Rev. Kevin M. Pleas

Acts 1:6-14 May 4, 2008

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set 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, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They 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." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. When 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. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

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Over the years, I've had a lot of conversations with my father-in-law about ministry. Actually, I have great love and respect for both of Pam's parents. I'm one of those fortunate people who lucked into a great relationship with his in-laws. They warmly welcomed me into their home the very first time we met, and we've gotten along, mostly, famously every since. The fact that Jim and I are both ministers though, has given us a special connection. He's been a terrific resource and mentor to me in my own ministry and I'm very grateful for it.

At one time or another, our conversations have touched on just about every aspect of church life and leadership. We've talked so much that, when certain situations come up in the church, I can hear his voice in the back of my head. It's almost like a tape reference library in my mind: Jim Kidd on preaching, Jim Kidd on stewardship, Jim Kidd on church growth, Jim Kidd on dealing with difficult parishioners. (Not anyone here of course) Honestly, having Jim's voice in my head used to drive me crazy, but lately I've grown rather fond of it. I finally figured out that I can take advantage of his wisdom without having to make myself over in his image.

I mention this, because this morning I find I've been hooked into one of those old Jim Kidd tapes. Several times, I remember him saying that he often felt sorry for his congregation on the Sunday before he left on vacation. After a long hard year, he was usually so ready for a break that he could hardly focus, and he thought his lack of energy always came across in his preaching. It is a bit hard to concentrate when you've got one foot out the door. He said he even had members at Asylum Hill Church in Hartford who told him they didn't make a practice of coming to worship on those Sundays because they knew he was probably going to be off his game. Personally, I'm sure Jim did a better job than he thought he did. His average has always been higher than best efforts of most preachers. The point though, is that, as I stand here before you this morning, I know exactly what he was talking about. If you leave here this morning feeling that I was off my game, at least you'll know why.

I'm so grateful to be going on sabbatical. For the longest time, I resisted the whole idea of taking so much time off. Last year I even tried to get our Personnel Committee to change our policy. Rather than three months all at once, I thought it would be easier for all of us if we broke it up into smaller chunks; two weeks at a time over several years. Three months away still seems a little overwhelming, but at this point, I'm really glad they turned me down, because the closer I've gotten to my time away, the more I realize how much I truly need it.

I think we all need it actually. A church quickly goes stale without creative leadership. And being creative in ministry, like other creative jobs, is not just a matter of training and experience. It depends so much on things that are hard to define, like energy and enthusiasm, a sense of wonder, expanded horizons, the chance to dream dreams and see visions, the chance let go of the pressure of deadlines and sink deeply into prayer. It's certainly possible to pick up some of this in the midst of running a church, but usually the pace of things is so fast and so constant that time for dreams and visions gets pushed aside, and prayer turns into something like lunch at McDonalds, something you eat on the run.

I'm not tired of what I do. I want you to understand that. When ministry is a good fit, there is no better job in the world, and I've never had a better, more satisfying, more productive time in ministry than in our time together here in Camden. I truly love you people and I truly love being your minister. One of the fears that people sometimes have about their minister going off on sabbatical is that he will use the time to look for another church. If that's what any of you are wondering, let me put your mind at ease. You're much more likely to have trouble getting me to leave than convincing me to stay. Stan Catel, every time I preach a sermon he likes, tells me he has a thirty year contract he wants me to sign. I can't tell you how good that makes me feel. In fact, I feel so affirmed and appreciated and supported by all of you in my ministry, the idea of ever going anywhere else is something I don't even care to think about.

But, I do need a break. I need a good long break that will allow me to recharge my batteries and wrap my mind around a whole new collection of sights and sounds, people and places, ideas and experiences, all of which I'm sure I'll be able to put to good use when I come back. That's the plan. Beginning later this week, I'll be enjoying a week long pilgrimage retreat in the high desert of New Mexico. I'll then be traveling around Scotland and Germany for the first time, seeing Edinburgh, Lewis Island and Iona, Berlin, Gera and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I plan to visit some of the places where Luther started the reformation, and I plan to fulfill a lifelong dream to hike in the Alps and take a cable car up the Zugspitze. After returning from Europe, I'll still be biking in the TREK Across Maine and leading my Adventure Camp, but Pam and I also have good time scheduled with our family in Florida, California and out on Martha's Vineyard. All the planning that has gone into this has made me feel a little like a pinball, but trust me; I have a lot of free time planned as well. It promises to be a full, rich and rejuvenating summer and I can hardly wait for it to begin. Did you know the word "rejuvenate" comes from the same root as "juvenile?" It means, to make young again.

Thinking about this morning's scripture passage, the line that jumped out at me was "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Though those of you who take world travel for granted might not think so, it does feel a bit like I'm headed for "the ends of the earth." At one point I thought I was going to be seeing all of "Judea and Samaria," as well. I thought very seriously about trying to see the Holy Land. It's a trip I definitely want to take at some point. Maybe next time. But the line of scripture says more to me than just that "you will be traveling." To me, the most important words in the passage are, "you will be my witnesses."

The idea that Jesus wants us to "witness" everywhere we go, is one of those things most of us Mainline Christian types find profoundly uncomfortable, and would just as soon not hear about very often. Witnessing brings to mind images of knocking on people's doors at random, trying to "save souls," force feeding the gospel to people whether they want it or not. But let's think about this for just a minute. It is true that in a Christian context we usually understand witnessing this way. For Christians, witnessing is giving our personal testimony. It is sharing our own stories about how we found God and what God is doing in our lives. We don't have to be obnoxious or self-righteous about it, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I tried to tell you it isn't important. We need to be telling each other our stories of faith. Whether or not they ever save anyone's soul, they do help to encourage us. They help us to keep the Spirit of God alive for one another. If we all stopped sharing our stories, it wouldn't be long before no one knew them anymore.

However, in thinking about witnessing, it occurred to me that there is another definition; one that we usually don't think of as part of the Christian life, but actually is. To witness also means to see first-hand, to see for ourselves, to be right there when it happens. Though we don't often make the connection, this kind of witnessing is every bit as important as the other. What we need is not only to witness "to" people, but also we need a witnessing "of" people, if you follow me. The first kind is a "giving out" of our beliefs and experience, our testimony. The second kind is more of a "taking in" of what is out there to be seen. In practice, if you're like me, you're probably better at giving out than taking in. Most of us have an easier time sharing our own hard won wisdom than we do listening for the wisdom of others, but both are important. Not only do we need to share our personal stories, we also need to genuinely see who we're talking to. We need to see the world outside of ourselves, and the people in it, for who and what they are. As a matter of fact, I think this is a large part of the problem we have with the "personal testimony" kind of witnessing. Too often, it comes from people who aren't really very interested in who they're talking to except as a target for their own testimony.

Witnessing is both taking in and giving out, and if we truly care about the important things we feel a need to share, we're well advised to spend some time getting to know who we're talking to because if they feel heard themselves, they're much more likely to be willing to hear us in turn. That's true everywhere in our lives, not just at church. Before we can witness to, we must become a witness of.

The connection here for me, between witnessing and sabbatical, is that in all my traveling over the next three months, a lot of what I'll be doing is witnessing, in the taking in sense of the word. Sabbatical is an opportunity to be a witness of some new and interesting things: to go to places I've never seen before, to talk with people I've never met before, to engage in activities I've never done before. I'll be witnessing all of these things with an eye toward bringing them back home with me. Once we take something in, it gives us an opportunity to give them back in meaningful ways to other people. And that's what you need from me. That's what I'm going to get, and that's why this sabbatical time is so important for us all.

In getting ready for this morning, one of the pieces I came across on the subject of travel was a passage from the Tao Te Ching. The eightieth chapter in the Stephen Mitchell Translation goes like this:

If a country is governed wisely,

its inhabitants will be content.

They enjoy the labor of their hands

and don't waste time inventing

labor-saving machines.

Since they dearly love their homes,

they aren't interested in travel.

There may be a few wagons and boats,

but these don't go anywhere.

There may be an arsenal of weapons,

but nobody ever uses them.

People enjoy their food,

take pleasure in being with their families,

spend weekends working in their gardens,

delight in the doings of the neighborhood.

And even though the next country is so close

that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,

they are content to die of old age

without ever having gone to see it.

Well, I beg to differ. I dearly love my home, but I am not content to die of old age without seeing some of the rest of the world: the people, the places, the things, the ideas that others hold dear. And so, later this week, I am off to the ends of the earth. I'm going to witness, and you may rest assured that when I come back, I'm going to witness.

Amen.