Watching

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:7-8

Americans love their crime shows.  We have watched Law and Order and we have watched shows about true cases and true criminals.  We love to watch the witnesses give testimony and lawyers argue the merits of a case.  We love to watch the guilty be held accountable and we love to watch Matlock defend the innocent.  But America loves to watch the spectacle of justice and the justice system, whether real or fictional.

Perhaps then we can understand what Jesus was speaking about moments before leaving his disciples after his crucifixion and resurrection.  He informs them you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  Witnesses are those people who have watched what happened and then testify to others about what they have seen.  The disciples saw Jesus, dead and then alive.  The disciples saw the descent of the Holy Spirit and the daily work of the Spirit creating communities of faith, building up the people, calling to repentance and conversion, forgiving sins, and making all things new.  The disciples saw these things and testified to others throughout the world about what they saw and what they were seeing.

So, it is with me.  I have been graciously blessed to watch over the last year what the Holy Spirit is doing among our communities.  I have watched how God has merged two faith communities into one.  I have watched how new excitement and passion has been turned loose upon these congregations.  I have watched how these two communities have found a new sense of call, new people to lead and contribute, the growth of those leaders who have been leading for years and new connections we never noticed were always there.  I have watched and I have been floored in wonder and awe at the new things the Spirit of God is creating.  I have watched and I am humbled that God would do such mighty and loving things among and to us.

Take for example our engagement with our communities.  I have seen you embrace the work of ministering to victims of domestic violence with fundraising baskets.  I have seen you gather blankets and sheets, bags of food and hats and gloves.  I have seen you adopt children in Ashtabula and around the world for Christmas.  I have seen you purchase beds and clothes for foster children.  I have seen you give resources to needy families to have holiday meals.  I have seen you buy appliances and food for complete strangers.  I have seen you connect with homeless people through the blessing box and people in the neighborhood adjacent to the garden.  I have seen you bake pies and sell rummage.  I have seen the love of God given to you and you have given it to others and for that I am in wonder and gratitude that I should be able to witness such things.

But it isn’t just our work that God is creating but also our worship.  I have seen you find a new way to sing together and to play instruments together for the glory of God.  I have seen you step out into the uncomfortable and different sanctuaries.  I have seen you wrestling with what is truly important about worship and what can be accommodated.  I have watched you find the joy and community behind worship again instead of the drudgery and isolation of times past.  I have watched you embrace roles of leadership and care for one another and perhaps even connections with other communities that the body of Christ is.  I have seen the timid find their voices.  I have seen the guilty find forgiveness.  I have seen the scared find courage.  I have seen the love you have rediscovered for God and for that I am in wonder and gratitude that I should be able to witness such things. 

Friends, I have watched the last year with a sense of awe and gratitude, that I should be a witness to the work which God is doing among Trinity and Eastside.  I hope you can begin to see all that God is doing and that you would share in the wonder and gratitude also.  I also hope that you can see the major and minor changes that have already happened and see that we have not only survived, but we have prospered and grown because of God.  Celebrate with me all that God has done, all that God has changed, and all that God has blessed us with.  Rejoice with me and let this year be more.  Amen.