Photo credit - the United Church of Canada
June 1st – Reflection for Worship - In between time
Acts 1:1-11 and John 17:20-26
This Sunday always feels a little like standing at the airport after someone you love has boarded and taken off — waving, smiling, but gone. The disciples watch as Jesus is “lifted up,” a cloud taking him from their sight. They stare into the sky — until messengers appear and ask, almost humorously, “Why are you still looking up?”
Why indeed.
We are in the in-between time — the time between Ascension and Pentecost. Jesus has departed, but the Spirit has not yet arrived. It’s a waiting time. A trusting time. A time full of tension and promise.
That’s exactly where the disciples find themselves in our readings today. In Acts 1, Jesus has just ascended into heaven. He’s gone. Vanished. And the disciples are left staring up at the sky. Not quite ready to move forward. Not quite able to go back. Waiting for… what, exactly?
Jesus has told them: “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And they respond—like many of us would— “Great! Is this the time when everything’s going to get fixed?” You can hear their hope: Is this the moment? Is this when we’re finally going to see God’s kingdom show up, full force?
Jesus doesn’t give them a straight answer. (He rarely does.) Instead, he tells them they’ll receive power—not now, but soon. And that they’ll be his witnesses, to the ends of the earth. But first… wait.
The thing is, we don’t like waiting. It doesn’t feel productive. It doesn’t feel holy. It feels like being stuck. But Scripture—and our own lives—tell us that something transformative happens in the meantime.
Let’s think for a moment about those disciples—not as spiritual superheroes, but as regular, unsure, very human people. They’d followed Jesus, often misunderstanding him. They’d seen him crucified. They’d locked themselves in a room out of fear. They’d encountered the risen Christ—but still didn’t quite know what to make of it. And now he’s gone again.
They weren’t ready. They weren’t confident. They didn’t fully believe in themselves yet.
Which, come to think of it, sounds like the beginning of a number of good stories.
Think of Harry Potter—living in a cupboard under the stairs, convinced he’s a nobody, until one day an owl delivers an invitation to something bigger than he ever imagined.
Think of Frodo Baggins—a simple hobbit, who doesn’t see himself as a hero, who would much rather stay in the Shire. But something calls him, and he finds strength he didn’t know he had.
Think of Moses—stammering in front of a burning bush, saying “Who am I to do this? They won’t believe me.” And God says: “I will be with you – and your brother Aaron can do the actual speaking.”
Think of Peter, who publicly denies even knowing Jesus – and ends up being the rock of the Christian church.
None of these people felt ready. But something happened in the waiting. A new identity began to take shape. They didn’t become courageous because they had all the answers. They became courageous because they stepped forward in faith—even when the future was unclear.
That’s what the early disciples are learning to do. And it’s also what the early founders of the United Church of Canada had to do, one hundred years ago this month.
It’s hard to overstate how bold that original vision was. In 1925, three major Protestant denominations—the Methodists, Congregationalists, and most of the Presbyterians—joined together to form one national church. It was the largest union of Protestant churches in the world at the time.
And it wasn’t easy.
There were debates. Disagreements. Some Presbyterians chose not to join, believing that their tradition should remain distinct. Some people feared what might be lost. Others dared to believe in what could be gained.
Those who said yes were stepping into a future they could not fully see. Much like the disciples waiting in that upper room, they had to trust that the Spirit would move. That something new was being born.
They weren’t starting from scratch. They were bringing their histories, their theologies, their songs and sacraments. But they were also creating space for the Spirit to stir something new. And over the past century, the United Church has continued that practice.
We have not always gotten it right. But we have often tried to listen—to the Spirit, to one another, and to the needs of the world.
We were among the first denominations to ordain women. We apologized for our role in residential schools. We have affirmed LGBTQ2S+ people as beloved members of the body of Christ. We’ve wrestled with justice, with ecology, with inclusion. We’ve stood in protest and prayer. We’ve walked in marches and sat beside hospital beds. We’ve knitted prayer shawls and baked casseroles. And through it all, we have waited. And witnessed.
And now, here we are, in our own in-between time. In our own upper room moment. In an age when many people are asking: What is the church even for anymore? Who are we? What are we becoming?
The honest answer is—we don’t fully know. But we do know this: Jesus prayed for us.
In our Gospel reading from John, Jesus prays not just for the twelve, but “for those who will believe in me through their word.” That’s us. That’s the church across generations and geography. That’s the United Church of Canada, on this 100th birthday. We were prayed for.
And what did Jesus pray? That we may be one. That love would be the defining feature of our life together. That the world would know God through the way we live out that love.
It’s a beautiful vision. And a challenging one. Because unity does not mean uniformity. It means holding space for difference—while staying rooted in grace. It means waiting for the Spirit to surprise us again and again.
On a personal note:
This Centennial has given me the opportunity to look back at my reasons for being a member of the United Church. Looking back, I've realized that I didn't exactly choose the United Church in any sort of logical way. I was really fleeing from, not to – and the United Church seemed like the line of least resistance, sort of. Not that the church I was raised in was awful – or that there was anything wrong with it – but the United Church offered me an escape from a lot of structure and expectations.
When those three denominations got together to found the United Church of Canada, they weren’t looking for the right answers – a place where they could worship God and feel that they were worshipping in the correct way. They weren’t seeking the right answers; they were acknowledging the diversity of God/human relationships and joining together to build “a house where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew”, as the hymn says.
I don’t want to come anywhere close to denigrating other denominations – because that’s precisely what I love about the United Church – here, we are open to all beliefs, spiritual practices, and styles of worship. Here, people are free to openly discuss theological subjects which might be considered to be carved in stone realities elsewhere. Does everyone here believe in the virgin birth? In Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sins and then coming back to life again? Or, particularly today, do we all believe that Jesus ascended into heaven – floated up into the sky until he disappeared into the clouds? No – there are probably many, many different points of view and beliefs about each of those concepts. And we can discuss our opinions and points of view openly and honestly – without fearing judgement.
And we’re free to attend whatever church we feel helps us to develop a closer relationship with the Creator.
There are, of course, a lot of things that the United Church stands for: social justice, equality - The Song of Faith is an attempt to write down the common beliefs that the United Church, as a body, believes in. Personally, the fact that it’s a Song is important to me, because singing in church choirs has been what’s kept me going to church all my life. So having a poem entitled the Song of Faith to express the tenets of this church is just awesome.
There are no membership requirements here. I don’t have to believe exactly the same things as you – or you – or you believe.
So those are the reasons why, for me, this centennial celebration is particularly special.
When my father found out that I had joined the United Church, he was appalled – and he asked me why on earth I would want to join a church which had “no theology”. In retrospect, I’ve come to realize that that’s one of the things I really like about the United Church: I’m not required to believe in a particular theology – or feel guilty because part of me just doesn’t believe what I’m “supposed” to believe.
I suspect that each of us has our own path to this United Church of Canada. Some of us were born and raised in the United Church; some of us chose this church in reaction to something else; some of us examined the belief systems and practices of multiple denominations and chose this one; some of us are here for the fellowship, and because this church is a caring, cohesive community with values in which we believe; for some of us, the United Church is an interval, a temporary experiment; some of us are here because our spouse or best friend or neighbour dragged us here; some of us are here for the music. And that, to me, is the beauty of the United Church: the reasons don’t matter; we’re here to worship God – whatever that means to each of us - together; we’re here to practise – to live out – the values which are important to us.
Notice our stated values: Spirituality, Openness, Care for the Common Good, and Radical Love. There’s nothing in there that says - and here’s what you have to believe about God and the Bible - and those values were developed, through hours of discussion, by the members of Comox United Church – not the United Church of Canada. Other united churches have other statements about their value systems.
In his book, Embers, Richard Wagamese writes the following:
“I want to be unruly, live without rules. Not all of them – just the ones that restrain my curiosity, emotionality, actuality and ability to be my authentic self. The ones that say, “Don’t think, don’t talk, don’t feel.” The ones that tell me what a human being should be. I want to be unruly – to live beyond the NO and reside instead where everyone says, “Yes!” to life and living.”
I don’t believe that the United Church is fundamentally better than other denominations. The fact that three denominations had to agree to unite as one tells us that this is not an exclusive club! There really isn’t any judgement here.
Anyway,
So here we are. One hundred years after the creation of the United Church of Canada in 1925. A week before Pentecost 2025.
In-between. Becoming. Beloved.
The church isn’t something we visit. It’s something we are.
We are the ones prayed for by Jesus.
We are the ones gifted with the Spirit.
We are the ones standing on the shoulders of those who dared to unite, dared to hope, dared to follow the Spirit.
So whether you feel ready or not, gifted or not, together we carry the story. The promise. The love.
And think about this… the Spirit is not done with us yet.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.