Now What?

Easter 7; Yr. A, June 1, 2014

Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11

Sermon preached at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

                        Ascension story in Acts:

They are together with Jesus. 

Asking if this is the time when Israel will be redeemed. 

He says stay in Jerusalem, what has been promised will come in a few days.

Suddenly Jesus is lifted up and taken away. 

The disciples stare up into heaven.

Men in white arrive.  “Why do you stand looking up towards heaven?”

Who wouldn’t be doing that?

            Two thoughts are in there heads.

What just happened?

Now what?

            My Dad’s death.

My father died.

We’re all feeling the loss, everything has changed.

Plans that included my father no longer make sense.

Several siblings had planned a vacation with him this month.

Several of us had planned to go with him to his hometown and hear stories and visit family sites this summer.

My brother-in-law is turning fifty this August and we had planned a surprise party in Pgh so Dad could be there.  Now we’re looking at selling the house.

What about Christmas – where will we gather?

There’s a lot of Now What?

How will we be family in the future?  What will our family gatherings look like?  Where will they be?

            What next for the Church?

The disciples had plans too, things they anticipated doing with Jesus.

Some thought he would be the one to restore the kingdom of Israel.

But then he’s taken away again, and he tells them to wait.

They go back to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit.

They choose Mathias to replace Judas.

They hunker down in the Upper Room.  They stay close together.

They begin to re-inventing themselves as church.

            My family

Instead of going away on vacation, those with time off went to Pgh and worked on the house to get it ready to sell.

Instead of going to DuBois to explore ancestry, we’re collecting old pictures and sharing the family history Dad worked to put together.

We don’t know what will happen with our celebration in August or with Christmas, but we seem to be planning times to come together when we can talk about those things.

We’re learning how to be family without my Dad’s physical presence or a family home to pull us together.

            The disciples had to learn how to be Christian without Jesus.

What they learned has been handed down to us in our baptismal promises and covenant.

Continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Resist evil, and be quick to repent.

Recognize the dignity of all, seek justice and act mercifully.

That’s how we will live life in Christ.

            Fellowship in AA

This week I spoke with a member of our high nooners AA group.

Some tell me that I don’t need AA, I go to church.

I shake my head.  Church is good, but they need AA.

I’m a drunk, though I’ve been sober for 37 years.  I need to be with other drunks or I slowly forget how I want to live.  Other messages start to take hold and I lose my way.

            Our fellowship as Christians.

I’ve heard several people tell me that the reason they come to church is precisely because they are surrounded by people who they see living the Christian life. 

It’s inspiring.  They need that inspiration.  They need to see that it’s possible.

They need to hear the stories, the lessons, the witness.

Coming to church is walking the walk of the Christian life, one that cannot be achieved in isolation.

            Our parting for sabbatical, and what next?

In a few weeks, we will part ways temporarily.

We will walk two different paths.

How will we remain “family” during that time?

How will we grow stronger in our faith and commitment to God, instead of drifting away?

We talked about some possibilities when we were writing the application for the Lily Foundation grant.  Bonnie and Linda are looking back and talking about what makes sense for us now.

The vestry, staff and I have already done much planning and preparing, but there are a few loose ends to tie up.

It has prompted me to bring others into things I have been doing out of habit, that I may not need to reclaim when I return in the fall. 

It has allowed us to expand the circle of leadership.  That’s a very good thing and I hope that it will continue.  I expect it to!

If you have questions – ask.  If you want to talk about it – please do.  This is a time of renewal for all of us!  Let’s look toward it in hope!

Amen