Sermon for Ascension Day (May 10)

The readings

Acts 1:1-11

1:1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."  So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.  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."  When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  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."

Psalm 47

47:1 Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.

For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.

 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.

 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.

 God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted.

  

Ephesians 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.  I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Luke 24:44-53

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,  and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;  and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Sermon for Ascension Day

Today, exactly 40 days after Easter, we celebrate the Ascension. To help us understand what is so special about this moment in our faith, I will compare it to events 43 days ago, the hours between Good Friday and Easter morning.  After Jesus death, we see Jesus followers locked away in secret, hiding in fear and doubting everything.  After the Ascension, we see Jesus followers worship him, return to Jerusalem with great joy and publically, continually blessing God in the temple.  They are now doing all those things they were afraid to a few weeks before, the open acts of witness and sharing of faith they wouldn’t even consider in the hours after Jesus death.  The only thing that changes is after Good Friday, Jesus disciples have no idea what is going on but after the Ascension, they know Christ is Risen and that makes all the difference. 

Every Friday during the school year, I do a children’s church services with the 3,4, 5 and 6 year olds at my church’s school. Each year, Easter is the longest of the services.  I tell the whole story of Jesus trial, death and resurrection from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday.  Knowing a little about the ability of young children to understand things,   I summarize the horrific events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Jesus betrayal, beating, trial and death, simply by saying “some really bad things happened to Jesus, his friends did not think they would see him anymore, they were really sad and scared”.  

To help them understand the confusion and chaos of the time between Jesus death and resurrection, we move spaces 3 or 4 times, going from the gym to the playground to the hallways and then the church over the course of 20 minutes or so. After all, this is the time that the disciples have all left Jesus. Aside from a few women, everyone else is hiding in fear, locked away in a room and keeping very quiet.  The disciples were really sad and scared.  They thought they would not see Jesus anymore, that the things he talked about would never come to be, the signs of power he shared would be forgotten, the religious authorities that got him would come after them next, that they would not support each other.  I imagine someone suggesting a hymn or prayer and  someone else whispering “shhhhh”, someone saying “I’m hungry and am going to get a snack” and someone else  saying “no stay here and eat what’s in the cabinet, you might be spotted and followed back to us”.   I imagine them sitting in the dark, keeping the candles off, acting like no one is home.  

Jesus disciples are now living without the one who pulled them from work as fisherman and tax collectors, who healed with faith, taught with authority and brought hope.  This was sudden and unexpected, with a lot of loose ends, questions and what looked like incomplete work.  No one is in charge, no one wanted to be, no one is fighting to be on Jesus left and right side like James and John were just a few days before.  The women go to the tomb to anoint Jesus body.  They have no idea what to do about the large stone door to the tomb, they go anyway, no one escorts them or helps them carry the necessary items.  They come back with news of an empty tomb and the first whispers of good news.  

This morning, we hear the story of what happens when Jesus friends once again think they would  not see him anymore. This time they are not sad and they are not scared. They are joyful and they are loud. Why this change over 40 short days, barely more than a month. Easter makes all the difference.  To quote the sermon from John Chrysthrom that Pr Longan preaches at the Easter Vigil

 “Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!  Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is Risen, and life is liberated! Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;  for Christ having risen from the dead,is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

Knowing these things, that evil is cast down, that we rejoice with the angels, that we have this life liberated from sin and death, that makes all the difference. 

The disciples now have a promise from Jesus that the Holy Spirit, the presence of God in the world, would soon come.  They have assurance, you will not do this faith work alone, from a person who even death could not stop, and that makes all the difference.  

The disciples now know what they are walking into. They know who walks with them and that makes all the difference.  In many ways, those bad things they feared and hid from do happen, the disciples end up rejected, martyred, imprisoned or killed for their faith.  They will speak God’s word to their last breath, they will die with joy knowing God’s promises are still good.   

Finally, I think of a joke I heard a while ago and never quite understood.  There was a farmer who bought a new field.  It was filled with rocks, bricks and old cement  He wanted to plant this field and everyone thought he was crazy.  He had to clear it first.  This work took months of hot, hard work. Every few days the town priest would walk by, say good morning and move on.   The farmer made walls, piles of stone, and kept working. Eventaully, he finished.  Now, as the once useless land was starting to shape up and food was growing, the priest walks and says “what an amazing thing you and the Lord have built here”  To this, the annoyed farmer says “well it wasn’t much when it was just the Lord working on it”

This morning we see the exact opposite, When the church is just the disciples, It wasn’t much. When 

the kingdom of God was just us working on it. We had little more than a scared bunch of people, too busy mourning to do anything, too disappointed to trust anything.  When it comes to down to salvation, obedience to God’s law, keeping the commandments, overcoming the wages of sin, defeating death, it wasn’t much when it was just us.  It won’t be much when it’s just us.  You have been blessed, you have been clothed with power from on high, you should leave here rejoicing. That is when the great joy comes, that is what changes, that is what makes all the difference.