.
They wanted to be in mission and ministry together.
Sounds like some people I know.
And at the beginning that meant prayer. And as they grew in
prayer and as they witnessed together it meant prayer.
And as they were imprisoned and suffered for their faith it meant
prayer. Listening, discerning,
and waiting. When in doubt,
when in a conundrum, when frightened, when enthusiastic, when confident,
let's go back to the beginning and
pray.
Amen.