What's Next

Sermon-7 Easter June 5, 2011
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Acts 1:6-14
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards 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."
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

John 17:1-11
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one."
This is known as Ascension Sunday. 40 days after Easter, the Risen Jesus took his friends out to the mount called Olivet. And while they were standing there he said good bye and rose into the clouds. It is recorded that this happened on a Thursday, which makes this the Sunday after Ascension.
It is also the Sunday that we honor all those who have graduated in the past year-whether it’s from high school, college , graduate school, or a specialty program.
So what do Ascension Sunday and Graduation Sunday have in common?
Years ago I was watching a series of university commencement talks and they had one of the graduates give a short speech. He said something like this-he had spent his whole life in school-and now he was finished-and he had NO IDEA what he would do next. He didn’t have a job. He had no prospects. His parents said no more money. And he suddenly realized that even though he had a college degree he had no skills that anyone wanted. Basically he ended his speech by saying that it was a great day and he better enjoy it, because his future looked pretty uncertain.
The disciples were devastated when Jesus died. Then he rose on Ester and their spirits soared. And then he left them, AGAIN, and they were left staring up into heaven. They were on a roller coaster-they had Jesus, they lost Jesus, they had Jesus back, they lost him again. They were now all alone again-and their future seemed pretty uncertain.
Graduation is about accomplishment, it’s the moment when we celebrate hard work and sacrifice and acknowledge that someone has achieved a goal they set out for. Ascension tide, as this 10 day season is known, is about Jesus fulfilling his purpose by returning to his Father.
Graduation is a time of transition, when one thing is finished, and the future is wide open to possibility and potential. Ascension is about Jesus leaving, and the world is now wide open to Jesus’ 12 friends going out in power and enthusiasm to tell the world.
Graduation and Ascension are about change. Which also means they are about fear. They are both about ending and beginning. And they are also both about good-byes.
Sometime during my senior year in college, I realized that the history degree I was working towards, was an ending-not a beginning. And I started wondering, “what’s next?” My senior year at seminary, with no church in sight, I started wondering, “what’s next?” Today, education is much much more career and job oriented and focused than it was 40 years ago-but at every point in our lives after our goals are met we always wonder, “what’s next?”
The disciples never expected Jesus’ returning to the Father. They never expected Jesus to be raised from the dead. They never expected Jesus in the first place. But God kept surprising them. I understand why they stood there looking up into heaven-they never expected so many things, and yet, as Jesus disappeared from their view, I’ll bet you anything that there were 2 words running through their brains-“what’s next?”
God had even more surprises, more opportunities, more bombshells ahead for them-but there was no way they could see them. On Ascension Thursday all they knew was that Jesus had gone back to the Father-and they were left on Mount Olivet. Alone.
It is always scary when we accomplish our goals. The day we have been working so hard for, for so long, finally arrives-and we stop and begin wondering what happens after that. For the disciples, they returned to Jerusalem, to the upper room-and began praying. Unsure of what to do next-they simply waited and prayed.
[We celebrate our graduates today, and we honor them-for all that they have achieved, all they have sacrificed, all they have done to accomplish this important goal. Today while everyone is asking you, “what’s next?”, we just want to tell you that what you have done is wonderful –and we are very proud of you. We may not gaze at you in awe as the disciples did, but we and very thankful and we hold you up in honor. ]
Elizabeth Achtemeier well known preacher and editor writes: “To be faithful messengers of that good news, however, we must learn to wait, as the apostles and disciples waited. Not jumping immediately into the task of each day, not running around in the busyness …. but first praying - praying for God's empowering Spirit that can enable us to be obedient and to do his will and to accomplish the purposes for which he has called us. We do not own the Holy Spirit. For each task given us as disciples, we must ask anew for God's guidance and empowerment. “
For those who are graduating, and for those who are simply living in the season in which Jesus leaves, the advice is the same to the question that keeps running through our head, “what’s next?”-we simply say, “let’s wait and pray. Amen.