The Reverend Donald L. Hamer
May 4, 2008
The Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year A

Acts 1:6-14
John 17:1-11

Those of you who attended Trinity when Ian Markham was here remember how he used to tell “Luke stories” as anecdotes in his sermons. More recently, we’ve heard “Caleb stories” from Barbara and “Joshua stories” from Ron that illustrate, in endearing terms, some essential truths of our faith. And so today, although he’s not four years old, I want to tell you about my son, Frank.

Frank is 21 years old and in less than two weeks, he is going to graduate from Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont. Two years ago, he received an Associate’s Degree in Automotive Technology from Vermont Tech. Now, that is an amazing feat in itself for someone who is my son: my understanding of how a car works is that I get in the car and turn the key – if it doesn’t work right, I take it to the mechanic and say, “Fix it.” As Frank approached the end of his second year in college, he developed an interest in the business side of the automotive industry, and so he decided to continue on in the Vermont State College system to get a degree in business. And so on May 17, he will receive a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business and Technology.

Over the past several months, Frank has been confronted with the same scenario with which all graduating college seniors are faced: What do I do now? As Hartford Courant columnist Jim Shea wrote in his column yesterday, Frankie and all those who are now entering the job market are venturing into an unfriendly place: A sagging dollar, a sagging economy that each month is reflecting tens of thousands fewer jobs than the month before, a stock market that seems to go up and down like one of those bouncing super balls. It is NOT a good time to be looking for a job or pondering the start of a promising career.

For Frank, as is generally the case for graduating seniors, he is at a crossroads in his life. He is approaching the end of his college career. During this time he has been a full-time student with a part-time job; the relative stability of a daily or at least weekly routine; supportive professors who are available to assist as career and life coaches; the assurance of at least some financial stability from what we lovingly refer to as “The Bank of Mom and Dad.” He has been in school at this point for 17 out of his 21 years of life. And now that culminates in achieving a major goal of those 17 years – a bachelor’s degree. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Or is it? Now, what? He, along with so many of his fellow graduates, is trolling the waters of the American job market, trying to discover where the next chapter of his life will lead him. It is a place filled with ambiguity: a time that is at once filled with the excitement of new horizons, new possibilities, and at the same time the uncertainty of what lies ahead . . . the anxiety over making the wrong choices . . . the fear of failure.

Frankie’s situation is not unlike that of the apostles as St. Luke described it in the passage from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles we heard this morning. The apostles now have been through not one, but two different crossroads in the life of Jesus. They have experienced the terrors of his passion and death when all seemed lost – all of their hopes and dreams for the future – a future in which Jesus was their leader and their protector – all of a sudden it was gone. Those days were filled with fear, doubt, and uncertainty about what the future held for them. What were they to do?

But then their fortunes turned again – or so it seemed. Jesus rose from the grave and, as though their wildest dreams had been answered, he walked again among them, assuring them, guiding them, joining them in fellowship. Happy days were here again! Surely now, this must be the beginning of the kingdom that Jesus promised! And their impatience shows. Luke writes that the apostles asked Jesus, Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?

But Jesus once again seems to disappoint their limited expectations: It is not for you to know the time or periods that the father has set by his own authority. All Jesus gives them by way of a response is a promise for the future: . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And he gives them an image of what their future will look like: and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and to the ends of the earth. And with that, Jesus vanished into the heavens.

The apostles are left speechless, and wondering, “Now, what?” Luke tells us that they were left standing there, looking up to heaven.

Another crossroads. Another one of those times filled with ambiguity. Another one of those times that is filled at once with the excitement of new horizons, new possibilities, and at the same time the uncertainty of what lies ahead, the anxiety over making the wrong choices, the fear of failure. Sure, Jesus gave them the promise – but now he was gone. Where would he be when they really needed him? You can try to put yourselves in the position of the apostles as they stood there and watched Jesus gradually fade out of sight – what would be going through your mind?

When you reflect on it, human life is a series of crossroads, and our Christian journey is no exception. As we walk through our lives, we continually encounter changing circumstances, unexpected circumstances, life’s little and not-so-little surprises. And like the apostles, we are often looking for the easy answer, the low-risk option, the assurance that the period of uncertainty will be over and our lives will remain in tact: We ask, to fit our own situation, Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel? Is this the time when you will give me clarity in my life? Is this the time when you will take away my burdens? Is this the time you will give me peace in my family? And we never really accept Jesus’ answer: It is not for you to know the time or periods that the father has set by his own authority.

Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven marks the end of a chapter in Jesus’ life. It also marks the end of a chapter in human history and hails the beginning of another. For Jesus, it is “Mission Accomplished” on earth because he has done all that God the Father asked him to do. It is the end of Jesus’ work, but only the beginning of our work. As in a relay race, Jesus hands the baton off to us. It is now up to us to carry on the work that he has started.

Whether it is in our personal lives, whether it is in the life of our church, whether it is in the life of our country – Jesus always has the same answer: It is not for you to know the time or periods that the father has set by his own authority. We keep looking for certainty in a world that is anything BUT certain. The only thing for certain is Jesus’ promise of eternal life, and His promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit. We say that we are saved by Divine Grace through Faith – not that we are saved by God’s Divine Grace through scientific proof. That’s why it is called “faith.” Jesus departed this earth assuring us of all that we would need: And the only response we are called upon to make to this world is to do what Jesus called us to do: You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and to the ends of the earth. Amen.

© Copyright 2008 by the Reverend Donald L. Hamer