Hide and Seek

Acts 1:1-11

Jesus has come to the end of his forty days among the disciples and followers after the Resurrection.  He tells them that the power of the Holy Spirit will come to them and they will be his witnesses to the ends of the ends of the earth. And then, the scripture says, "a cloud took him out of their sight."

Then two men in white robes appeared and, seeing them gazing heavenward, the men say to the followers of Jesus, "Why do you stand looking toward heaven?"


Hide and Seek. Jesus is here. Then he is gone. Then he is here again. Then he is gone.  This is the whiplash narrative of the first followers.  A game of Messiah Hide and Seek. Where would they find or see Jesus next?

What he was trying to get them to see was that he would always be with them, in the power of the Holy Spirit. They need not look skyward, but rather keep their feet planted firmly on the ground and feel Jesus breathing his spirit into their lives, their regular work-a-day lives.

Hide and Seek is fun to play as kids. But it is a little nerve wracking. What happens when you count to ten and look up and are left all alone?  It feels kind of scary, doesn't it? Everyone remembers being the counter and looking up and suddenly you are alone.

And yet, you know, lurking out there somewhere, are your friends, your playmates, the ones who entered into the game with you.  So you seek. You search. You pick up cushions and open closet doors. You do improbable things like open the fridge door... surely no one is in there.  But that's what Hide and Seek is about... turning over every stone in search of those you are in the game to find.

We know we are with others when we play Hide and Seek. Even though that moment of opening our eyes feels frightening, we know others are with us, ready to engage with us again.  So it is with Jesus. We shouldn't think he is gone, whisked away in a cloud while we had our eyes closed.

Jesus is everywhere we look. And so are our communities, our friends, our commonwealth.

We should not allow everyone to remain hidden, rather we should seek out and find those who will help us build our community and keep it strong.

What are your memories of Hide and Seek?  Where was your favorite place to hide?  What do you hide from now? What do you seek?

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