To be continued....
By Michael Peat
At some time or other, most of us will have seen these three words appear on our television screens. They often come at the end of an episode of a serialised drama, especially if that episode ended on a cliff-hanger. They fill us with eager anticipation for the next episode, and encourage us to start thinking about how the next part of the story will unfold. Many churches this year will have heard the drama of Jesus’ death and resurrection as told by the Gospel writer Luke. I cannot help thinking that if Luke had written this story with today’s audience in mind, he might well have ended his gospel with the words ‘to be continued ...’.
Most biblical scholars are agreed that the book of Acts, the next episode in the ongoing Christian story, was also written by Luke. Both books are addressed to a man named Theophilus (possibly a particular person, but possibly a way of addressing any reader who fits the meaning of this name: ‘Friend of God’). Luke is especially keen for his readers to recognise that, central as it is, Easter morning is a link in a chain which continues. Knowing that Luke is also the writer of Acts sharpens our sense of this.
In a relay race, there are designated stretches of track within which the baton must be passed from one runner to the next. Between two points on the track, the next runner can start to move, facing forward but with a hand outstretched for the incoming runner to place the baton into his hand. For Luke, Jesus’ resurrection is the start of this ‘stretch of track.’ It begins a sequence of events through which Jesus’ followers are spurred into action, made ready for the Pentecost moment when the ‘baton’ of God’s kingdom is thrust into their waiting fingers.
Notice how Luke handles this hand-over period. In his telling of the Easter story, the risen Jesus does not first appear next to his tomb, but out on the road. Two puzzled disciples encounter Jesus as a stranger as they continue a journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. As they travel the road together, the unrecognised Jesus equips these two disciples for what is to come, by interpreting the scriptures of old in the light of recent events. But action on their part was needed for the story to continue, action in the form of offering shelter and food to this stranger.
Similarly, the story of Jesus’ ascending to heaven, a vital part of the hand-over process, is about Jesus making space for his followers to act: Jesus deliberately absents himself so that his followers are encouraged to take up the responsibility of God’s mission in the world.
The Ascension is the story that both ends Luke’s Gospel and begins the sequel: The Acts of the Apostles. Pentecost, the moment when God’s Spirit comes to those disciples in wind and fire, proves that Jesus’ absence is by no means abandonment: Filled with God’s spirit, the disciples were equipped for ever after to continue God’s mission to the world. Jesus’ Resurrection, Ascension and the coming of God’s Spirit at Pentecost, are interwoven moments of a hand-over period between Jesus and his followers.
The story that continued after Easter with the Spirit-inspired acts of the Apostles continues today through the action that God has given us the space and means to it carry out. As the Christian writer Paula Gooder recently put it: "Jesus’ resurrection opens up possibility. Whenever and wherever moments of generosity, selflessness and humility occur, where there could have been only greed, selfishness and pride, we are called to notice such moments and celebrate them, and when they do not occur strive to bring them about" (see This Risen Existence, p. 14). The baton now rests in our hands. By us, and with God’s help, the story of Easter is to be continued ...
