But there were no such reassurances. Jesus did not fix it all before he left. The injustices of the
world continued. Persecutions escalated. To be a Christian after the resurrection - even one who had
seen the Lord - meant to live in the promise that he gave and to face the cross.
And I would have had to do it without Jesus, the one I thought I could count on.
But there was the promise. Luke says it like this in the gospel account: “And see, I am sending
upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power
from on high,” and Acts like this: “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.”
And so, their response was to return to Jerusalem with great joy. Jesus had left them, but he had
also given them a commission: to be witnesses. And they had been given the promise of a gift that would
never leave them: the Holy Spirit that would be with them always.
What was it like for them to let go of a flesh and blood savior for the promise of an intangible
and invisible Spirit? When I think about wonderful teachers and mentors I have known and then lost to
death, I know it couldn’t have been easy to claim the power that Jesus promised. I remember a teacher
who taught me so much and gave me a whole lot of confidence in my ability, and I remember the feeling
I had when he died. I wanted to carry on the work that he was doing - but how could I possibly
measure up and who would listen to me?
Which tells me that the letting go of the helplessness must have been part of the gift.
Somehow, they were able to trust that something remarkable really would happen: they would
be “clothed with power from on high” to bear witness. They would not be alone. I think it was a leap of
faith. I love what William Sloan Coffin said about faith: “It is terribly important to realize that the leap of
faith is not so much a leap of thought as of action. For while in many matters it is first we must see, then
we will act; in matters of faith it is first we must do, then we will know, first we will be and then we will
see. One must, in short, dare to act whole-heartedly without absolute certainty” (Credo, page 7).
And what made the leap thinkable? I think it was the blessing. Jesus blessed the disciples he had
sent out as witnesses, and blessing is one of the things that God always does - along with saving and
commissioning. It’s a very basic truth that people of faith in the Jewish and Christian traditions have
always known: God saves us, God commissions us, and God blesses us.
And so, these disciples worshiped Jesus, and returned to Jerusalem - not with fear or resistance
or doubt - but in faith and with great joy.
Jesus’ mission was accomplished. They had been saved - now they knew why. Now they had a
mission to accomplish. And they immediately began to do what he had instructed them to do - and with
great joy.
Now to the One
who by the power at work within us
is able to do far more abundantly
than all we can ask or imagine,
to God be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
He is King of Kings, and he is Lord of Lords.
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