Jesus Christ's Representatives

Acts 1: 6-14
1 Peter 4: 12-14, 5: 6-11

When Jesus is lifted up into the heavens, the disciples find themselves gazing upward in amazement and trepidation. The one they have devoted their lives to; the one who had promised them great and amazing things would begin to happen had just left them. Jesus had left them to fend for themselves. They had to have felt hurt and lost and a little bit terrified. And so they stood there, gazing up into the afternoon sky and found themselves wondering, “What’s next?”

Well, two angels appear and tell the men to stop looking upward and start looking around instead. There are things to be done whether Jesus is here in the flesh or in the Spirit. Jesus had prepared them for this moment and it was no longer necessary for him to be there for the disciples to do great things in Jesus’ name. The training wheels were off and now it’s time for them to try this on their own.

If we wait until we feel ready and in control of everything, we would never get started on things, would we? Jesus understood that. When it comes to change, when it comes to doing something different and great, we never feel ready. We get comfortable where we are at and even if we’re miserable, we don’t want to change our circumstances because at least where we are at is something we can handle. The disciples may have had some scary days in the last 3 years, especially in the last 40 days, but they knew they could handle it because Jesus was always there to help them through it and to teach them how to overcome it.

But now Jesus was gone. Jesus had been lifted up into the heavens and they were standing there all alone and now they knew for sure, Jesus wasn’t coming back like he had before. He wouldn’t suddenly arise from the dead in three days. Yes, he had promised he would come back eventually, but he’d never given them a timetable or told them that it would be in their lifetime. They were on their own and they probably felt very alone.

Just like we are on our own and sometimes we feel very alone as well. But we’re not. Jesus may have been lifted up into the heavens, but he promised something amazing. He would send us the Holy Spirit to guide us, to teach us, and to protect us in His place. Jesus knew that we are always going to fall short of perfection; he knew that sometimes we would feel lost and that we would need some guidance. And next week, we will celebrate Pentecost where the Holy Spirit is given to every person that proclaims themselves to be a Christian.

The disciples didn’t really know what that meant, however. They had to stop looking up at the heavens and start looking around at what was going on in the world. They needed to reorient themselves. This reminds me of new Christians. The fire and zeal they feel when they first start to learn about Jesus Christ and the miracles he performed and the greatness of his actions. The idea that God had come to earth and became a human being, to suffer and die for us so that we could always be with God. It’s so amazing that new Christians become overwhelmed. Their heads are in the clouds and they walk around with these new ideals and ideas in their heads and Jesus Christ in their eyes.

New Christians often try to do everything at once. “I will never swear again!” they proclaim. “I will give 10% of my income to the poor and the church!” they continue. “I will never again say a bad word against Sam in cubicle 12 or my Aunt Tracy again!” they exclaim. “Every time I have a bad thought I am going to pray to God to remove those thoughts from my head!” they promise fervently. “I will not gossip, covet, lie, or disrespect anyone ever again because Jesus loves me and I love Jesus! I will honor Jesus by being a better person!”

Sometimes I feel cynical. I hear new Christians say things like this and I remember back when I did the same thing. How I would promise never to use curse words again. How I would promise not to gossip or to think bad thoughts and how I was going to pray and read my bible every single day without fail because Jesus Christ died for me. I mean, it’s the least I can do, right? Somewhere along the way, we forget that zeal and passion for Jesus and we fall into an acceptance of our imperfections.

Maybe we get tired of feeling like a failure, and so we tell ourselves that new Christians still have their heads in the clouds and don’t understand reality yet. They don’t understand that they will curse when they stub their toe on the coffee table, and they will sometimes overdrink at the office party and talk bad about Sam in cubicle 12. They don’t understand reality, we tell ourselves. It’s how we justify our lack of passion.

But what if the new Christians have it right, but are just going about it in the wrong way? The disciples had to have been feeling the same way. They probably told themselves that without Jesus as their moral compass they needed to be better people. They needed to pray more and study the scriptures. They needed to not gossip or swear or lie. The disciples were now representatives of Jesus Christ for the world. They did need to be better than their fellow citizens.

Which means as Jesus’ disciples, WE need to be better than our fellow citizens. New Christians may think they will never lie or gossip again, but we know better. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t able to stop ourselves from using lies to make our life easier and we can certainly prevent ourselves from opening our mouths to talk about others behind their back. If it is not something we would say to their face or discuss with them, then it is probably not something we should be talking about with anyone. New Christians think they can keep up this level of intensity all the time, but it’s a gradual process.

It’s kind of like exercising. When New Years rolls around, everyone wants to lose weight and they go out and buy new clothes and equipment and gym memberships. The first few days they’re working out constantly and barely eating anything. Their intensity level burns them out quickly and before long they’re sneaking into the fast food drive through for a burger and shake! Well, new Christians do the same thing with their intensity and then they become like us. Burned out on hopes and slightly cynical.

We need to start gradually. We need to acknowledge sometimes we will fail. The disciples didn’t get it right all at once either. We’re human and fallible. We’re going to make mistakes, but by the grace of God and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be better people than we were the day before. We can be a good example for the rest of the world. We can be accurate and good representatives of Jesus Christ. Because I think we forget that whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we think we are important or not, we ARE ALL representatives of Jesus when we proclaim ourselves to be Christians.

That means to someone who has never heard of Jesus, the way you act and behave says to them that is the way Jesus would act and behave. I don’t know about you, but that suddenly makes me a little more aware of all the things I do wrong in a day. It suddenly makes me wonder how many falsehoods about Jesus I am showing the world through my actions and my words and my thoughts.

Which means we need to start doing something about it. Just like the disciples. They had their heads in the clouds with Jesus when the angels came and said it’s time to look around and see what you can do here on earth. What can we do here on earth? How about an extra prayer today? How about a deliberately kind thought about someone you normally harbor anger against? How about actually saying something nice to Sam in cubicle 12 and calling up Aunt Tracy to talk? How about not taking the easy way out by lying or not spreading the gossip you heard about your neighbor? How about saying thank you to God for what you have in your life now instead of coveting what you don’t have?

Start out slow. Start with one extra kindness and good deed, thought and prayer a day. Work your way up until it feels natural and you’re doing it all the time. We’re not always going to be perfect, but we are always Jesus’ disciples and therefore we are always his representatives. We are the example others look at to figure out if they want Jesus in their life. The best way to spread the Good News and to spread Christianity and to get people into the church is to be a living example of Jesus Christ.

That kind of passion and love and sincerity cannot be faked or rushed, however. But we can do it. The disciples did it, and we can as well for we ARE Christ’s disciples. Each and every one of us makes an impact on this world whether we realize it or not. And we’re not alone in what we’re trying to accomplish. Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit as our guide and we have each other in this church to lean on. We can be a better church and a better people and a better example of Christ by working together.

Amen.