Worship May 16, 2021
Let us worship!
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
Shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,
A great king over all the earth.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
--from Psalm 47
A prayer to center you
Holy God, you are our guiding spirit.
May you show us your ways and guide us in your light.
All things are in your time.
Comfort us with that knowledge and lead us to live into a life that trusts in you.
Amen.
Holy Words from Acts 1:1-11
1In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But 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.” 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They 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.
Reflection:
I have been hearing a lot lately about the signs of the end times. The spread of the pandemic seemed to have fanned the flames of this conversation once again. From talk of the Covid-19 vaccine being the mark of the beast to the lack of using cash as a sign of the end of times, I have begun to hear the cries of people proclaiming the end days are coming.
This is not the first time I have heard these cries. When I was in high school (just to date myself) the book series Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins was a big thing. This 12 book bestselling series sold over 63 million copies making it one of the most successful Christian fiction series ever published. This series told the story of mass disappearances, political crisis, economic crisis, worldwide epidemics, environmental catastrophe, military apocalypse and much more all leading up to the end of the world. While I never read this series, I do remember how it spurred on the conversations about the signs that seemed to be surrounding us that the end days were on the way. Church all around did studies on the books and there was a lot of conversation about how the end times must be coming.
The seeing of the signs of the end times seems to come and go in waves throughout all of time. People have been looking for the signs that tell us that the end is near as far back as history goes. Perhaps it is the fact that we want to feel that we have some control over our end fate. Perhaps it is a sincere desire for others to turn to Christ before the apocalypse comes. Perhaps it is simply out of fear of the unknown that we look for these clues about what is to come and when.
That is exactly what the disciples are doing in this week’s Scripture. However we are reminded us that we are not to know the hour or the day. It is not for us to know the times or periods that God has set for us (verse 6). These things are beyond our knowing. The disciples had believed that Christ would return within their lifetime to complete all things. Here we are 2000 plus years later hoping and believing in the same. We are left to just hope and wait. We still find ourselves in the middle of the already and not yet. Christ has been with us and Christ has promised to come again in the fullness of time. We continue to live in this in between time. We are left to still hope and wait, with a little touch of fear mixed in.
But we are not to just wait idly in this time. God gives us something else to do as we hope and wait. God instructs us, as believers to be witnesses. God calls us to not just sit and wait for the end days but to continue to work and spread the word and love of Christ Jesus. We have been given the present time to demonstrate in the present what Christ has called us to, what the kingdom might look like. We have been called to transform the present into something more like the what God calls the kingdom to look like. God’s promise to revitalize God’s people is not so much a matter of when but of how. (verses 7and 8).
We are called, just the like the early church was called, to spread the ways of the kingdom to our immediate community (Jerusalem) and our region (all of Judea). We are also called to reach to those outside our own cultural norm, those who are socially and ethnically different from us (Samaria) as well as the world beyond our knowledge (the Roman territories and the Mediterranean world). God’s vision for the world is that be heralds of God’s grace throughout the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.
While we wait for Christ return and the completion of all things, we are not to do so while sitting on our hands. We are to do so actively, engaging in mission near and far. I know the word mission can be scary. We often feel that we are not worthy enough or skilled enough or educated enough to do mission work. But here is the good news, you are. We all are. God can use each of us right where we are just as we are to spread God’s love. In spreading God’s love, we preforming the task of mission that God has called us to. When we each let the light and love of Christ Jesus shine through us in word and deed, we are living into our personal call to mission. We are actively living into what God has called us t o. While waiting for Jesus’ return, the redeemed believers were told that their primary function should be to faithfully spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. While we may not all be called to sail around the world and live in far off countries to accomplish this task, we can each play a role here where we are. We should not be limited by our own limitations, if that limitation be skills, or knowledge, or desire, we can each live into this calling by speaking our own truth, by sharing what Christ has done in our lives, and by sharing the love of God with all those we come in contact with. We may not be able to change the world just by ourselves, but we can do our part where we are and make a difference in the world one moment at time. If Christians everywhere speak their truth and do not shy away from sharing the love of God with others, think how far our reach could be! We are not called this work alone, but together. When each of us speak up and share the love of Christ with those in our circles and then those in our circle do the same, think how far reaching that would be in the end.
So start where you are, speak your truth, and share God’s love with those around you and we will begin the work of the kingdom while we wait for Christ to come again together.
Thinking it through….
Think of someone who does share God’s love with others. Envision them. What is it about them that made you think of them? What do they do well that helps them share God’s message of love?
Do you share your faith journey with others? Why or why not?
Do you think that you share with others around you the love that God has shared with you? Is so, how? If not, why?
Action Challenge.
Share the love of Christ with someone else this week.
Tell your faith story to someone. Invite a friend to worship with you. Pray with someone. Enter into a faith conversation with someone.
Let the Spirit lead you! You never know where this will take you.
Prayer of Sending
God of all,
you can use us wherever we are,
help us to let your use us.
Open us to your Spirit that we may be instruments of your love and light.
Help us to fulfill your purpose and work towards your kingdom.
Give us courage!
Give us hope!
Give us joy in you,
now and always.
Amen
Going out.
Breathe in God’s mercy.
Breathe out God’s mercy for other.
May the love shown on the cross, the power of the resurrection, and the presence of the Living Lord, be with you always.
And the blessing of the Eternal God, Creator and Sustainer, Risen Lord and Savior, Giver of holiness and love, be upon you now and evermore.
Let all God’s people say: AMEN
