The Power of Uncertainty (7th Easter A)

A sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at All Saints' Episcopal Church, Tybee Island, GA, on Sunday, May 17, 2026, the 7th Sunday of Easter (Year A).

Image Credits: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ascension-Christianity

Primary Bible Reading(s)

(Click on May 17, 2026, to see all of the Lectionary Texts)

Acts 1:6-14 (NRSVue)

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 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.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 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[d] James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

The Power of Uncertainty

By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA

9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 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.”

Put yourself in Peter’s shoes. This was a moment of enormous uncertainty. By this point, you, Peter, have been on an emotional roller coaster. 

Less than two months ago, you were riding the high of Palm Sunday. You, Jesus, and the other eleven disciples entered Jerusalem to enormous fanfare. People celebrated your master with hymns, shouts, and chants: “Hosanna! … Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9). They waved palm branches usually reserved for victorious, conquering kings. They treated him like their future savior king.

Five days later, the Temple authorities sent police to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. They had been jealous of Jesus all along. They were increasingly hostile to him and his followers, especially after they saw how much the people of Jerusalem adored him on Palm Sunday. Jesus had gotten too political, and the Romans were getting nervous, which put extra pressure on the religious leaders. Killing Jesus was one way to lower the temperature. To make matters worse, Peter and Jesus’ friend Judas betrayed them, handing Jesus over personally.

So, Temple leaders put Jesus through a sham trial and sentenced him to death. Peter himself was so afraid that when people recognized him, he denied who he was. He denied that he knew Jesus at all. He abandoned his master in his time of greatest need. Then, less than twenty four hours after he was arrested, Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha. They nailed him to the tree, and Jesus died by crucifixion, the most painful and shameful form of capital punishment available.

Peter and the apostles were devastated. They grieved. And then were terrified. It was not hard to identify Jesus’ twelve closest followers. Peter and his friends had targets on their backs. The Jewish and Roman authorities had conspired to murder Jesus, and there was nothing stopping them from going after the other members of his movement. So the apostles hunkered down. They hid together in the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ death, but they stayed in Jerusalem. The women disciples agreed to take care of the traditional rituals to give Jesus a proper burial. 

Mary Magdalene and one or two other women went early on Sunday morning to bring spices to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. But when they arrived, they found that the stone had been rolled away and Jesus wasn’t there! They ran back to tell the rest of the disciples. Peter and John ran out to see for themselves. Everyone assumed that some enemies came to steal Jesus’ body and desecrate it further. But then, Mary claimed she ran into Jesus again, alive! Nobody believed her until Jesus appeared to the disciples in the place they were hiding, proclaiming, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). It took Thomas an extra week to see Jesus for himself, but eventually all the remaining disciples believed in the resurrection.

And for forty days, Jesus’ followers felt okay. They were back on a high. Things were different, but at least Jesus was back. They didn’t see him quite as often as before, but Jesus had done the impossible. He had overcome death. Now must be the time for the rest of his master plan. They were going to rule over the kingdom of God, the kingdom that Jesus had preached about for so long. 

So when Jesus asked the apostles to gather at Mount Olivet near Jerusalem, they thought it was finally time. “They asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6). The apostles were ready to storm the temple and the Roman governor’s mansion. They were ready to take over Jerusalem and make things right from the top-down. Remember that James and John wanted to sit at Jesus’ right and left hands when he was enthroned (Mark 10:35-45). 

But that was never Jesus’ plan. He sighed and shook his head. You aren’t going to rule like kings and princes. You aren’t going to lord over people like the rulers of this world. You are going to serve people like I served them. You are going to be my witnesses here in Jerusalem and everywhere else that you go around the world. And suddenly, Jesus was lifted up into the clouds. He was gone. And angels appear to direct the apostles’ attention away from the sky and toward the creatures they were called to serve on earth.

We’re back where we started. On Ascension Day, Jesus invites his disciples into enormous uncertainty. They must step into the unknown of life without Jesus. Everything that Peter the others thought they knew about Jesus has been flipped on its head. They thought they would always serve alongside Jesus. They never thought that they would be on their own. They feel afraid and abandoned. They don’t know what to do next.

We often treat uncertainty like an enemy. Uncertainty touches on our fears of the unknown. That is, what we don’t know and cannot predict often causes anxiety. It is easy to catastrophize, to imagine worst-case scenarios and unfixable mistakes. Uncertainty can be depressing and demoralizing.

But the truth is that uncertainty is also a gift. Uncertainty can be necessary for growth. It can be the ground from which faith sprouts up and grows. Because we can only have faith in things that are uncertain. You and I can only learn to trust God more deeply through faith in the spiritual things that cannot be proven and are necessarily uncertain. But uncertainty doesn’t mean that they are unreal. Uncertainty doesn’t mean they are untrue. But by leaning into the uncertainty, we can discover that God has not abandoned us. Even though we cannot literally walk alongside Jesus, we are not alone. By leaning into the uncertainty, we can discover gifts and abilities that we never imagined for ourselves.

After Jesus ascended, Peter and the disciples leaned into their uncertainty by leaning into community. They stuck together and followed Jesus’ instructions to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit. They prayed together. They supported and encouraged one another. They started to act like the church that they were becoming.

And ten days later, while they are gathered in prayer, the Holy Spirit descends upon them on the Day of Pentecost. Because they have pushed through uncertainty and pushed through it together, the disciples are ready to preach, minister, and baptize. People overhear them speaking in many languages, and they wonder what is wrong with them. Peter offers testimony about who Jesus is and the new thing that God is doing among them. He tells about God’s love, faithfulness, and tender mercy, and he invites people into their emerging community. He becomes Jesus’ witness in Jerusalem. And through this, through  Peter’s first, impromptu sermon, three thousand people repent, believe in Jesus, get baptized, and join the ongoing Jesus Movement, the Church.

I wonder, Is there any chance Peter would have preached on Pentecost if Jesus were still there? Do you think Peter and the eleven would have stepped up in this way? I don’t think so. If Jesus were physically there, Peter and the others would have deferred to their Master and Rabbi.  They would have sat at Jesus’ feet and been ministered to. They might have helped out with things like distributing food to the three thousand people, but not much else. Without the uncertainty of Jesus’ absence, Peter might have never grown up. He might have never gained the faith and the skills he needed to answer God’s call for his life. The apostles needed that wilderness period in order to become the leaders God was calling them to be. 

The same is still true for us. Uncertainty is challenging. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But honestly, there is very little certainty in life, far less than we’d like. God is often going to surprise us. And that means that uncertainty is not always bad. It is also a breeding ground for growth. Uncertainty creates opportunities. It helps us to grow in faith, alongside many other virtues, skills, and abilities. 

What feels uncertain in your life right now? Have you allowed fear and anxiety to overtake you? Or are you embracing uncertainty as a chance to grow and change? How can you lean on God and lean on your community to get you through this wilderness? How might Jesus  be using uncertainty as a catalyst for you to follow him? Amen.