Have you ever experienced a moment when all of a sudden some form of responsibility fell squarely on your shoulders? It’s the moment when—whether you were prepared for it or not—all eyes were on you to make the next series of decisions in order to move the process along.
It could have been a job when your superior abruptly left and now you were next in line to take the lead. Or, when your aging parents were no longer able to make their own decisions or, even worse, they died and you were the one the family looked to guide and direct. Or, when the two starting linebackers on your football team made a foolish decision, were kicked off the football team, and you were all of a sudden called to start against your crosstown rival in the section semi-final game…
That was me. I was a junior backup linebacker for the Mayo Spartans in Rochester and all of a sudden our two stalwart senior linebackers were gone. Now, I had been moved from defensive end to linebacker just that season. I had been learning the position and played in some mop up duty, but had never played meaningful minutes at one of the most important positions on the defense.
I received a phone call from our head coach later the same day after those two other guys were dismissed. I was told I would be starting at linebacker against the John Marshall Rockets. To my eternal disappointment instead of saying, “I’m ready coach! Put me in.” I gave a feeble, weak-kneed response of, “Uh, sure coach. I think I am ready.”
The next day before practice my coach pulled me aside and said, “Pete, last night when I called I was not encouraged by your response. We have decided to pull up a sophomore linebacker and have him start instead of you.” I was crushed. I knew right then I had failed to rise to the occasion. It was an important lesson in my life that I would never forget: I would be ready the next time I was called upon.
This coming Sunday is known in the larger church world as Ascension Sunday. This is an annual reminder that Jesus ascended into heaven while his followers watched in amazement—and then fear. Jesus, who had taught with authority and performed miraculous signs and conquered death on the cross, the one who had been leading this group of followers was now gone.
This Jesus had given his followers straightforward orders in Acts 1:
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
All of a sudden Jesus had gone up to heaven. The responsibility now rested squarely on their shoulders to continue what Jesus had started. It was a pivotal moment in world history that hung in the balance with a ragtag group of men who had fumbled their way along as Jesus discipled them over a three year span.
Can you imagine what was going through their minds when their leader had left them in such a glorious way? The thoughts running through their heads about what was supposed to happen next? The fear, the anxiety, the weight of the world?
As they were looking up toward heaven two men dressed in white stood by them and said, “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?” It was as if they were saying, “Don’t waste your time looking up at the sky. You have received your orders. NOW it is time for you to step up and do it!”
Almost 2,000 years later we are the beneficiaries of those followers who stepped up and did it! They took hold of all Jesus taught them. They dutifully waited for the Holy Spirit. They were emboldened to be witnesses to Jesus. And the message spread to the ends of the earth.
We carry the weight of this command today. We are next in line to step up, take hold of Jesus, and be witnesses of what he has done. However, too often we are caught looking into the sky asking, "When will you come Jesus? It is so tough down here."
But that is not what we are called to do. We still have work here in this world. You and me and all followers of Jesus are called upon to tell of the greatest story ever told. May we choose to do it!
