Welcome to Pastor Jack Buckley's weekly blog and podcast.
You have three ways to hear his weekly message:
- Read Pastor Jack's GODblog.
- Listen now to an audio of the scripture reading and Pastor Jack's sermon.
- Listen anytime. You choose the time and place. Download Pastor Jack's GODcast to your MP3 player.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Ultimate Proof
 Psalm 2; Acts 1:1-11
It was World Communion Sunday, and our little congregation in the little town of Alameda got to share the bread of life and cup of salvation with millions and millions of Christians all around the world. Talk about fine tuning your sense of perspective!
My sermon that morning built on the stained glass image of Christ ascending through the clouds, one of ten beautiful windows that adorn our Sanctuary's walls.
Here you see Jesus posed gracefully as though he's dancing his way towards heaven. Arms spread wide, hands spread open, toes pointed -- reminiscent of Fred Astaire or Rudolf Nureyev in mid-step. And he's looking downward...
Possibly he's taking one long last look at his disciples who are gazing up after him with their jaws dropped wide open -- speechless, dazed, and very much confused.
An angel suddenly shows up just then, to assure them Jesus will come back down one day to wrap up human history once and for all. Meanwhile, he has important work for them to do and they'd better get ready to do it right. And so, the Book of Acts is off and running with its stories of the earliest churches in action.
I called the sermon "The Ultimate Proof." If anything finally verifies the story of Christ's resurrection from the dead, it's the story of Christ's ascension to heaven forty days later. His work on earth was done, mission accomplished, period, the end. Crucified, dead, buried, risen, and now ascended. Any questions? (Well, yes... But at least the outline is clear and logical.)
Yet I'm convinced the real "ultimate proof" is what happened next. Which is, nothing! At first, anyway.
The disciples did nothing out of the ordinary for ten whole days. They stayed together, ate, slept, and did a whole lot of praying. With their eyes wide open to see what in the world God would do next.
And then came Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) with all its miracles and powerful preaching, and 3,000 people became Christians in one day! The church was born and took off running down through twenty centuries. And today millions of Christians take Communion all around the world.
And it's the existence of the worldwide church that shows me the ultimate proof that Christ's gospel is true. So many accents and complexions, such different cultures and customs, competing ideas and behaviors and convictions. Yet all united by one basic faith focused firmly on Jesus Christ.
Our little congregation is an imperfect microcosm of that global church. While the majority of us are of European descent, and northern European at that, we also include folks whose lineage comes from the Philippines, China, Mexico, Venezuela, Ghana, Nigeria, Assyria, even Brooklyn NY! And we share our buildings and grounds with the Alameda Korean Presbyterian Church, composed of three generations of immigrants from the old country and a bunch of local born-and-raised kids.
Far from perfect, we're all of us called to grow towards maturity, wholeness, the fullness of who God means for us to be. We're surely different from one another in a multitude of ways. And we sometimes differ with each other as well.
Still, we come together, always and only with our focus on Christ at the center of it all. We aim to live Christ's way the best we can, to prove somehow by our lives and by our life together that the gospel is God's honest truth.
That's not an easy job, of course. Hard enough in and of itself, it's contradicted by too many disputes and trials and even wars that have been perpetrated in the name of Christ. But we take hope and courage from countless historic acts of kindness and bravery and justice that have honored his holy name.
Back in the earliest years of the church, a Roman official was compelled to write these amazing words that confirm our faith and challenge us to faithfulness: "Behold these Christians, how they love each other!"
And there's your ultimate proof.
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
4:49 PM
<< Home
|
|
 |
|
|
