In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Acts 1:1-9

Around Easter, my mind often wanders to the thoughts and feelings of the Apostles and followers of Jesus after the crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. Talk about a total change from everything that had ever happened before. Now Jesus instructed them to wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon them – what could that possibly mean? These folks were witnesses to a series of events that changed everything, nothing was the same, but it would take a while to make sense of it. And, on the surface, nothing seemed different. The world was the same, only their lives had changed.

We don’t really have parallels to anything of this magnitude. Many of us lived through the events of late November, 1963. Stunning, startling – but life went on. We stood in sickening witness to September 11, 2001. The world was somehow different, but what did we do on September 12th?

Those were momentous days but, for the most part, they did not change our lives. Jesus told his followers, already transformed by His life and teaching and his death and resurrection, to wait for power to come upon them to enable them to be witnesses to the world. All of this would take time to understand. At first, they expected Messiah to restore the Kingdom, the glory days, to Israel – days when they were not under Roman rule and days when God spoke through prophets. Bear in mind now that these men were good Jews. Most of them would know the promises God made through those prophets, for instance Isaiah. Isaiah spoke that God was preparing a time or redemption: deliverance for the poor and the brokenhearted, and freedom for those held in captivity; he was predicting a year of God’s favor and God’s mercy when those who suffered would be relieved and those who mourn would be comforted. Maybe they thought this was that time. Apparently it was. In a way.

Their message would eventually spread like wildfire but first they had to wait. Perhaps they had to review what they had seen, share their memories, compare Jesus’ words to Hebrew scripture. Most of all, they needed time to get accustomed to the enormity of what they’d just been through.

We understand it better, at least better than they did that day. We understand that God’s message is one of personal intimacy and building a people of God. We understand that Jesus transforms lives and has done that with us and is still doing it. We understand that God’s methods are contrary to the ways of the world. We know that God loves mercy, God disdains violence, God dismisses the importance of wealth and status, looking instead at our hearts and character. God is forgiving, quick to give us another chance.

So, here we are, still living in the days after the day that changed everything. Now what? Now we build a community and grow it. We’re working to do that. We share with our extended community what we stand for which requires that our lives and standards are not the same as some of theirs. We reach out to all of them, old and young, poor and rich, pretty and not so, and witness God’s love and Jesus’ caring through our caring. We share with them the reason for our hope and why we choose to behave differently, in some cases, but not judgmentally. And we communicate hope and good news – there are so many who are afflicted. We sit with the brokenhearted and offer liberty to the captives, especially those whose captivity comes from their fractured beliefs or wounding experiences. Sometimes we have to undo their past religious experiences; sometimes we have to tell them that certain ideas or values are not okay with us. Let’s speak the truth to them in love but let’s love them in the way that opens the gates of transformation.

It’s not easy work but the Spirit has come upon us and will do so more as we venture, respectfully, into the lives of those who choose to let us in. We who tell what God has brought forth in our lives are the most blessed of all – blessed with a burning blessing that begs to be shared.

Consider your role in this – you have one.