May 12, 2002

Acts 1:1-14

When I was living in Tenafly, New Jersey and working at the Presbyterian Church as the Associate Minister I lived in a small house that the church owned. Actually it seemed like a palace to me even though it was a two bedroom cape because I had been living in a studio apartment in the city with no kitchen. The other thing that was much different than the city was that I knew my neighbors. It was a friendly little block. I was befriended by a teenager who lived behind me. He loved the idea of having some place to go that wasn’t his parents. He and his friends would come and hang out a little too often but I made many recruits for the youth group and they were a pretty funny group of kids.

This young man found safe haven from his family until one day he got in a particularly hateful argument with his father and mother. He fled to my house and told his tale. I think that he thought that I was going to help him or take him in or at least side with him. But I asked him if he had ever thought about what it was like to be a parent. “Your mom and your dad have literally given their lives for you. It seems to me you have to respect them and listen to them until you don’t have to any more. That would be in another year when you go to college.”

He didn’t really hear what I said but then launched into a litany of injustices and terrible things that his mom and dad had done to him. No, none of it was abusive it was just the usual stuff that teenagers feel are such incredible tragedies in their lives. You know, not always getting the car, having to come in at a particular time, keeping up on homework, not being able to go to parties that were not chaperoned. The truth was that from his list you could tell that these parents were involved and responsible. I again tried to get him to consider how much his parents had given to him and did for him.

The truth is that few of us ever understand what our parents did for us. This is especially true for our moms. It was a stunning revelation to me that there were times in my mom’s life that she actually wanted to do something for herself without her children. I couldn’t imagine how that could be possible. That tells you what a good and devoted mom I had. I couldn’t imagine that there was anything else she would want to do or anyone else she would want to be with than me.

My mom was great. Just one small example was that my mom came from the school that said there ought to be something special and home made ready for the children when they got home from school. And there was. The best was tapioca pudding. It was pure love. And I still think about tapioca that way.

In my neighborhood I was called a mama’s boy more than once and it hurt.  But when I really thought about it I didn’t mind a bit because that was really what I wanted to be, at least when I was out of sight of the neighborhood ruffians.

And it is still true. I am a mama’s boy so Mother’s Day makes perfect sense to me. Moms literally give us all life, it is true for everyone and we ought to remember that. We need to remember how essential and important it is to be a life giver.

In the reading for today there is a wonderful progression that speaks to the importance of giving life to one another. I think the Bible reflects the true progression that the early Christians went through as the church was forming. And I think it shows where the church finally focused and so became a life giving institution.

There is a question that is posed by some or all of the disciples in the aftermath of Jesus’ death according to this reading. The good thing is that Jesus hung around for forty days so he could be asked questions like these. Part of what Jesus preached was the restoration of Israel as an independent country. He told his disciples that it was an event that was coming, soon. And I think that the disciples believed Jesus. But with the death of Jesus the disciples seem to have wondered if this was still the way of the future. Was it theirs to work toward the time when Israel was restored or was the church to have other concerns and other missions?

Jesus’ answer is telling. He says it is not for the disciples to know if Israel was to be restored that was not their problem. Jesus tells them to look for the Holy Spirit. Whatever the Holy Spirit was to direct was where the disciples should focus.

At first it is not evident what the disciples should do. So when Jesus ascends to heaven they do what is natural. Now I have got to tell you that if I saw Jesus fly off into heaven I would stand there gawking. But evidently the disciples were told to do something else. The story is told that two men, perhaps the same two men who had met the women at the tomb, stood by and questioned the disciples about why they stood looking into heaven.

The answer seems so obvious, “Well Jesus just flew up there!” That would be plenty of reason for me. But the point is that there future is not heaven. You know at the time there were many “Mystery Cults” whose major activity was getting their members out of this world to paradise. The Gnostic movement of the next couple centuries also had heaven as a prime concern. I read in this passage that this focus on paradise is misplaced. The two men tell the disciples to quit looking into heaven. There is something else that we ought to be doing. The Christian movement was not going to be about the apocalyptic restoration of Israel regardless of what Jesus might have said. And it was not going to be about getting to heaven.

But the question then and the question now is “What is it?” What was God’s will for the church in those days and for today?

The Bible says that the disciples returned to Jerusalem and they devoted themselves in one accord to prayer and as we will read next week, they were all together in a very special way. I would point out that the disciples were of one accord according to the Bible. We have heard this story so much that we can’t imagine anything else for the disciples. But the truth is that these people had to be under extraordinary pressure and scrutiny. They also had no idea what the future would bring. They had no compelling reason to stay in Jerusalem together except that Jesus had told them to. These are not ideal circumstances for any group of people.

Studies of group psychology tell us over and over again that any group begins to disintegrate in the absence of a shared goal or vision. If you add a high degree of anxiety to the mix it is certain that the group will fall apart quickly. And yet there they are together in one accord. And this becomes especially notable when we realize who these people were. If you read the list there are two that would get your attention if you were familiar with first century politics. In that list is Matthew. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew was a tax collector. A tax collector was a Roman puppet, a stooge working for the Romans gouging his own people out of as much as he could force. In the eyes of first century Jews you were a collaborator if not a traitor if you were a tax collector. It is amazing that any of the disciples put up with him but there is one whose tolerance of Matthew is incredible. Simon the Zealot was a member of a group who deeply resented Roman rule and would do almost anything to rid Israel of it. Having these two in the same group might be akin to putting a Palestinian and an Israeli together today and asking them to be of one accord. Nearly impossible right? But there they are the Bible reports.

I tell you this was the focus of the early Christian movement. It was upon a unique kind of love and understanding that people found something quite powerful to live unto. And it was unique.

The only way that this kind of love is possible is for people like Simon and Matthew to decide above all else to create love and mutual respect between them. Jesus said that this was the highest goal. Mercy was more important than justice or fairness. It is a simple idea but an astounding idea. And to chose it for your life changes everything about you and gives life to everyone around you.

It is a simple act. It is a simple act to forgive. It is a simple act to respect people. It is a simple act to love someone. But when it is done especially between enemies there is a most holy spirit present. I do not think that it is an accident that love precedes the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. You know it to be true if you have ever forgiven someone you thought you never could. It is a joyous occasion when your can let go of all that hatred and tension. It is work to remain cut off and reconciliation brings relief, a new spirit, a new hope the Holy Spirit. I think it was a radical commitment to love that brought the Holy Spirit and created this movement.