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The Acts of the Apostles begins with Jesus
ascending into heaven, leaving the disciples to wait, and to wonder. By
introducing the book in this way, Luke is shifting the focus from an
imminent parousia, Jesus’ return, to the practice of living the
gospel day-to-day, while remaining expectant of Jesus’ promised
return.
Like Jesus’ disciples, we are uncomfortable with
this uncertain time frame. How on earth are we going to plan anything if we
don’t know when Jesus is coming back!? What if he comes in the middle of a
Twins game, or during Desperate Housewives? We need to know
when all this is going to take place so we can get ready!
Part of the challenge of living in expectant
faithfulness is to find contentment in not knowing. The first 11 verses of
Acts 1 place this in comic relief for us. As Jesus is about to ascend into
heaven, the disciples ask, “Is this the time when you will restore the
kingdom to Israel? (verse 6)” Jesus replies, “(verses 7-8) It is not for you
to know the times…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you; and you will be my witnesses…”
The disciples stand there, watching Jesus ascend
into heaven, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them so that they can
then be Jesus’ witnesses and the kingdom can be restored to Israel. While
they are waiting, though, two men in white robes, angels, we may assume,
show up and ask them, “Why are you standing here on one leg scratching
yourselves? Jesus will come back.” The inference plainly is that the
disciples shouldn’t just stand around waiting, but should go and do
something while they are waiting.
Somewhat flummoxed, the disciples make their way
back to Jerusalem from Mount Olivet, which was within the prescribed 2000
cubits which Jewish law said was the extent to which anyone could walk on
the Sabbath. They return to the upper room where they had previously shared
the last supper with Jesus and hidden for fear of the Jews. Now, though,
they constantly devote themselves to prayer (verse 14).
I find it particularly significant that the
disciples, instead of trying to figure out what to do themselves, sought God
in prayer. Secondly, they prayed together. They collectively sought God’s
wisdom in prayer. If you look at Acts carefully, you will find that every
major event is preceded by prayer.
This time of waiting, before the dramatic giving
of the Holy Spirit, points to what may be the most difficult dimension of
discipleship – acting in faith without having a clear sense of what God’s
will is in a certain matter. In the time between Christ’s ascension and his
coming again, the only way we have of discerning God’s will is through the
activity of the Holy Spirit. But what if the Spirit has not yet been
manifested? Or, is what we are thinking the Spirit is telling us really
God’s will, or our own will? Is what we are thinking the result
of God’s Spirit leading us, or is it our own will speaking to us?
Because so much of the Spirit’s activity in our
lives is subtle, we sometimes feel like we need to see evidence of that
activity magnified many times over in order for us to be sure of its
meaning. Herein lies the danger of discipleship and the importance of
obedience to God’s Word. If we rely too much on empirical evidence we make
ourselves vulnerable to what we want that evidence to mean; a desire
that may not be of the Spirit at all, but of the world. We may define
illusion as reality, mistaking something which seems incontrovertibly to be
a sign from God, based on its dramatic impact, but which is not from God at
all. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us:
“We may have to decide, not in some
spectacular matter, but in quite trivial, everyday affairs. And then we
shall see and discern the good from the bad. In that day the reality will
stand the test, not appearances (The Cost of Discipleship,
page 214).”
Luke’s story of the election of Matthias to
replace Judas points out to us the importance of what we in the
Reformed/Presbyterian tradition define as the right of judgment, affirming
that “God alone is Lord of the conscience…” We Presbyterian Christians have
confidence that the collective judgment of God’s people, having given
prayerful consideration to the matter before them, constitutes the best
estimation sinful humans can make of God’s will for that particular matter.
In verse 24, the believers affirm that God knows
every person’s heart, and that God will choose the person God wants to
assume Judas’ place in the ministry. What is described is the confidence of
the congregation that God hears and answers prayer, and that God would act,
ostensibly through the Holy Spirit, although the gift of the Spirit had
technically not yet occurred, to assure that their actions would reflect
God’s will.
Given their certainty of God’s activity in their
midst, it really didn’t matter what method of determining the outcome of the
election was used. God’s will would be realized regardless. The method
commonly used by the Jews, a process not unlike that used in modern
lotteries, involved writing the names of the candidates on stones, putting
those stones in a vessel of some kind, and then shaking the vessel until one
stone fell out. The person whose name was written on the stone was the
winner.
The faith of the congregation in this narrative
is to be commended to congregations who often are reluctant to take bold and
decisive action for fear of making a mistake. Taking risks of faith, after
prayerful consideration, is to act obediently in response to the leading of
the Holy Spirit.
Bonhoeffer said:
“…our doer of the will of God is called and
endued with grace; he obeys and follows. He understands his call not as
his right, but as an act of God’s judgment and grace, as the will of God,
which alone he must obey. The grace of Jesus is a demand upon the doer,
and so his doing becomes the true humility, the right faith, and the right
confession of the grace of the God who calls…The word of the last judgment
is foreshadowed in the call to discipleship. But from beginning to end it
is always his word and his call, his alone. If we follow Christ, cling to
his word, and let everything else go, it will see us through the day of
judgment. His word is his grace (The Cost of Discipleship,
215-217).
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