Read
1 Theophilus, I first wrote to you about all that Jesus did and taught from the very first 2until he was taken up to heaven. But before he was taken up, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen with the help of the Holy Spirit.
3For 40 days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God's kingdom. 4 While he was still with them, he said:
Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. 5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Is Taken to Heaven
6While the apostles were still with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, are you now going to give Israel its own king again?”
7Jesus said to them, “You don't need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. 8 But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” 9 After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud. They could not see him, 10but as he went up, they kept looking up into the sky.
Suddenly two men dressed in white clothes were standing there beside them. 11They said, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here and looking up into the sky? Jesus has been taken to heaven. But he will come back in the same way you have seen him go.”
Reflect
The disciples are momentarily immobilized. Jesus has just given them a monumental command, one that, seemingly, has no limits.
“Tell everyone about me,” he says. And by everyone, he means everyone in the world – not just Judea, which is home to his disciples. Not even just Samaria, which is hardly home, but at least nearby.
No, Jesus says “go everywhere in the world. That’s what I’m asking of you.”
I have spent 30 years of my life working among university students, young adults who are often immobilized by the breadth of possibilities life has to offer them. What should they do with their lives? Where should they live? How will they faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus at home, in nearby places, and then all over the world?
Over and over again, in my own life and in the lives of thousands of students, I have witnessed the adventure that ensues when we stop looking into the sky and start obeying Jesus’ command. When we say, “Yes, I’ll go. Wherever that takes me.”
In my own life, the call of God’s global mission has taken me across Canada (my own homeland) and to the United States and Central America. As I lived in each of these places I witnessed people embracing God’s message of love and redemption.
It is not always easy, this going into the world. In fact, sometimes, it’s exceptionally difficult. That’s why the earlier command in this passage is so crucial. “Wait for the Holy Spirit,” advises Jesus. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power.”
When we stand, momentarily immobilized, but willing to go, it’s the Holy Spirit who moves us forward. When we go, and begin engaging with friends, neighbours and strangers, it’s the Holy Spirit who opens up conversations, shapes relationships and helps people discover God for themselves.
“Go,” says Jesus. “You are not alone.”
Respond
Jesus, thank you for inviting us on your mission in this world. Thank you for calling us to be partners in taking your love and redemption into the whole world. We need your Holy Spirit to move us forward. Amen.
Geri Rodman
Under Geri’s leadership, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship Canada is focused on a 10-year goal of Launching 20,000 Extraordinary Kingdom Leaders by 2020. "We believe God will launch youth and students as Kingdom Leaders who are so transformed by Jesus that nothing will stop their enormous zeal for the things of God." Geri was appointed president of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship Canada in 2002, after spending 23 years leading the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA ministry in Northern California and Hawaii. Educated at the University of Toronto and Wheaton College, Geri is currently enrolled in a Doctor of Ministry program at Gordon-Conwell. She serves on the boards of, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Water Ambassadors Canada.