What's Next?

 

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:6-11 ESV).

 

“How you doing” is a shortened form of the longer, more formal greeting “how are you doing.” Though almost certainly used in colloquial speech earlier, the salutation first appears in print in the 1940’s and spreads in the 1970’s. In the late 20th century, “How you doing” was popularly associated with New Yorkers of Italian descent and pronounced more like “how YOO dooin.” These long “U” sounds, as well as the dropped final “G,” stereotype Italian-American accents. With this association, “How you doin’” could convey an almost ominous, confrontational tone used by, in another stereotype of Italian-Americans, a mobster. If you’ve watched any of these movies or series (like The Sopranos, pictured here) you know the sound. Regardless of the accent, in my family, if you were asked that question, you answered!

 

Now, let me take you back to our reading with this thought in mind. For three years Jesus had taught and healed. He had instructed crowds from Jerusalem to Galilee with his words and by his example. After his death and resurrection, he appeared to his disciples to confirm their faith and help them understand the coming kingdom of God.

But now Jesus had ascended to heaven. And for a moment, his followers seemed a bit shocked. Perhaps they wondered whether they could follow Jesus into the clouds, or at least remain in the moment of this spiritual high.

 

“Two men in white robes,” presumably angels, confront the disciples and ask: “What are you doing standing around?” (v. 10). I’m reasonably sure they didn’t say it with an Italian accent from the Bronx, but the same ominous demand for action was understood. Perhaps we need to hear that question today. Faithfulness to the ascended Lord means that we do not just stand around staring after him. Yes, it is a good thing to contemplate the glory of Jesus as the Son of God. But we also remember that God has a plan for the world that continues even after the ascension. And he intends to use all who have seen his glory, as long as they remain in this world, to extend his offer of salvation to the world. For the ascended Jesus will return, and we will answer for our faithfulness to his call while he has been away.

 

Especially after the contentious months we have endured recently, isn’t it time we got back to more important matters!