Musings on the Daily Lectionary

In today's reading from Acts, the disciples are talking with the risen Jesus shortly after the first Easter. Considering all that has happened, the question they ask Jesus is hardly surprising. "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus the Messiah has been raised from the dead. Jews of Jesus' day thought that the resurrection would come at the end of the age, so it made perfect sense to thing something big was about to happen.

But Jesus' answer tosses aside any concerns about timetables and and the arrival of the end. Instead he says his followers have work to do. "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But 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 of the earth."

This is not the only place in the Bible where Jesus tells his followers not to concern themselves with figuring out when the end comes. And here Jesus insists that the life of the Christian is not about figuring out such mysteries. Rather it is about being witnesses. And yet many Christians are still fascinated with trying to figure out supposed formulas in the book of Revelation. And the Christian life is often understood to be more about belief than about anything else.

I suppose it is not surprising that any focus on being witnesses diminished in this country over the years, especially when we tended to think of ourselves as a "Christian nation." But I wonder if we didn't lose our souls along the way. I wonder if we didn't cut the heart out of the Christian life when we shifted the focus of the faith to believing and attending church, forgetting that we are called to be witnesses. And of course, our lives are our most powerful witness. And if the Church is struggling in our day, surely the quality of our witness has something to do with that.

Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will empower us to be his witnesses. Send her to us, Lord!

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