The Charge and Benediction

When we find the disciples in the scripture we read today, they are staring at the clouds. Jesus has risen from the dead, has spent 40 days teaching them and now has led them up to the top of a mountain. Here Jesus promised they would receive the power of the holy spirit. With this spirit they would be able to witness to the ends of earth. After making this promise, Jesus ascended into heaven in a cloud. After Jesus left out of sight, the disciples just kept standing there looking up staring at the clouds. Reminds me of my little dog who sits and stares at the door when I leave the house. He just keep looking at the door saying, “surely he are coming back and when he comes back I will be right here waiting!” The disciples just keep standing on that mountain staring up at the clouds, surely he was coming back, surely he wasn’t going to put them in charge, surely this can’t be the end. Eventually some angels came by and tell the disciples to wake up; don’t just keep staring at the clouds; they needed to go. So the disciples make their way back to the upper room in Jerusalem where they spend some time in prayer. They are confused and scared and fill with dread once again - just like they were after Jesus’ crucifixion. But then Jesus was resurrected and spent 40 days with them giving them further instructions. And now he has left them again and this time he says it is for real….. He is not coming back - at least anytime soon. Jesus said they were to go and teach the world. But the world was a big place and they weren’t able to do that. What were they suppose to do now?
Then Pentecost comes and the disciples receive the holy spirit and the holy spirit descends upon them and pushes them out into the world and gives them the ability to do the jobs Jesus had assigned them. No longer are they just standing and looking up at the clouds or consumed with fear and confusion, but now looking out into a world desperate for good news. The day of Pentecost is referred to as the birthday of the church. But we need to understand it is not the birthday of an institution, not even the beginning of a new religion. It is the birth of our power to be the witnesses of Jesus Christ to all the ends of the earth. And the message of Jesus to go into all the world and teach is just as relevant to us today as it was for the disciples 2000 years ago.
If we pay attention to this story, especially to this story of Pentecost, it should really scare us. We really enjoy Christmas and the story of the little baby; of God coming to earth to be with us. We are inspired by the stories of Jesus’ ministry, we are overwhelmed by Jesus act of sacrifice on the cross and we are filled with joy at the resurrection when we receive the promise of eternal life.
But after Pentecost, it is no longer about Jesus, it is about us. No longer is Jesus doing the work and we are following, but now Jesus is telling us it is our turn to go to work – time for us to take his message to the ends of the earth; and Jesus gives us the power to do it. And that is scary.
Interesting tidbit to consider - after Pentecost, after the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, we almost never hear of them again. Not only do we not hear of the disciples again, except for a few accounts of Peter and John and we really don’t hear the word ‘disciple’ again – we start hearing the term ‘apostle’ in its place. And there is a reason, a disciple is a follower, a student of someone. An apostle is one who is sent out with a purpose. After Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, we are no longer students, but now are the ones sent out with a purpose and a mission and a job to do. We become the apostles.
We have spent the last several weeks talking about worship. Helping us to understand what it is that we are doing as we worship; understanding why we worship the way we do, a little more understanding about the order of our worship. All of this to make worship a more meaningful time in our week and in our relationship with God. We end our series today, And it makes sense to end our study with the end of our of worship service- the Charge and the Benediction.
The charge is the part of the worship where we are to take what has happened here in our time with God where we have spent time praising God, confessing our need for God, hearing the message meant to convict us and inspire us - our charge then ends the service reminding us that we are to take what we have heard and learned and then go out into the world and use it to better live as the people of God and to carry out the mission Christ has given us. We go from disciples learning during the service to apostles sent out to witness to what we have learned. So we are charged or challenged to go out and do what we are suppose to be doing for God. The word Benediction means ‘good word’. We hear a ‘good word’, an encouraging word, from God as we go. We have spent this hour with God, praising him, singing to him, praying to him, hearing him speak to us, offering to him and as we get ready to go, he reminds us that this isn’t the end, we are to now go out and be his people; so he charges us and gives us a good word to take with us!
An interesting fact about the benediction - it the beginning of the church and formal worship, the priest would always go to the door and place his hand on each person as they left the sanctuary, giving them each an individual blessing. During the benediction you notice I raise my hand which is the symbolic way for me to give you each an individual blessing - you are to picture my hand on your shoulder as I say a ‘good word’ specifically to you!
Back to the charge, which is actually the more important part of the Charge and Benediction. During the charge, It is God who is charging us and God charges us because we have a job to do. The apostle Paul tells us that all creation is waiting in anticipation for what the children of God will do. This is what Jesus Christ meant when he says to us “You will do greater work than I will do.” Think about that. Jesus tells us, that we will do greater works that he has done….
So consider, Jesus has ascended into heaven, he has sent the Holy Spirit and all creation is now waiting for you to do a greater work than Jesus…
But we look back at the week we have had. A week filled with meetings that were long and tiring, a week of Dr. visits worrying about a body that just doesn’t work as well as it should, a week of interruptions and frustrations, a week of hard and difficult decisions, a week filled with loneliness or too much to do, a week of difficult relationships. Our week is a week of routines and schedules and groceries…. Does any of this sound like greater work than Jesus?
So we come to worship and we stand beside other confused Christians and we look up in the clouds and we say, Surely he’s coming back. Surely he didn’t mean to put us in charge….. I can’t even fix my own life, how am I suppose to do greater works than Jesus? I don’t have time to change the batteries in my toothbrush, how am I supposed to go to the ends of the earth? I don’t have the skills, or even the desire, to go to the ends of the earth.
The good news is that you don’t really have to do much. God probably is not calling you to be Mother Theresa or Mahatma Ghandi or Martin Luther or Martin Luther King or Billly Graham.
All Jesus is asking you to do is to tell others what he has done - you just have to talk. Nothing big, nothing spectacular. You don’t have to stand on street corners and preach or go and visit people in their homes. You just have to be a witness. And Jesus promises us we have the power to be his witnesses.
But remember, a witness is not someone who changes things or who makes things happen. Think about a trial, the witness simply goes up on the witness stand and tells what they saw – the witness doesn’t do anything, a witness doesn’t do any of the work - that’s what the judge and the attorneys are for, the witness just sees things and simply talks about what they see. And that is what Jesus wants us to do, he sends us out to a witness. To simply tell what we see. Our job is to watch what Jesus is doing in our world; our work is to is to pay attention to what is going on around us; how Jesus is working in our lives and in the lives of those around us and to tell others what we see – to witness. Because Jesus continues to work in the world and with the Holy Spirit, we have the power to see what Jesus is doing.
It just means that when an opportunity comes up in a conversation to tell people what Jesus has done in our lives, we say that. For example, you are talking to your friend who is having a difficult time dealing with the death of their parent and you say, “When I lost my parent it was really hard, but I truly felt Jesus’ help and Jesus’ presence and that gave me a great deal of comfort. I’m sure Jesus will help you too.” That’s it. You don’t have to elaborate; you don’t have to quote scripture; you don’t have to give any secret technique. It is just a matter of telling what Jesus did for you - straight and to the point. Because Jesus will take if from there. We witness and Jesus and the Holy Spirit will do the work.
The prophet Isaiah was taken into heaven where he was called before God, the angels were flying around God praising him and singing. Isaiah falls to his knees and confesses his sin and is forgiven as the angel places a piece of coal on is lips. Then God gives Isaiah his word, his message which basically says that God has work that needs to be done. Isaiah offers himself and then God charges him to go and do; to witness. Jesus stands on the mountain with the disciples and charges them as well, to go and do, to be witnesses. Then God sends the holy spirit which gives them the power to be able to witness to the wonders of Christ.
We are just like Isaiah standing before the throne of God…. We are just like the disciples standing on the mountain and the charge to us, with the power of the Holy Spirit, is to leave here and to witness to all creation the wonders of our God in Jesus Christ! Amen!!