6So when they had come together, they asked him, ?Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel???7He replied, ?It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.?8But 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.??9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.10While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.?11They said, ?Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.?

12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day?s journey away.?13When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.?14All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Over the course of the past weeks since Easter morning, we have been focusing on different ways to become closer to God, closer to one another, and closer to our community. Being in relationship is essential to being a disciple and apostle of Jesus. We have walked with Mary to the tomb and realized the importance of knowing one another by name; we have doubted with Thomas and realized that through our doubt our faith can grow, especially in community with others; we gathered around table together for the apostles teaching, breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayers-we ministered to and with one another as we grow together in knowing one another and welcoming new people around the table; we heard the importance of recognizing the Good Shepherd and how it is important to trust our shepherd and one another; we walked through how we are the living stones of Christ today and together, that we are the cornerstone for our community; and last week we talked through how we live, move, and have our being in God?s spirit, recognizing the importance of being present with Jesus and sharing Jesus? presence with others through the air we breathe. And today, we are called to bear witness by sharing the stories of what we?ve seen and experienced as disciples, followers, and apostles of Jesus Christ. This Easter season, all of these stories we have heard have explored the closeness we can experience with Jesus Christ and with one another. These examples and stories shared by Jesus and his earliest followers show us what it means to live and related to one another as attentive, bold, sometimes vulnerable, and always free disciples of Christ. Through these stories, we learned that the first disciples were also learning the same lessons as they traveled with Jesus for three years and then tried to soak up every bit of wisdom they could in their time with Jesus after his resurrection. ?And then the disciples go to ask Jesus a question. ?Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel??

Now, I am not sure about you guys, but when I heard those words ?you will? it reminded me of my childhood and hearing my parents say ?you will!? You will play with your brother; you will be respectful; you will listen to us; you will clean up your room; etc. ?You will? are pretty powerful words?they are a command. And one we followed in our household. Did you say phrases or hear phrases like these as you grew up? ?They might have been different, but there have always been some sort of commands that have guided how we lived out our lives.

Today, the disciples ask Jesus a question about when WILL Jesus restore the kingdom to Jerusalem? And Jesus, of course, responds in a way that would have taken the disciples off guard. In essence, Jesus tells the disciples ?No,? I won?t. Instead Jesus says YOU WILL. He says these words to his beloved disciples who he is now sending out into the world?YOU WILL receive the power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; YOU WILL be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. My guess is the disciples were a little bit in disbelief at those words. Then they didn?t even get to ask him, HOW, because he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Can you imagine the dumbfounded look that would have been on their faces when Jesus said those words and then was immediately lifted up towards heaven? In their state of shock, they went back to the upstairs room and devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women Jesus had discipled as well. You will?

Jesus reminded the disciples of his promise to send the Spirit to be with them, adding that this gift then comes with an assignment: to tell the story of Jesus throughout the world. ?Be my witnesses,? he said. An easy task, easy command, right?

What does it mean to be a witness? Thoughts? To be a witness means both to see and to share. Like one who observes a crime or a marriage, a witness affirms publicly what he or she has seen. Those first disciples had seen a lot in their time with Jesus?miraculous healings and feedings, storms calmed and hearts transformed. They saw Jesus die and be resurrected back to life. Jesus? last command to them was to share what they had seen so that others, both near and far, would know who Jesus was and what God did through him. They were charged to bear witness with their stories and their lives. And we are too.

The command to bear witness using the words ?you will? is one that is passed down through generations, well beyond those who knew and touched Jesus in the flesh. The second and third generations of Christ?s followers, all the way down to us today, haven?t known the closeness of Jesus? physical touch?his healing hand or warm embrace?but we can be close to him in spirit as we seek to know and follow his teachings and as we build deep and real relationships with one another. It is about being present in the presence of Christ?and sharing that presence with others as we bear witness. Seeing Jesus at work in those ways, we can share what we have seen. Sharing our stories with one another, we can offer encouragement to the hopeless, the promise of justice to the mistreated, and healing to the broken. In these ways, our stories bear witness to the powerful, loving, liberating work of Jesus Christ and continue to build God?s kingdom here on earth.

Now, I can almost hear you saying, that is all well and good pastor. But how? How do we go about being the presence of God with our family, our neighbors and in our community? We are going to spend the next four weeks working on one approach to sharing the presence of God with those we meet?if you are willing to just walk across the room and meet someone.