Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes a major shift in the Apostles’ relationship with Jesus. They really have been on quite a journey with Jesus: first they left everything they knew, all safety and security, to follow him and for three years learned from him by watching and listening and growing in relationship with him. They followed him all the way to Jerusalem, to his persecution and death on the cross, and saw his lifeless body laid in the tomb. Their hearts were broken along with their hopes. In grief and fear, they returned to the upper room where they had shared their last supper with him, barricading themselves in for fear of the Roman authorities. 

Then, three days later Mary Magdalene comes with great excitement to tell them that Jesus is alive, he has risen from the dead. She has seen him with her own eyes. At first, they don’t know what to believe but then Jesus appears to them and once more, their spirits are lifted and their hopes are raised. For forty days, he makes appearances; he is the same, but different somehow and their relationship has also changed. He is no longer always with them, but when he is there, he is fully present. They share meals, they ask questions. On of my favourite passages is when Jesus cooks breakfast for them on the beach. That particular Gospel has a very “west coast’ vibe. During this time, he has been preparing them for his final departure, getting them accustomed to being without his physical presence. He promises that they will receive the Holy Spirit and will be empowered to be his witnesses in Jerusalem and throughout Judea and Samaria. And the passage from Acts tells us that as he said this, he was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight 

Jesus as they have known him is no longer visible, and once again, they are in what our bishop would call “liminal time”! 

Again, they return to that same upper room, and they wait for the promised Advocate, not at all sure what to expect. We are told that there were both men and women gathered in that room, including Mary, the mother of Jesus. They have by this time, been through a rollercoaster of experiences and emotions, so it doesn’t take much to imagine their feelings: dejection, exhaustion, emotional depletion. They know they are to continue the work of Jesus, their Master and Teacher, but they have no idea how they are going to do that, and so, they wait. 

And we wait too, in our own lives, in our community here at St. Matthias, and in the ministry we are called to do. We await our instructions and for the Holy Spirit to empower us, enlighten us, warm us, and send us!  Like the apostles, we need to fully experience our own powerlessness as we wait. And what do we do when we don’t know what to do?  We follow the example of the men and women gathered in that upper room and we pray. 

And today’s reading from the first letter of Peter provides more instructions about how we are to be while we await the coming of the Holy Spirit in a particular situation: we are to be humble, to cast any anxieties that we have on God’s care, we are to discipline ourselves, and we are to stay alert. When the time is right, God, who calls us to eternal glory in Christ, will restore, support, strengthen and establish us.  

Ultimately, this is the feast of letting go: of expectations, of preferences, of knowing what the future may hold. There is an oft repeated saying that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans!  It’s important and responsible that we make plans and work to carry them out, but God always has the last word, and as followers of Jesus, that is where our hope lies.  God holds the big picture, and we are promised that it is much more than we could ever ask or imagine. 

The Gospel of John which we have just heard, tells us that Jesus prays for us too, reminding the father that although he is no longer in the world, his followers are in the world, and he asks for us to be protected so that we may all be one, as he and God and the Holy Spirit are one. 

Like the apostles, we are aware that we are living in liminal time: actually, all followers of Jesus are living in liminal time, but not all are aware of it. It is natural to want to be safe, to stay with what’s comfortable, to be absolutely certain before committing to change, but we are not promised certainty. We are called to walk in Faith; to be about more than the building that houses us; to be, as our website states, a church beyond walls. This means being a community, a church that responds to the call to live in the here and now; the current reality, not in fond memories of the past, or vague hopes for the future, but now! 

The two mysterious figures in white reminded the disciples that they were not to look backwards to where Jesus had been but to trust that he would be with them in the present time in a new way. Like them, we are called to look for God’s presence in our lives now, in this time and place and to witness to that presence not only here at St. Matthias, but beyond these walls, to the world we live in with all its messiness, confusion, and glorious humanity.  

As we await the coming of the Holy Spirit in our present time, may you embrace this time in our parish story with hope, and may you venture boldly into the world which needs the many gifts with which you have been empowered. You are the Body of Christ; empowered, called and sent. Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. 

Amen 

 

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