NOTES for Act 1:12-26

It is hardly accidental that Luke notes that the distance the apostles walked from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem was a Sabbath day's journey. From this we can conclude that for the apostles the waiting for Pentecost was a ten-day Sabbath, a time of rest and prayer needed in order to prepare properly to receive what Christ had promised them. The Lord can reveal Himself and His powers at any time, catching us off guard, but it is better if we are ready to meet Him.

Meanwhile, the apostles gather together with the whole community, already numbering about one hundred twenty people, and in their presence, not privately, they decide who will fill the breach left in their ranks by Judas' betrayal. Why is this necessary? Is it only because the number 12 symbolizes fullness and because the apostles are to sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel? Yes, for those reasons too, but in addition, everyone whom the Lord called to apostleship was especially dear to Him. Judas fell, and now Matthias is to continue those ministries of Judas that the Lord had wanted to entrust to him before his betrayal. A good work being done by an apostate must not stop; it must be continued by another, by one who continues to keep faith.

Today's reading tells us about the event that preceded Pentecost: the Ascension (vv. 4-12). At first glance it seems more sad than joyful, since it is about the disciples' parting from the Teacher, which of course did not inspire them at all. It would seem that everything Jesus had promised had taken place: He had risen from the dead, as He had foretold, and the apostles had barely begun to get used to communion with Him in this new condition of His. After all, forty days of constant meetings with the Risen One is no small length of time, especially given the spiritual intensity of those forty days (vv. 1-3). And now He suddenly leaves again - where? why?

The apostles' first thought was, of course, of the Kingdom: had the day finally come when the Kingdom would become an unmistakable reality for everyone, powerfully invading the world and obvious to each person? For now, as it appeared to them, there really was nothing left to wait for; everything that had to happen had happened, especially since the Teacher Himself had spoken only of His resurrection, connecting the triumph of the Kingdom precisely with it. It is no surprise that the apostles ask Jesus about the Kingdom: perhaps now, at last, the time has come (v. 6)? Perhaps the Teacher is leaving so that He may soon return as the triumphant King of the messianic Kingdom? And does He command them to return to Jerusalem (v. 7) so that they may prepare a solemn welcome for Him there?

It is no surprise that, even after Jesus disappeared in the shining cloud of God's glory (v. 9), the apostles still kept standing in the same place, perhaps expecting that the Teacher would soon appear again. Only the words of God's messengers, who confirmed Jesus' own instruction about the need to go to Jerusalem, made them move from the spot (vv. 10-12). The triumph of the Kingdom, which had seemed so near, certain, and comprehensible only recently, again became strange, incomprehensible, and, it already seemed, not even so near. All that remained was to return to Jerusalem, as the Teacher had commanded, and wait for what had been promised.

The apostles find themselves in a state of waiting: they no longer see the risen Lord in the flesh, yet they do not yet live by His presence as it will be revealed to them in the experience of Pentecost, when they “receive power” from the Holy Spirit. Their state is in many ways like ours. We ourselves have never seen the Lord Jesus “according to the flesh,” and as for the Spirit, we often live by anything at all except His breath within us.

What matters greatly for us here is how the apostles lived through those ten days. Reading these lines again and again, we find in them the path we should follow if we, too, desire the “acquisition of the Holy Spirit” promised to everyone who believes in Jesus. Above all, it is a path of diligent prayer and of communal love for one another; and also — this is the principle by which Matthias and Barsabbas are chosen — a living remembrance of Christ's earthly life, His death, and His Resurrection.

How often does it happen that we, like the "men of Galilee," simply stand and look? We are under an impression: perhaps from a meeting with God, or perhaps with some person, or from something else... Something has struck us to the depth of the soul, and we want to preserve this feeling in ourselves a little longer. As one well-known literary character said, "Stay, moment, you are beautiful!" It appears to us that here, where this meeting happened, here is where we ought to be - because precisely here I can meet God!

But God does not want us to stand in one place, keeping watch for His next appearance. To the disciples "stuck" at the place of His Ascension, the Lord sends angels to explain: He sees them and is waiting in an entirely different place. They need to go farther, they need to fulfill His commission, they need to share what He gives in this encounter, without trying to keep everything for themselves.

In our relationship with God the principle is very true: "When you think you are standing still, you are falling." He wants movement from us - movement toward where He Himself calls us, toward where His Spirit leads us, without regret for the place of encounter left behind, but "with great joy" (see Luke 24:52).