Timing is God's Business

The Reading: Acts 1:1-11
Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but "must wait for what the Abba God promised: the promise you heard from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon." When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?" He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is God’s business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world." These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left."
THE GOSPEL: Luke 24:44-53
Our Gospel today comes from the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 44-53.
Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled."
He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Abba God promised to you, so stay here in the city until [the gift] arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high."
He then led them out of the city over to Bethany. Raising his hands he blessed them, and while blessing them, took his leave, being carried up to heaven. And they were on their knees, worshiping him. They returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy. They spent all their time in the Temple praising God.
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Timing is God’s Business 5-20-12
God, we are so quick to ask for things on our schedule. Help us to remember that you are God. Grant us the hearing of your still small voice on this day and always. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you. Amen
Play first little portion of CD of “I Want It All”
I want it, all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now! This may well be the anthem that the world in which we live sings—not necessarily to its creator, but to whomever will listen. Not only do we want it all, we want it all now. There is even a phrase we use to name this compulsion—it’s called instant gratification. We have lost our ability to wait for even the smallest things. Most of us don’t really, when honesty prevails, want to wait in line for anything, be it a movie or a table in a restaurant. But this is exactly where we end up in our story today—waiting for the greater experience that is still to come.
What is described in the Gospel Reading and the Acts of the Apostles is the same event. 40 days after Jesus was raised from the dead, he left his disciples and returned to God. Forty days! You can tell from the questions that the disciples are asking that they are unaware of the time frame for what was to happen next. Let’s look at these two passages combined into one.
Jesus had been spending most of the days between his resurrection and this day (the day he is to say goodbye to them) working with them on becoming disciples, leading them to understand the scriptures and teaching them about the reign of God which was to come. As they talked and ate together, Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the gift that Abba God had promised to them. He reminded them of the baptism of John where people were baptized in water. He told them that they would soon be baptized in the Holy Spirit. He told them some very important things. He recalled that all that he had told them could be summed up in one sentence and this is it—everything that was written about Jesus in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms must be fulfilled. See, he said, see how the scriptures show exactly what happened—the Messiah suffers and then rises from the dead on the third day. Now, beginning right here, the story of lives being changed through the forgiveness of sins and the new life in Christ is proclaimed throughout the nations. This is to start right here in Jerusalem while they wait for God to fill them with power from on high. He told them that they were the first to know about this life-changing experience. Again, he told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait. When they gathered with Jesus for the last time, they asked, “Jesus, is this the time that you restore the kingdom to Israel? Is this the time that everything becomes right in the world?” And he answered them, “You don't get to know the time. Timing is God’s business. But what you will get is the gift you are waiting for—the gift of the Holy Spirit and through the power that comes in this gift, you’ll be equipped to spread the word of all that you know all over the world”. These words were the last words he spoke. As they watched, they were amazed when Jesus raised his hands and blessed them and disappeared into heaven. Some were standing and some were on their knees. Suddenly, two people robed in white appeared. Frustrated with the disciples’ lack of insight, they explained exactly what had just happened. They scolded the Galileans for looking up at the empty sky. “What are you looking for? Jesus is gone!” The disciples, still absorbing all that they had heard and seen, gathered themselves together and went back to Jerusalem. They were bursting with joy so they spent all of their “waiting” time in the Temple praising God.
This must have been an amazing time for the disciples—these special men and women chosen by Jesus for the most important task of all—the task of telling the whole world about Jesus’ life, His teachings, his resurrection, and his forgiveness of sins. You see, I think we forget what a pivotal role these disciples played in the history of the church. It fell to them to guarantee that the news of all of these things got beyond their own small group. This week, we leave the disciples bursting with joy and gathered together spending time in each others’ presence having a great time. What if they had stayed just like that? What if they had been so full of their wonderful community, they were not prepared for what was to happen next? These are important questions for us to ask ourselves—about the disciples and about ourselves as we come together each week bursting with joy and praising God together. But God said, “Wait, something better is about to happen.” The disciples and we, of course, want to know when. But Jesus said—“this is not for you to know—Timing is God’s business.”
We are right there with those disciples—we have heard the good news, why, we are the good news. We are gathered together each week delighting in our knowledge that God loves us just the way we are—that we don’t have to change a thing about ourselves to be welcome at the Table prepared by God for us, God’s family. Rarely do we remember that we are waiting for what is next and that we don’t have any idea when God will choose to move—will choose to fill us again with power from on high and send us out into the world to live the Gospel and to be the Good News.
Here is a truth, some of you believe that when I or anyone else talks about going out and spreading this good news that all we are interested in is more visitors, more members, larger numbers in attendance, and, perhaps, bigger offerings. I am here to tell you this morning, that this is not true. I believe that God sends us into the world not to increase the statistics of Open Circle, but because we owe it to all those who still do not feel the unconditional love of God to share the good news. Do you remember the day you discovered and believed that God loved you exactly the way you are—gay, straight, trans, bi, physically challenged, mentally or emotionally challenged, agnostic , cynic, or non-believer—do you remember? So, whether Open Circle grows, stays the same, or even dies, what is more important is that every young person in this region know that there is a place where they will hear acceptance and not damnation, that every gay person struggling to be straight will know that here they can be themselves, and that every straight person who gave birth to a gay or trans child will know that God loves their child exactly the way they are.
And so we wait, wait for power from on high—when it comes is known only to God. We gather here, in our Jerusalem, to feel the Holy Spirit descend upon us just as it happened so long ago. And we prepare our hearts this week to be ready—ready to experience the Holy Spirit as we never have before. We need look no further than our Gospel lesson from today to answer the question of what we are to do while we wait. We are to read and study, to think about the gifts we have to share in this place and in the world. We wait quietly and joyfully, and we leave the timing to God. We have so many questions—what am I to do in relation to the ministries of this church? Where will these ministries find a home? Where do I fit in? what is God calling me to do? How can I be a person who brings more people to know the joy and peace that I have found here in this place and with these people?
I, for one, am so excited I can hardly sit or stand still. I feel God’s Spirit moving in this place, in your lives and in mine. I see people receiving miracles of healing and prayers answered. I see people making peace with each other and with themselves. I watch as some of you dedicate or rededicate your energies and lives to living the Gospel and being the Good News. And we wait, bursting with joy, singing praises to God. Amen and Amen—