Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
- Acts I:12-14
They spoke one last time with Jesus on Mt. Olivet where they had prayed with him the night he was captured by the Roman guards. He told them to gather together and stay in the city, something special that they should not miss was going to happen soon. Then he was lifted up into the clouds out of sight, and they stood there staring in amazement. Two angels came out of nowhere and standing with them said, Don’t worry, he will come back one day exactly like he just left.
They went down from the hill where the olive grove was, crossed the little valley and the stream at the foot of the hill, and entered into the Old City, a distance of just 2/3 of a mile. All the remaining disciples and several, many of Jesus’ closest followers gathered together in a rental room above an inn and prayed for quite some time.
I’ve stood before on the hill called The Mount of Olives, just outside the Jerusalem city walls. It’s to the east of the East Wall of the Old City, a bit more than half a mile, two-thirds of a mile actually away, down the hill, across the little, narrow Kidron Valley. The Kidron Valley is where Good King Jehoshaphat with his troops once held off a warring army that might otherwise have overrun them. It is also perhaps, probably “the valley of the shadow of death” King David mentioned in Psalm 23.
For perspective, the Kidron River which runs through it is hardly wider than Jackson Avenue, and the walled, Old City of Jerusalem is about the same size as the Garden District.
That’s where the disciples asked Jesus their last questions, “So when are you actually going to establish your kingdom again?” and where Jesus gave the disciples his last insistence, “Go back into the city, find a safe place to pray, and pray until something special happens. (You’ll know it when you see it.)
Okay, wow, right ... That’s a big ask, getting a sizable group (there were 120 of them, about as many who typically come to Sunday service) of anyone to agree on a meeting-place, then to clear their calendars for an indefinite period of time, and then to actually spend long stretches praying no less. And for what? What were they supposed to pray for? What did they actually wind up praying for? And what was it that happened after they did?
We’re not told what they prayed for, we’re only told that they prayed as they were told, for days on end. And then ...? Then the Spirit of God came upon them and changed them forever, so much so that their countenances almost seemed to glow. That day they became THE CHURCH. That day they were now ready to do the work of BEING DISCIPLES. That day their lives took on heightened significance, heightened awareness, and heightened, holy purpose.
Musical Reflection - Like the Murmur of the Dove's Cry - St. Olaf Choir
