Seventh Sunday of Easter

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 o f the earth.

With that Jesus ascends up to heaven:

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.

I picture the eleven disciples standing on the Mount of Olives, mouths agape, eyes wide open, standing in awe of what they have just seen; when two men in white robes bring them back to reality. Here’s the best line from this Ascension text from the Book of Acts:

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?

In other words, don’t stand idle looking to the heavens, instead start witnessing to the presence of Jesus Christ here on earth.

In both the Acts text and the gospel text this morning, we hear that the very last words Jesus tells his disciples are, “you are witnesses.”

Notice that Jesus’ last words are not “love one another.” Jesus does not say, “Forgive one another.” Jesus does not say “serve one another.” Certainly Jesus has said these words often in his Farewell Discourse.

But the very last words out of Jesus’ mouth before he leaves this world are “you are witnesses.”

That’s because we’ve got the love thing down pretty well. Yes there is room for improvement, but we know how to love one another. And while forgiveness is hard; still we are capable of forgiving. And service; we’ve got this one nailed down. If we make an appeal for blankets on Mother’s Day, or bricks on Father’s Day, or assistance in times of crises or disaster; we perform admirably.

But this charge to witness, to name the presence of Jesus in life, to give testimony to all that Jesus has done in my life, to name Jesus in all that we say and do; this is hard. And we don’t do a very good job.

That is why Jesus’ last words on earth to his believers are, “you are witnesses.”

When Hannah was in first grade Dale was approached about becoming a Girl Scout troop leader for a group of girls in Hannah’s class.

Dale’s response was, “I will help but I will not lead.”

Where have I heard that before? Everyone is willing to help, but precious few are willing to lead.

Dale was too busy. With her church, her home, our children, and her family life was hectic enough. Dale didn’t need another stressor in life.

But in Hannah’s class there were two other moms that got together with Dale who felt the same way. They decided that the three of them could become tri-leaders to the troop. With three moms sharing the responsibilities, they could get this troop started.

This worked for two years. But then the two others moms came to Dale and informed her that their daughters were no longer interested in girl scouts and so they would be leaving the troop.

Dale was now presented with a choice. She could also leave which would have been the end of the troop. Or she could stay and become the one and only troop leader.

She hated to see the troop disband, and yet she kept hearing her voice, “I will help but I will not lead.”

With the openings in the troop Dale knew that there were other girls in Hannah’s class that wanted to join. These girls were outsiders, socially in school. They didn’t belong to other groups and Dale knew that girl scouts would help these girls.

And so mostly for Hannah’s sake, but also for the sake of these other girls; in the midst of her very busy life Dale decided to become the sole leader of Girl Scout Troop 9014.

It was the right choice.

When these other girls were welcomed into the troop both of their mothers came to Dale in tears, grateful that their girls now had a place to belong. Another mother whose daughter was having trouble socially at school and at home has come to Dale on numerous occasions thanking Dale and saying that girl scouts has been the difference in her life that has given her daughter joy.

As I watch from the sidelines I see a transformation in my wife. She used to complain about the paperwork required of Girl Scout leaders. Dale doesn’t complain anymore. Dale never went to troop leader meetings. Last Monday night Dale said, “I’m going to a troop leader meeting tonight.”

Do you know that Dale has begun talking about the possibility of taking her troop camping. Dale going camping is like me going ice fishing.

Dale would never say this but I can; she is making a difference in the life of these girls.

And guess what? Being a Girl Scout troop leader is not life draining, it is life giving.

The angels said,

Men of Galilee (or maybe I should say women of Galilee,) why do you stand looking up toward heaven?

As Christians we are not to stand idle looking to the heavens. Our call is to take our faith and witness to Christ’s presence out in the world.

In Girl Scouts Dale never mentions Jesus Christ, but she very much sees her leadership as witnessing. She might not name Jesus Christ, but she is witnessing to his presence as the girls in this troop have found a place to belong.

“I will help, but I cannot lead.”

I know life is busy. We’ve got jobs, we’ve got families, we’ve got church, we’ve got scouts, we’ve got sports.

“I will help, but I cannot lead.”

The Ascension texts are about becoming witness leaders. To be a Christian means to get involved and use your faith to make a difference in the world.

The Christian faith is not about standing idle looking to the heavens and waiting for Jesus to return. The Christian faith is about witnessing to the presence of Christ in the community.

This can happen with our ministries here at Zion. Maybe you can become a witness leader to our youth, to our Sunday School, to our Worship, Outreach, Stewardship, or Parish Nurse ministries.

OR maybe you can become a witness leader in Girl Scouts, or any organization out in the community that makes a difference in the world.

Because Jesus’ last words on this earth called us to be witnesses; he wasn’t asking us to be helpers. He was asking us to be leaders.

I don’t care how busy or hectic life has become; Jesus calls us to make a difference in this world whether we name Jesus out right in our ministries at church; or whether we name Jesus silently in our ministries out in the community.

Don’t just be helpers. Be a leader as you witness to Christ in your life.

Amen

Please contact us by phone at : (908) 876-3547 or via Email at : zionlongvalley@comcast.net