Introspection: Now What? (2023)

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Comments are always welcomed.
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Now What? (2023)

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.

Acts 1:8 (NRSV)

I said, Now, watch what you say
They'll be calling you a radical
A liberal, oh, fanatical, criminal

Oh, won't you sign up your name?
We'd like to feel you're acceptable
Respectable, oh, presentable, a vegetable!

From "The Logical Song" by Supertramp

At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that one day, while Jesus was talking with the Disciples, He suddenly started rising into the air, and, as the Disciples were watching, He disappeared into the clouds.¹  What we call the Ascension of the Lord was a cause for celebration, because Jesus was going up to Heaven to take His place of authority at the Father's right-hand side as the Lord of this world.

That said, as I've noted in the past, I cannot help but think that, as the Disciples watched their beloved Teacher ascend to Heaven, they were feeling a bit bewildered.  I imagine that they were asking themselves, "Now what?"

The Disciples were all devastated that fateful day when Jesus was taken from them, put on trial, and executed by crucifixion.  Their sorrow was turned into joy a few days later, when He came back to them, alive and well.²  Forty days had passed, and life had seemingly returned to normal for the Disciples as they continued learning from Jesus.³

And then, all of a sudden, Jesus was gone.

I suspect the Disciples would have happily followed Jesus for the rest of their lives, but Jesus had other plans for them.  Before He ascended to Heaven, He said to them, "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."⁴  The Disciples had effectively "graduated."  No longer were they to be disciples - people who follow a teacher - for the time had come for them to become apostles - people who are sent out on a mission.

Truth be told, I think I've been projecting my own feelings onto the Disciples.

I remember asking myself the same question I imagine the Disciples were asking themselves one Sunday evening in late 2007 as I walked around the campus of my alma mater.  Even though I knew my way around campus, I was feeling a bit lost that day.  I attributed my lost feeling to the fact that, in the last few months, I had completed the two life goals that had been set for me.  I had graduated from college with a bachelor's degree, and I had landed my first job as a professional.  I was not quite sure what I was supposed to do going forward.

I've started to suspect that maybe something else was going on within me at that time.

The truth is that I didn't want to graduate from college.

Looking back, I think I viewed my college experience as my "last hurrah."  It was my last opportunity to enjoy my life before the best part of my life came to an end.  I didn't really enjoy school before college, and I wasn't looking forward to the constant drudgery was coming afterward.  I tried to hold on.  As graduation grew near, I found myself wanting to stay for a fifth year.  After I graduated, I started returning to the campus to take long walks, and I remained involved with my collegiate ministry for a number of years.

When I was growing up, I never had high expectations for adulthood.  My parents, the two main adults in my life, didn't seem like especially happy people.  They didn't seem to enjoy their jobs, and their jobs didn't seem very interesting to me either.  Fun, it seemed, is for children and people who didn't want to grow up.  It seemed to me that, once I reached adulthood, I would be expected to trade all of my enjoyment for responsibility.  I've attempted to resist this transaction in any way possible.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I project my feelings onto the characters in the Bible stories I read.  After all, it teaches me things about myself.  Maybe, in some cases, I just need to follow the stories a bit further.

So, now what?

Ten days after Jesus ascended to Heaven, the Apostles received the power Jesus promised them, when Holy Spirit descended upon them like wind and fire from Heaven.⁵  Suddenly they found themselves speaking in languages they did not know previously,⁶ miraculously healing people,⁷ and being led to people they might have avoided in the past.⁸  They watched the community their Teacher started with them, the Church, become larger and more inclusive than they ever imagined.

If Jesus' disciples had been unwilling to "graduate" and become apostles, a lot of amazing things might not have happened through them.

Maybe what is true about the Apostles is also true about me.  Maybe, if I leave behind the story I've been telling myself, that the best days of my life ended with my graduation, God can do some amazing things through me as well.  Maybe I don't have to resign myself to living according to any script society hands me.  Maybe I can find the path I'm meant to follow, live my life for a higher purpose, and have some fun in the process.


Notes:

1. Acts 1:6-9
2. Luke 22:39-24:49
3. Acts 1:3
4. Acts 1:8 (NRSV)
5. Acts 2:1-4
6. Acts 2:5-12
7. Acts 3:1-10; 5:12-16; 9:32-42
8. Acts 8:14-17, 26-39; 10:1-48

The photograph of my feet in a doorway was taken by me at my alma mater in 2014.

Perspective: Chaplains Courageous

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Chaplains Courageous

But when the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Matthew 14:26-27 (NRSV)

Things were crashing loudly
Happening all around me
But Your still small voice
Was all that I could hear

"I am here
I'm holding you
You'll make it through this
I am here; I am here"

From "Beautiful History" by Plumb

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that, one day, the apostle Paul begins a long journey to the heart of the Roman Empire.  He had been arrested and put on trial, and he would have been acquitted, but, because he requested an audience with Caesar, he must journey to Rome as a prisoner.¹

In Myra, Paul boards a ship headed for Italy, and the ship makes a stop at the port of Fair Havens on the island of Crete.  At this point, a decision must be made.  It is now late in the year, and Paul, who has done a great deal of traveling as a missionary, knows that to continue sailing at this time would be treacherous.  He urges the centurion guarding him not to continue the voyage, but the centurion disregards Paul's warning, listening instead to the captain of the ship, who believes that they can make it to Phoenix, another port in Crete that would be a preferable place to spend the winter.²

The ship is suddenly caught in a violent tropical storm that will batter the ship for many days.  The crew members do everything they can do to keep the ship from going under.  They bring the lifeboat aboard the ship, secure the ship, and jettison cargo and other equipment.³

Paul, who is a prisoner aboard the ship, becomes the de facto chaplain.  He says to the sailors and the soldiers,
Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss.  I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.  For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you."  So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.  But we will have to run aground on some island.⁴

We all face "storms" of different kinds in this life.  If we're honest, we have to admit that some of the difficult times we've faced could have been avoided if we had made better decisions or if we had listened to people who are wiser than we are.  If we are going through a difficult time, even if we brought it upon ourselves, we can trust that God is walking with us and that God will see us through it.

At one point, the sailors aboard the ship attempt to escape in the lifeboat, pretending that they are dropping the anchors.  Paul says to the centurion guarding him, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."⁵  There are two hundred seventy-six people aboard the ship.⁶  There are sailors, soldiers, prisoners, and presumably some other passengers.  The people who are trying to abandon the ship are the people who are knowledgeable about sailing.  Without them, the people remaining on the ship will have no hope for survival.  The soldiers cut the ropes holding the lifeboat and allow it to float away.⁷

Our lives are intertwined with the lives of other people, whether or not we want to admit the fact.  Sometimes, when we are caught in a storm in this life, other people are caught in the storm with us.  We might be tempted to look for a way out, but we would do well to consider that other people just might need our help and encouragement as much as we need theirs.  We are all going through this life together, so we all need to do our parts, and we can always be a source of encouragement to each other.

Two weeks have passed since the ship was caught in the storm, and, in this time, nobody has eaten anything.  Still acting as chaplain, Paul says to the people aboard the ship, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing.  Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads."  Paul then takes some bread, blesses it, and breaks it.  The people aboard the ship take his advice and eat, and they begin to feel better.⁸

When we are caught in a storm in this life, we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves.  Doing simple but necessary things like eating well, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, exercising, and tending to our mental and emotional well-being can make a lot of difference.  Our going through a difficult time can be made all the more difficult if we are not sufficiently taking care of ourselves.

When the crew of the ship is finally able to see land, they run the ship aground.  The soldiers want to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping, but the centurion, who wants to save Paul, stops them.  Though the ship is wrecked, all two hundred seventy-six people aboard the ship have survived the storm, just as Paul has repeatedly assured them.⁹

We all go through proverbial storms in this life.  Some of them we bring upon ourselves, and others come through no fault of our own.  We do not go through these storms by ourselves, for God is always with us.  Sometimes other people are going through the same storms we are facing, and sometimes other people are going through storms of their own.  If we confront these storms with hope and courage, we can be a source of comfort, help, and encouragement for each other.  Sometimes life itself can seem like one big storm, but we are all in this storm together.

Notes:

1. Acts 26:30-27:1
2. Acts 27:5-12
3. Acts 27:13-20
4. Acts 27:21-26 (NRSV)
5. Acts 27:30-31 (NRSV)
6. Acts 27:37
7. Acts 27:32
8. Acts 27:33-36 (NRSV)
9. Acts 27:39-44

The Day After the Shipwreck was painted by Paul Jean Clays in 1853.

Easter Perspective: Easter Grace

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Easter Grace

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff -
they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 (NRSV)

And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

From "In the Garden" by C. Austin Miles

It is early Sunday morning, a few days after Jesus was executed by crucifixion.  Mary Magdalene, a woman who loved Jesus dearly, goes to His tomb and finds that His body is missing.  She tells Jesus' disciples, and two of them go back with her to inspect the tomb.  The two disciples return to their meeting place, while Mary stays at the tomb, weeping.¹

At one point, a man who appears to be a gardener approaches Mary and asks her why she is crying.  She replies, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."²

The man simply says, "Mary!"  Mary then realizes that Jesus is standing before her.³

That evening, ten of Jesus' disciples are gathered in their meeting place.  They have locked the door, because they are afraid of what will inevitably happen when people discover that Jesus' body is missing from the tomb.  Mary has told them that she has seen Jesus alive and well, but her news just seems too good to be true.⁴

Suddenly, Jesus appears in the room with His fearful disciples and says, "Peace be with you."⁵

Unfortunately, the disciple named Thomas is not with the others when Jesus appears to them.  The others find Thomas and tell him that Jesus has been raised from the dead, but Thomas does not believe them.  He says, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."⁶

A week passes.  Jesus' disciples are once again gathered in their meeting place, and this time Thomas is among them.  Once again, Jesus suddenly appears in the room with them and says, "Peace be with you."  He turns to Thomas, shows him the scars from His crucifixion, and says, "Put your finger here and see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  Do not doubt but believe."⁷

Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and my God!"⁸

Some time passes.  The disciple named Simon decides to return to his former life as a fisherman.  When Jesus was arrested, Simon denied knowing Him three times, so now he can no longer think of himself as a disciple.  Some of the other disciples decide to go fishing with him.⁹

The group of disciples spend a night on the sea, failing to catch any fish.  In the morning, a man calls out to them from the beach and suggests that they throw out their net from the starboard side of the boat.  When they follow the man's instructions, they miraculously catch a net full of fish, and they realize that the man on the beach is Jesus.  The disciples haul the fish to shore, and Jesus cooks breakfast for them.¹⁰

After breakfast, Jesus takes Simon aside and asks him three times, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

Three times, Simon replies, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you."

Three times, Jesus says to Simon, "Feed my sheep."¹¹

---

The Easter story is a story of grace.  It is a story of the Risen Christ's meeting people who are hurting where they are and giving them what they need.

Jesus meets Mary Magdalene in her grief and calls her by name.

Jesus meets the Disciples in their fear and gives them a blessing of peace.

Jesus meets Thomas in his doubt and gives him a reason to believe.

Jesus meets Peter in his guilt and gives him an opportunity to redeem himself.

Christ has a way of meeting people where they are, even in places of grief, fear, doubt, and guilt.  These are not exactly what one would call "mountaintop" experiences, and they might not be the kinds of places one would expect to encounter Christ.  The mountaintops of life can be few and far between, but the good news is that the One who rose triumphant over death itself walks with us through the valleys of life as well.  If you, dear reader, are trudging through a proverbial valley right now, know that the Risen Christ walks with you.


Notes:

1. John 20:1-11
2. John 20:14-15 (NRSV)
3. John 20:16
4. John 20:18-19
5. John 20:19 (NRSV)
6. John 20:24-25 (NRSV)
7. John 20:26-27 (NRSV)
8. John 20:28 (NRSV)
9. John 21:2-3
10. John 21:3-12
11. John 21:15-17 (NRSV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples was painted by William Hole in 1906.