Here and Now ... not Then and There

Here and now

That’s where it begins

Not there and then

But here and now

That’s where it begins

Here where I am

Now at this moment

That’s where it begins

And then,

And only then

Will it spread!

Acts chapter 1 verse 8 has to be one of my favourite verses.

But 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.’

It works in all sorts of ways.

And it sets us up today on what some think of as the last Sunday of the Christian Year as we get ready for the start of Advent, the build up to Christmas and the start of a New Christian Year.

First of all this little verse acts as a guide to the whole of the Book of Acts.   From my youngest days when at primary school I did a project on the missionary journeys of St Paul I have loved maps that illustrate the story of the Bible.  One way to map the Book of Acts is to track the different journeys all the Apostles make.  And you come up with some fascinating maps.

Another way is to think of circles that go out from where the whole ministry of Jesus came to its climax in his death and resurrection, Jerusalem.

The first few chapters take place in Jerusaelm.  Then the message of Jesus is taken out further through Judea and Samaria, and then out further to Antioch and over to Ethiopia, and then out further to Cyprus and what we think of as Eastern Turkey, then out further to Corinth and Athens, then out further to Rome – at which point Acts finishes as, after all, all roads lead to Rome.

But in the letters Paul writes he clearly has every intention of pushing beyond Rome to Spain – one final push, as it were.   And as those circles reach out to that point they reach the point that is the boundary of the world.  The Pillars of Hercules at the Gates of Gibralter were said to have the words inscribed on them Ne Plus Ultra – there is nothing beyond!  You’ve reached the ends of the earth!

I think it is wonderful to read through Acts and see the way in which the early church came together and all they stood for, what energised them, how through the Acts of the Apostles the message of Christ spread out to the ends of the earth inside a generation – something remarkable going on.

Through this year as we have been putting together a new shape for our church I have turned to Acts to help the thinking that I have been doing on the church and what it is … and I have been exploring Acts in our evening services.  We’ve reached Acts 17 this evening.

I wanted to do it in a way that could act as a point of reference for our thinking on the church and so I  have been putting those sermons up on to the web site – I’ve given that series of sermons on Acts a title …

Mapping the Church of Tomorrow – A 21^st Century Look at Acts.

It seems to me that Acts helps us to map out what the church of today should look like so that it can become the church of Tomorrow.

And if you want a glimpse of what that entails, it all begins here.

In this verse.

But 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.’

This verse doesn’t just map out the Book of Acts, it doesn’t just map out how we should be the church of today and become the church of tomorrow.

This verse maps out the task each of us has.

Being part of the church, sharing this wonderful Christian faith is not something to keep to ourselves.  It is something to share.

It’s nothing less than the love of God, that wonderful love that is made real in Jesus, let loose in the world by the power of the Spirit that makes a difference to our lives, to the way we think, the things we do, the lives we lead.

And that love we cannot keep to ourselves.

So where do we share it.

We start where we are.

Here and now

That’s where it begins.

Think individually.

Here and Now.

The person next to you, the people around you – how do you share something special with them that then seeps out into their lives.

I have to say there’s that hymn – each smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer.

Graciousness – inclusion.  Welcome to all who come.

Then think of those in your family, friends, those you meet.  And then the witness goes further afield and spreads.

With no limits.

If all that counts for each of us individually it is important for all of us together as well!

We as a church are located here in this place.  Collectively as a church we have an opportunity to witness from where we are.

Here in this place – many people come here each week – to witness there

And in our immediate locality.  In these streets.

With children though our partnership with St Luke’s we are involved with St John’s and so on Saturday we are going to share a stall with them at the St John’s Christmas Fair – an opportunity simply to make our presence felt and share something together – raising the profile of Transformers and the Holiday Club in the school.

Felicity, together with Neil and Peter, have been very much involved in a revival of the local Fairview Community Assocation.  It has been good to work more closely with them.

And as Christmas approaches we are going to develop that work more as we are going to have our Christmas Café in association with the Fairview Community Association and our friends from St Luke’s.

This is something for us all to be part of and all to be involved with.  Very much hope that it is something we can all support – Felicity is going to share some more news about the way we can build up our involvent in our local community through the FCA.

Felicity on the Fairview Community Association

So …

Here and now

That’s where it begins

Not there and then

But here and now

That’s where it begins

Here where I am

Now at this moment

That’s where it begins

And then,

And only then

Will it spread!

There’s one thing I have missed.

That’s the first part of this verse.

But 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.’

We cannot do it on our own.

We have that strength from beyond ourselves that makes all the difference – only in that power from the Holy Spirit can we hope to witness to the love of God and the difference Jesus Christ can make in our lives and in the lives of other people too.