It’s contagious, isn’t it, when someone looks inquisitively into the sky? You can’t help but use your hand as a visor and peer into the blue hoping to see something miraculous, dangerous, or fascinating. After Jesus tells the disciples that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, he is taken up into the clouds, out of their site. And the disciples just stood there, maybe slack-jawed, maybe in amazement, maybe they were thinking, “Is that what the power of the Holy Spirit will allow us to do?!” Two men in white robes suddenly appear, men who are immune to this contagious act. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” BECAUSE JESUS JUST FLEW INTO THE CLOUDS LIKE NEO DID IN THE MATRIX! WHAT A STUPID QUESTION!
There seems to be something deep within our DNA which causes us to be drawn to super heroes. Maybe it’s our deep seeded belief that the good guys will defeat the bad guys, that good will always triumph? Maybe it’s our way of teaching ideals, you know, truth, justice, and the American Way—With great power comes great responsibility? Super heroes come in all shapes and sizes, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman . . . etc. In whatever form they take, super heroes hold one thing in common—a secret identity. Maybe that’s what draws us to them? A regular guy like Peter Parker is Spiderman. ClarkKentworking a 9-5 job is really Superman. Maybe Trcey is really Wonder Woman? Within each one of us lies a desire to be great; rather what lies behind the every day that you see in me is something great.
Theolphilus, to whom this letter is written, would make a great super hero name. “In my former book, Theolphilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” The former book is the Gospel of Luke. Acts is, more or less, a sequel to the Gospel of Luke, and both are written to a person named, “Theophilus.” Scholars aren’t sure who this Theolphilus was. Maybe it’s a secret identity, but I think there’s something more powerful going on. You see, “Theophilus,” means, “One who loves God.” So maybe it wasn’t written to an individual two thousand years ago, maybe it was simply written to those who love God, those who desire to feast on the work and the teachings of Christ, those who desire to be transformed by the perfecting work of the Spirit, those who have gathered here this morning.
Today is Disciple recognition Sunday, where we celebrate those who over this last year made a covenant to read and study scripture in Christian community. I can’t too highly recommend making this covenant, and you should, today, sign up to be a part of this community of Theophili—lovers of God. We will talk more about this later in the series, but there’s power in community. As United Methodists we read scripture through the lenses of Tradition, Reason, and Experience. We read scripture through the lens of Tradition, which means along side the Word we read and meditate on what the church has taught about the Word. How did Augustine understand this text? How did we understand these texts as United Methodists one hundred years ago? We also read scripture through the lens of Reason—how does this text make sense with what we understand about God. We also read scripture through the lens of Experience, and this is where Disciple Bible study really comes into play. Experience isn’t necessarily what I think of the text or what you think of the text; rather it is what we understand about the text in community. It’s communion in a way. Christ is offering himself for us and we are called together to share and to be nourished. We don’t come together to come to a consensus. If we had to agree on everything I’m afraid we would be eating communion alone. It is about learning and growing and being transformed by the grace of God, but it is also about the Christian discipline of community, the discipline of forgiveness, acceptance, and being able to break bread with one another even in the midst of disagreement, and this can be a difficult task. This community is a safe place where those questions we lock away in our secret identities can be asked without judgment . . but we will talk more about that in a couple of weeks. All of that to say, it’s a really good thing, and you need to do it.
Just before flying into the clouds the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” This gives me hope because even after spending forty days with the Risen Christ they are asking the wrong question. Remember when Jesus entered Jerusalemand the crowd was shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna!” Hosanna means, “Save us,” and they weren’t talking about their souls. They wanted Jesus to be king. “Save us from Rome,” is what they were calling him to do. Well now Jesus is back, so now he will be ascending to the throne and establish the kingdomof Israel. You see, “Israel” means, “He who wrestles with God.” Jacob was wrestling with God all night and when the struggle was over God changed his name to Israel, gave him a new identity—one who wrestles with God. Jesus was never about establishing a kingdom of those who wrestle with God. He set about to establish the kingdom of God, a Kingdom of God in which those who wrestle with God will find grace and comfort and conviction and purpose. “When will you restore the kingdom to Israel,” they ask. Jesus replies, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” So, it wasn’t May 21st or October 21st or December 21st 2012. It may very well be happening right now. Why should it matter? Shouldn’t we treat every day as a blessing?
Jesus continues saying, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea andSamaria, and to the ends of the earth.” You will be bitten by a radioactive spider. You will be in some freak, atomic accident which will give you amazing powers of witness. Ok, so I’m paraphrasing, but Jesus says “you will,” not you might or it’s likely. You will receive power and you will be my witnesses. Next week, on Pentecost Sunday, we will hear about this transformation the disciples experienced, but for now understand that faith in God is not believing in the impossible; rather it is believing in God’s promise, and this is the promise, that you will receive power and you will be my witnesses. It’s a large job description. You will witness and you will have the gifts to do it.
The disciples are receiving a new identity. They once walked with Christ, but now they are to be witnesses of Christ and God will give them the power to do it. They were Jacob, but will now be Israel. They were Bruce Wayne, but now they will be Batman. But it is not a secret identity. I think too often our Christian walk is like a secret identity not because we only wear our crosses on Sunday, but because it is a personal and powerful experience. It is also, and just as important, a communal experience. It does matter how we live together. It does matter how we treat our friends and our enemies. It has eternal importance. You see, super heroes have a secret identity, but not with those whom they love and trust. Alfred knows who Batman is. Lois Lane knows who Clark Kent really is. In this place our secret identity should melt away in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup. The Spirit of Christ living in me should recognize the Spirit of Christ living within you, especially here, but not just here within these walls. We are to go to Shreveport, and to Bossier . . . to the ends of the earth being witnesses of Christ. So, let it be contagious, like looking up into the sky and seeing a beautiful rainbow. How many of you have seen the beauty of a rainbow and kept it to yourself? Let us be witnesses of the beauty and wonder of God for the transformation of the world.
So, as Christians you have all been blessed with a super power. Do you want to know what it is? We’ll experience it together next week! Go in peace. Amen.
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