Reverend Ref +

Easter 7A

I remember the good ol’ days. Crime was lower. Trust was higher. Music was better. Mom stayed home and dad was home by 5:30. Do you remember those days? And sometimes, don’t you want to say, "I wish we could go back"?

I think that that is what is happening today in the second half of Luke’s gospel, otherwise known as Acts. The disciples ask Jesus, "Is this the time you will restore Israel?" They want to go back. They want to go back to the good ol’ days of King David. They want to go back to the time when God fought for Israel. They want to go back to when Israel was a respected and independent nation.

And you know what? I want to go back to when I was five again.

Looking back to the good ol’ days can be a fun bit of nostalgia, think "Happy Days" for instance. Sometimes though, the problem with looking back is that we get stuck there. We end up "Living in the Past," as Jethro Tull once sang, or as Bruce Springsteen sang, continually reliving our "Glory Days." Those days gone by, to us, have become some sort of Camelot or Xanadu, a place where all was and is right with the world. But we often forget the trials and tribulations that went along with those times.

What we really want, I think, is to give up our responsibility. We want to live in the glory. We want to continually be provided for. We want the king to take care of everything. But that’s not the way it works.

This lesson from Acts isn’t about looking back, it’s about moving forward. The Ascension of Jesus is that seminal moment between his time on earth and our time as apostles. The time when Jesus’ earthly ministry has come to an end, and the time when our earthly ministry begins.

The disciples ask, "Are you going to restore . . ." Jesus, in effect, says, "No, I have other things in mind. From now on, you will move forward. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

In other words, it’s okay to remember the good ol’ days, but don’t live there. Live in the present and tell people how you experienced Jesus and how that experience is relevant to today. Start in your local community. That will expand to your country. And it will expand to include foreigners and outsiders and those who you think are different or unworthy.

Now, obviously, we can’t do it all – we can’t go everywhere and proclaim the gospel. However, the story can. What we do here will have a ripple effect that we may not even begin to comprehend. This story and how we live it out will be seen by others in this town. Which may generate interest which may then be carried to the ends of the earth.

The disciples have a new edict – go forward and proclaim the Good News. And then Jesus ascended to heaven. And then . . . And then there was a little pause while they stood staring up into the sky. Unbelief? Disbelief? Complete amazement? We’ll never know, but probably all of the above.

And while they were staring up into the sky, two men in white robes came and said, "Why are you staring into heaven?" I think that this is significant.

Think back to Luke’s gospel when Mary went to the tomb. Do you remember who she saw? Two men dressed in white. And do you remember what they told her? "Why do you look for the living among the dead?"

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?
"Why are you staring into heaven?"

It’s the same question. Things are moving forward, God is doing a new thing – why are you just standing here? There is too much to do in this world. There are hungry to feed, homeless to shelter, lost to be found, and the list goes on and on. And at the very least, there are people who need to hear the story.

Coming to church is all fine and dandy, as well as necessary, don’t get me wrong, but we need to spend less time staring up to heaven and more time working and struggling with this thing we call Christianity. We need to not live in the past, but remember the past as a way to inform our present and future. The Holy Spirit will be upon us in a few days; are you ready to move forward?