The Church: I Didn't Hear No Bell (Redone)

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know what times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." 

              Acts 1:6-11

As I read today's passage and prepared for this morning's sermon I found myself focusing on two things: Promise and Power. There is the promise of power, the promise of a return, and a promise of keeping the story alive. Then the power that is to come is a power that was promised to these disciples just a few years ago, a promise Jesus continually reminded them of and soon the power would come.

Luke is making two theological statements in this passage. He's telling us that this story will continue his previous story. Jesus and the church are intertwined with Jesus being the cause and the church being the effect. The church is the story of Jesus continued. Luke is also telling us as the people of the Spirit, the church both justifies the Spirit's existence and exercises its mission in the world. It is very important to Luke for us to know that the church is not a separate story. While it is the beginning of a new act, of Act IV (remember Act 1 is Creation, Act 2 is Israel, Act 3 is Jesus, Act 4 is the Church, and Act 5 is the Eschaton) the story is still based on the earlier chapters. In fact, throughout the speeches in Acts you will find Luke continually draws back to Israel and Jesus, claiming that Scripture (knowingly or unknowingly) envisioned the story of Jesus and the church that unfolds in the Luke-Acts novel. Like Jesus the Christ, Luke believes the church is a divine necessity.

Throughout the gospels Jesus makes several promises depending on which gospel you read. One of the consistent promises made by either Jesus or the gospel writer is, “For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” In some form that promise appears in the gospel. Christ promises that the disciples will receive a power that will move mountains, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, preach without fear, and sustain them. In the moments of foreshadowing, we catch a glimpse of the struggles that the church will go through. We are reminded in Luke of a believers who will be dragged before a judge where they will have the courage to stand faithfully. If the church is a divine necessity or is the effect of Jesus then the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit is a divine necessity. Without that power, without this new character, the church's strength is weakened. With this power, with the confession, not even the gates of hell will devour them.

As I think on this promise I think of baptism, of my own baptism. I think of the divine necessity of baptism as it symbolizes our own promise to be faithful followers of Christ. I think of image of the dove coming down and the spirit coming upon as we are raised up out of the waters. I think of two promises being made and the receiving of the power that will sustain. I believe in this power and I trust in this promise. I believe this power and promise shine through our darkest days, reminding us of brighter days ahead. It is the promise and the power, I believe it is what the psalmist speaks to when he writes, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for God is with me, his rod and staff comfort me.”

Luke understands the importance of promise. For Luke, the promise in the Scriptures go back beyond Israel's return from exile and to a time when the house of David would be restored. Not as a military dynasty but as a newly constituted people who embody God's earlier promise to Abraham that through his descendants all of the families of the earth will be blessed. Luke understands this promise to mean a truly universal people of God comprising of Jews and Gentiles. The promise of God to Abraham, the promise of a Messiah to the exiles, and the promise of the Spirit are all promises fulfilled in Christ, Luke believes and understands.

It is important to Luke that these promises have been fulfilled in Christ because he knows and is experiencing the pains of being a follower of Christ. It is not as if Luke is off writing this without first hand experience in some form. He is not just reading through notes and old passages. As we will later see, Luke becomes a player in his own narrative as a part of Paul's mission to the Gentiles. It is this promise and the power that he speaks of that sustains him. He knows the importance of a promise and the importance of Christ's promises being kept. Luke doesn't see the church a people who succeed Israel, much less supersede Israel, but a people in whom God's promise to Israel comes true. As Luke reads scripture, Luke believes Abraham, Moses, and David would have been delighted to see their dreams come true in the person of Jesus. They would not have been surprised at the resistance Jesus encountered. Moses especially would have been sympathetic with the rejection and the death of Jesus at the hands of his own kinsmen. As Luke reads it, Isaiah had one eye on the end of the exile and another off toward the distant. In Luke's view the promise of God has been fulfilled by Jesus and the promise is being kept through the life of the church.

Reading today's passage brings to my mind an important scene out of Rocky V. Rocky, who is coming to terms with forced retirement, losing all his money, and life outside of boxing, makes his way to the old abandon gym where he and Mickey used to train. Standing off against the wall Rocky remembers something very important, a promise, Mickey made to him:

“And I'll tell you somethin'. Well, if you wasn't here I probably wouldn't be alive today. The fact that you're here and doin' as well as you are doin' gives me- what do you call it-motivization? Huh? To stay alive, cause I think that people die sometimes when they don't wanna live no more. And nature's smarter than people think. Little by little we lose our friends, we lose everything. We keep losin' and losin' till we say you know, “Oh what the hell am I livin' around here for? I got no reason to go on.” But with you I've got a reason to go on. And I'm gonna stay alive and I will watch you make good and I'll never leave you until that happens. 'Cause when I leave you you'll not only know how to fight, you'll be able to take care of yourself outside the ring too, is that okay? Now I got a little gift for you. See that? This is the favorite thing I have on this Earth. And Rocky Marciano give me that. You know what it was? His cufflink. And now I'm giving it to you and it, it's gonna be like an angel on your shoulder see? If you ever get hurt and you feel like that you're going down this little angel is gonna whisper in your ear. It's gonna say, “Get up you! Cause Micky loves you”. Okay?”

I think of Jesus standing among his disciples, his followers, his friends and he is asked a heavy question, “Is it time, Jesus? Is this when you will restore the kingdom of God?” Jesus turns and says, “I didn't hear no bell. It is not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth.” He's giving them a job to do. They are about to receive a power. All their training has come to an end and their faith will be tested. They are about to put their lives on the line. They are about to embark on a new grand adventure. They've trained for it and Jesus is saying, “You're ready, kid. I've taught you all you need to know. I've taught you how to live.”

I believe when Jesus says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” he's saying, “I'm giving it to you and it, it's gonna be like a, like an angel on your should see? If you ever get hurt and you feel you're goin' down this little angel is gonna whisper in your ear. It's gonna say, “Get up you! 'Cause Jesus loves you.”

It's not the most academic or theologically mind blowing retweeting, Facebook sharing thought, but I think it's true. I think it's what we need. We need to hear that voice sometimes. We need to hear the Spirit say, "Cause Jesus loves you." We need to hear because it is what will get us out of bed. It will be what helps us put down the needle or the bottle. It will be what helps us reconcile with one another. It will be what helps us give and live sacrificially. It will be what gives us a purpose. It will be what helps us hang on when all we want to do is let go. It's what makes going to the ends of the earth possible.

You know what, yes, it's cheesy. It's super cheesy. Its 80s montage cheesy but with the right music those words will pick us back up and steady our feet. And sometimes that's just what we need.

Sometimes it's what I need.

Being church is not easy. It's hard to stay in community with one another. The promise that is made to these disciples is a promise we put to the test every time we gather. Church is only church when there are people and when more than one person gathers in a room there will be differences in opinions and thoughts. Every time we come together with our differing interpretations, our differing theologies, our different stances we put the promise to the test and here we stand. Since the resurrection the church has been putting it to the test and here we stand. For 2012 years we have put this promise to the test and here we stand. We have not done so on our own. It is impossible for a group of people passionate about their faith to stay together without help, without this power. The promise of power has sustained the church and, despite what several believe, this power will sustain the church until Christ's return. It is the promise we've been made and it is a promise we test every time we are together and here we stand. I didn't hear no bell.