Don’t just stand there! Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension Day (Easter A) 21 May 2023
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
When we think about the big events in the life of Jesus, and the days when we have big celebrations in church, we often don’t think about the Ascension of Jesus- the event we have just heard described in our reading from the Book of Acts. Christmas- the birth of Jesus- that’s a big celebration, not just in church, but in the wider community. So, to a lesser extent, is Easter- although the wider world is probably a bit puzzled that we make so much of the death of Jesus, and wonder how we can believe in his rising to life again. And next Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost- a festival which Christians are increasingly keen on, because we like the thought of the Spirit of God being among us and bringing us life.
But Ascension, I suspect, is the weird one for many of us. As Karen said to the children, it’s an odd word ‘ascension’. It is about ascending- “Going up!” as the lift attendants in the old days used to say.
In Biblical times, people couldn’t get very far off the ground. As high as they could jump, that was it. So perhaps it’s not surprising that they regarded the sky as the home of the gods. And you can perhaps also see why the first Christians, thinking that Jesus had gone back to heaven to be with his Father, would imagine that something like the story we hear from Acts chapter 1 might have happened.
As Luke tells it, after his resurrection at Easter, Jesus appears to various people for some time. Finally, he has a meeting with his friends at which he gives them their marching orders: Jesus tells the apostles that they are ‘to be witnesses to ‘to the ends of the earth’. And then, writes Luke:
After saying this, he was taken up to heaven as they watched him, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
We still talk about the sky and outer space as ‘the heavens’. But our understanding of the sky is today completely different from ancient times. Luke tells us that the apostles watched Jesus until a cloud hid him from sight- which I always think is an odd wee detail.
But today, many of us have been beyond the clouds. I love to look out the window of an aeroplane and look down on the clouds- it gives me a wee thrill every time! And we have even put people beyond the earth, sent probes to travel even beyond the solar system. We know that the universe is unimaginably vast, and that there are other planets with clouds. We now know what’s beyond the clouds, which the biblical writers didn’t know .
So, looking at this story from the beginning of the Book of Acts today, perhaps it’s best to see it as a story which uses imagery to make a point. It’s trying to describe something which is indescribable. We can still believe in heaven, and that Jesus somehow has gone back to heaven, but we’re not going to find heaven with spaceships.
Consider the next bit of the story, just after Jesus has disappeared behind that cloud:
[The apostles] still had their eyes fixed on the sky as [Jesus] went away, when two men dressed in white suddenly stood beside them and said, “Galileans, why are you standing there looking up at the sky?”
For if we stand looking at the sky, wondering what has happened, trying to find out exactly how Jesus did his Ascension trick… we’re missing the point! For Jesus just before he left them, Jesus gave the apostles their instructions: right before going, he said,
“…you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
That’s our job, too- to be witnesses for Jesus. To tell everyone, everywhere, about Jesus, who he was, what he did, about the stories he told, about why he is so important. We don’t have time to stand and stare at the sky- there is work to be done!
So, Jesus has handed his work over to us. But we are not left without any help. In our Gospel reading we hear of Jesus praying for his disciples.
I do think it is lovely that this passage is in our scriptures. For Jesus’ prayer is not just for the disciples sitting there with him that evening. It is also, by implication, a prayer for those of us who follow them. It’s a prayer for us, too!
It comes as he gets ready to leave them, for his work is almost done; as Jesus says to his Father:
“I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do”.
And as he gets ready to leave the work to his apostles, Jesus prays:
“And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one”.
Jesus is no longer in the world- at least as flesh and blood. Instead, he is handing over to his friends: ‘I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world’. Brothers and sisters, Jesus has put the future of his Gospel into our hands. For the last 2,000 years, the only witnesses to Christ have been those who have had faith in him.
Of course, Christians haven’t always been good witnesses to Jesus. In the name of Christ, Christians have fought wars, committed genocide, persecuted people of other faiths and those they though were God’s enemies. Jesus prayed that his followers would be ‘one’, united with each other, just as Jesus and his Father were united. Well, Christians have gone to war with each, persecuted one another, split into different denominations and factions. Today, we are still a long way from being ‘one’. And too often, we’re not good witnesses to Christ.
And yet, it’s also true that millions of Christians across the centuries have been faithful (otherwise we wouldn’t be here!). In difficult circumstances, followers of Jesus have loved their neighbours and even their enemies. They have been inspired to bring the love of Christ to people who got little love. And they have sought to overcome the barriers which history has too often built up between Christians.
During the twentieth century, fascism and communism killed millions for ideological reasons. Today, our secular fascination with material wealth is destroying the planet. So, I honestly believe that having people witness to Jesus Christ might just save us from disaster. For if we are properly witnesses to Christ, we will speak of a man who taught love- that God loves us, and that we should love another. That’s the glory of Christ, the man who showed the glory of God- the creator of all who cares for each of his children!
In his prayer for us, Jesus said that we were the ones ‘in the world’- and, as we’ve seen, we are the ones who must take his message onward. And I’m glad to know that Jesus prays for us, because the job he gave us sometimes feels overwhelming.
Yesterday saw the opening of the General Assembly of our denomination, the Church of Scotland. Whenever I have attended the Assembly, I find it to be a strange mix. There are moments which are inspirational- fantastic worship and preaching, or hearing about the amazing things we are doing in Scotland, and beyond; moments which strengthen my faith, and make me feel good about being a Christian.
But there are other moments which are quite the opposite- and if there is much media interest, that’s what you’re likely to hear about on the news. Stories of decline- declining numbers of members, and congregations, and ministers. Frankly, it is getting calamitous, as problems which we have known about for generations (but failed to do much about) finally catch up with us. It’s easy to get downhearted at those moments. Thank goodness Jesus has prayed for us!
The word ‘glory’ is a concept which appears quite a lot in John’s Gospel.
The Gospel writer says that Jesus career on earth showed God’s glory. For example, when Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding, John the Gospel writer tell us,
Jesus performed this first miracle in Cana in Galilee; there he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
And as Jesus’ work in the flesh is coming to an end, he prays for his disciples- including us. He prays:
All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them.
Jesus has been showing God’s glory, for he shares in God’s glory. But now it’s our turn. We are to show the glory of Jesus in the world.
So, I wonder what would happen if we were to be a church which really tried to show the glory of Christ to the world? For the glory of Christ is a strange sort of glory. It is the glory of a baby born in Bethlehem, whose family fled with him to Egypt just after his birth, refugees and asylum seekers in a foreign land. It is the glory of one who called fishermen and tax collectors- ordinary folk- to join him in his mission. It is the glory of one who gently healed the sick, and who offered forgiveness of sins. It is the glory of one who calmed his friends when they thought their boat would sink in a storm. It is the glory of one who wept for the city of Jerusalem. It is the glory of one who got angry at the money changers. It is the glory of one who accepted his fate, was silent before the Roman governor, and ended up nailed to a cross between two thieves.
For Christ’s glory was often seen in times of weakness. It was a glory which showed compassion. Christ’s glory has long outlived the glory of the Roman Empire, which put him to death. And it is that sort of glory which people need to see and hear about today.
And so, Jesus prays for us, asking his Father,
“Keep them safe by the power of your name”.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus may be in heaven, but he has not left us alone. He prays that we might be kept safe as we struggle to tells of his glory today. For there is no-one else to show his glory. Perhaps we shouldn’t worry too much about the state of the institutional church. Maybe we need to lose some of our traditions in order that the glory of Christ might shine through us
So, let us be confident that we are safe in the power of God’s name. And let us be witnesses to the glory of Christ- a glory of love, compassion and care, for a world which desperately needs it!
Ascription of Praise
May the God of all grace,
who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.
To God be the power forever and ever. Amen!
1 Peter 5.10-11 NRSV (alt)Biblical references from the Good News Bible, unless otherwise stated
© 2023 Peter W Nimmo
#ascension #ChurchOfScotland
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